I came across this insightful op-ed and thought I would share with you all.

The driving forces to amend the Kansas Constitution to prohibit gay marriages -- and, gratuitously, gay civil unions -- are Christian pastors and many of their followers.

For example, Rep. Steve Huebert, R-Valley Center, found his House vote easy.

"It is the right thing to do on the truth that was spoken (in the Bible)," he said.

Consistent with the times in which we live, Bible interpretation must be addressed first.

Recognizing I am no more (or less) qualified to deal with this subject than any Christian layman, I am turning to the opinions of the Rev. Craig Sweeney, an Episcopal priest (also husband of our eldest daughter and father of three of Jane's and my grandchildren) that were published in an open forum in the Winfield Courier.

The crux of his statement follows.

"People refer to homosexuality as being against God's will, based on seven disconnected verses in the Bible. As a seminary trained priest I know that each of those seven verses can be honestly challenged, based on the modern interpretation of ancient languages, cultural knowledge of the times when they were written, and the personal backgrounds of the inspired, but fully human authors.

"The real issue is that many Christians are quick to seize on an obscure verse in Leviticus about same-gender sex, while they are content to ignore Jesus' own words on divorce. Even the most conservative Christians ignore many of the 612 rules and a myriad other teachings in the Old Testament each day.

"This picking and choosing is what I call 'selective literalism' and I don't understand it. Each person is free to make choices about biblical authority, but I don't understand why their choice of what is sin and what isn't should bind me or anyone else. What gives them that right and authority? Paul tells us that if we want to be under the law, we have to be 100 percent -- I doubt if any of us want to live that way today."

Father Craig continues, "Since I revere Scripture even though it is confusing and contradictory, I look to the overall message there from God, especially from Jesus.

"That message is the great commandment: love God with all you've got and love your neighbor as yourself. On the night before he died, Jesus did not warn his disciples to follow the rules of the Old Testament. He gave them a new commandment: break bread together in his memory, and love each other.

"Since Jesus is God in human flesh, all Scripture is to be judged by this. Jesus reached out to welcome all people that the Hebrew society had cast out. Today Jesus would reach out to love and include gays and lesbians. The only people Jesus criticized were those 'rule-sticklers' -- the Scribes and the Pharisees. He calls them hypocrites."

Father Craig also discusses that many people believe gays and lesbians choose that lifestyle and refutes it with accepted medical and scientific evidence. And then he turns to the critical question, "What is marriage anyway?"

He praises the modern concept of marriage and deplores its shattered status among heterosexual couples today. He points out marriage is a contract between two people to share their lives and assets. And, that in the Episcopal Church, "we do not create marriage -- we believe God has done that before the couple shows up. What we do is pronounce God's blessing on the marriage."

And then something I hadn't even thought about. "Marriage is not a 'God-given' institution; the church didn't get involved in marriage at all until the Middle Ages." And then "solely to protect the distribution of property through the male lineage. It did women no good, since they were property being sold off to men and had no property rights."

He concludes, "Allowing gays to contract together for a shared life and shared assets has nothing whatsoever to do with our country's shameful divorce rate, the broken homes of heterosexual families and the anguish of single motherhood.

"If some churches do not want to pronounce God's blessings on these relationships -- fine. But passing a constitutional amendment to enforce the religious beliefs of some conservative Christians is a terrible thing to do."

Bill Roy, a retired physician, is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He lives in Topeka.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 12, 2005 at 1:04 PM. Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.