Interesting discussion...

...going on over at Dean's World about the bible and homosexuality. Read the comments.

I'm going to post my personal opinions here (Below the fold in case you don't care):

1. Being gay is not a choice. I don't know if being gay has to do with genes, development, environment, or some combination of all three, but I know that no one chooses to be attracted to either men or women. I mean, I didn't just wake up one morning and go "Boys are cute". Duh. So why do we assume that someone else "chose", just because their attractions are different?

2. I don't give a rat's ass what the Bible says about homosexuality because Jesus teaches us to love one another and judge not. So I love others and respect their choices as to who they love without judgement. At the end of my life, I will have to defend what I've done. So will you. So will every gay person. God gets to make the choice based on my life and everyone else's. Heck, most of the passages that people cite with regard to this issue have to do with marriage anyway. Let's try not to confuse apples and oranges. Marriage is one thing, homosexuality is another. If you want to use these passages to support your position that gay marriage is wrong, then fine, but don't say that being gay is a sin because the Bible says only one man and one woman make a marriage.

3. Gay marriage is fine with me. I'm all for people building strong, loving, and committed relationships in this life, no matter who they are. It reinforces the commitment that my husband and I made to each other when we see our friends make the same commitment. As far as I'm concerned, marriage has 2 components: Religious and Civil. Civilly, a marriage is a special type of contract. There's no legal reason for that to mean that the partners in the contract are a man and a woman. Religiously, you can make a biblical argument either way, frankly. Some churches/synagogues do approve gay marriages within the church. I know, I was a bridesmaid in an absolutely beautiful Jewish wedding for two of my dearest friends.

4. Along the same lines, it's fine with me if a gay person or a gay couple want to adopt children. Children need stable, loving homes. It doesn't matter if there's one mommy or two, one daddy or two, as long as the parent(s) love and support their children. Kids who have two moms or two dads are more likely to be open, tolerant people. And you know what? Most other kids think it's cool if you have 2 moms or 2 dads.

5. Why are we talking about this anyway? Does it make a damn bit of difference in the grand scheme of things whether Johnny loves Charlie or Charly? There are a million REAL problems in the world that we need to solve without poking our noses into someone else's bedroom. Talking about gay marriage won't stop terrorists or feed hungry children or balance the frickin' budget.