Homosexuality, and homosexual relationships in particular, have been a sensitive issue in the Christian church for several years now. For centuries, marriage was defined as the unity of a man and a woman. As homosexual relationships became more commonplace in society, the Church for the most part took a stand against the issue, with some sects or individuals going so far as to say that even those who were not in relationships but still identified as homosexual (or bisexual) were sinners and would burn in hell.
Many highly conservative Christians use scripture from the Bible to condemn homosexuality. They say that it is against the will of God for two men or two women to join in holy matrimony, as God intended for this bond to only be between a man and a woman. As a lifelong practicing Catholic, I can assuredly say using scripture is a flawed argument. Rather than finding anything in the Bible that actually condemns homosexual relationships, only passages which talk about men and women are cited, like Genesis 1:27-28. While this does support the idea of heterosexual relationships, it does not prove that homosexual relationships are sinful. Additionally, most of the passages cited to oppose homosexuality come from the Old Testament, but as Christians we believe that we are supposed to follow the new law (New Testament). If we are still following everything from the Old Testament, then it would be OK for a man to sell his daughter into slavery or put someone to death for working on the Sabbath or stone a man for planting different crops side by side. Obviously we do not live by those rules anymore, so why do we still judge homosexual relationships?
Whether it is right or wrong to be a homosexual relationship, what I really feel strongly about is how we treat those who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, regardless of if they are practicing or not. As Christians, we believe that we are all children of God and should be treated as such, but telling someone they will go to hell because of who they love does not seem very Christian to me.
