I am a Christian, but this issue has always stumped me... From a religious aspect, I tend to look at the Bible as a guide for our lives so that we as humans can live happy, healthy lives. Many of the ideas in the Bible that may have been important for ancient cultures may no longer be relevant for today's world. Take, for example, the Jewish food laws (which BTW are in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, which is the same place that first mentions how it is wrong for a man to sleep with another man). When the food laws were first established, we humans had many problems from food-born illnesses. Lack of refrigeration, sanitation, and knowledge about how to properly prepare and cook foods all caused to people being sick and even dying from what they ate. The food laws were therefore a primitive attempt to determine how to properly prepare and cook foods so as to limit the food problems that afflicted these people. Instead of trying to determine what temperature to properly cook and thereby killing the worm causing trichinosis, it was just easier to proscribe the consumption of pork. Instead of determining proper sanitation and washing techniques to decrease the problems of cross-contamination, it was just found that forbidding the mixing of utensils for meat and dairy would cut down on this problem. If looked at from this perspective, then the sex laws of the old testament (homosexuality, bestiality, promiscuity, etc.) were an attempt to regulate sexual health so as to prevent (or at least limit) sexually transmitted diseases. Take, for example, the modern example of HIV/AIDS. It is thought that the disease was first introduced into our species when someone had sex with some monkey (*bleep*), and was eventually transmitted to others via promiscuity as well as homosexuality (the latter being that there is more possibility of rippage of the colorectal lining causing direct access for the virus to enter the bloodstream). Yet today we have access to contraceptives as well as screening / testing for most known STDs which can help decrease the spread of STDs. And the main issue with the spread of STDs has always been the problem of promiscuity in our culture. However there never seems to be as loud of a cry against promiscuity (at least among the general public) as there is against homosexuality. From a religious perspective, I can understand how the Church can see all of these practices as being wrong, and that the best way (from a sexual health perspective) to engage in sex is from the context of marriage.
However, because we don't live in a theocracy where we are rules by Biblical laws, our laws must account for people that want to live free of these laws. Since homosexuality really becomes an issue in sexual health if it also includes promiscuity, then I think what would be best would be for a way to allow it it a more monogamous manner (I know, "monogamy" really means a marriage between one couple, but I can't think of the appropriate word). As for how the government should handle this, I therefore think there should be a way to provide the same benefits to homosexual couples as with married couples (to encourage stable couples). I can understand that the term "marriage" may be held with higher esteem in religious circles, so I'd rather the laws would allow for "civil unions" of which "marriage" is just just one means by which the government can recognize a "civil union" between a couple.
Community Forum
Topic: How do you really feel about homosexuality? (Read 6820 times)
September 19, 2009, 09:18:52 am
