I've read through most of this and many of my counterpoints have already been made ad naseum.
Again, picking and choosing passages haphazardly out of the Bible to make a point against homosexuality is like putting together a puzzle from 4-5 different boxes...
You totally glass over the makeup behind the audience who was being addressed by each passage (at least those that are known), what the PRECISE message that particular author was trying to make, the relevance of the passage to the topic of homosexuality BY ITSELF (disregarding orgies, sex/fertility cults, basic cultural norms and taboos, etc.).
Combine this with this interesting aside: Much that has been pulled out of Leviticus and pretty much anything that Paul has written has been used to condemn just about every identifiable and easily labeled minority (Jews, Muslims, blacks, gays, other Christians, etc.) on the planet at one time or the other. To be blunt, I'm seeing little difference here in much of this discourse. Care to challenge?
On the topic of condemnation (as this is what the war over homosexuality has turned into), what's your take on the Bible's SILENCE on the morality of slavery? How about the position and roles of hermaphrodites in society? I bring this up YET again (and I'm sure it will go unanswered yet again) as it's exclusion in Biblical literature has caused more than just a small amount of heartburn for those that are literal translationists of the Bible...
Given this, how are you CERTAIN that the popularly-held Christian view of homosexuality being a sin is the RIGHT one? Give me undeniable SCRIPTURE that this is the case, as every piece of scripture I've seen thrown around on this topic has had a lot of issues passing muster when one considers the audience, the source, the ultimate topic at hand and the language used.
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Allow me to firmly state that NO other document in history has been taken out of context and used to work evil, bigotry and hatred more than the Bible.
None.
Having said that, is this grounds to give up on religion or God?
No.
I have found it as grounds to give up using my imperfect understanding of Biblical doctrine as a CRUTCH to judge and condemn others and their actions; especially when the level of clarification on certain topics in the Bible is very sketchy, even among some of the most astute Biblical scholars.
What you say about there being no condemnation in Christ is accurate. It's such a shame that many find the words and concepts of his apostles things that superceede his teachings...
