Despite its Abundant Sex Scenes, the Bible is not a Book About Sex; the Bible is a Book About God.

Despite its abundant sex scenes, the Bible is not a book about sex; the Bible is a book about God. If homosexuality is such a big, bad sin why didn't it make God's top ten list? Jesus never spoke about same-sex behavior. (He did say a prostitute has the same chance of making it into Heaven as a tax collector.) Out of the Bible's millions of verses, only six or seven verses reference same-sex behavior and none of them refer to homosexual orientation as we understand it today.

Many people have used the Bible to support their own personal prejudices. (Examples: the Crusades; inquisitions; support of slavery; execution of women as witches; apartheid; segregation; the KKK; persecution of Jews and non-Christians; the Holocaust.) Some people use the Bible against homosexuals, quoting text out of context to support their prejudices, and spend their lives misquoting that text.

The Old Testament says:

* Deuteronomy 22:13-21 If a bride is found not to be a virgin, the Bible demands she be executed on the spot by stoning. Do you follow this Bible verse today?

* Deuteronomy 22:22 If a married person has sex with someone else's husband or wife, the Bible commands that both adulterers be stoned to death. Do you, good Christian, follow this verse?

* Exodus 21:7 It is okay to sell one's daughter into slavery. How many of your daughters have you sold into slavery?

* Exodus 35:2 If one works on the Sabbath, he should be put to death. Have you ever worked on the Sabbath or killed your neighbor who did so?

* Leviticus 21:20 One may not approach the altar of God with defective sight. Have you ever disobeyed God and gone to church wearing glasses? Do you know anyone who has? Do you tell people wearing glasses in church they are sinning against God? Do you hold large signs in public outside of church services decrying these sinners?

* Leviticus 15:19-24 One is not allowed any contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness. Most people would take offense if one followed the Bible on this point. Do you REALLY follow EVERY verse in the Bible or are you a hypocrite?

The New Testament:

* Jesus never spoke against same-sex behavior.

* Mark 10:1-12 Divorce is strictly forbidden by the Bible in both testaments, as is remarriage by divorcees. If you have divorced or married a divorcee you are not following the Bible. Hopefully, you are making huge signs and parading them in front of your own house informing everyone you are a sinner, or you are parading signs in front of houses of those you know have sinned by divorcing and remarrying.

* Mark 12:18-27 When a man dies childless, his widow is ordered by Biblical law to have intercourse with each of his brothers in turn until she bears her deceased husband a male heir. As a good Christian, you must follow every verse of the Bible. If not, you are a huge sinner and the Bible advises huge sinners never to throw the first stone.

* 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

* 1 Timothy 2:9 I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,

I'm certain you don't agree with the Bible regarding many of its teachings about sex. And you shouldn't. The Bible says clearly that sex with a prostitute is acceptable for the husband but not the wife; polygamy (more than one wife) is acceptable; concubines for the king (and the wisest king of all, Solomon, had 1,000 concubines) is acceptable; slavery and sex with slaves (acceptable); marriage for girls, ages 11-13 (acceptable); treatment of women as property (acceptable); inter-racial marriage (not acceptable); birth control (not acceptable); discussing or even naming a sexual organ (not acceptable); seeing one's parents nude (definitely not acceptable).

The verses people misquote to condemn gay sex have nothing to do with homosexuality and here's why. Consider this single Biblical text that was used for centuries to condemn masturbation: "He spilled his seed on the ground... And the thing which Onan did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also" (Genesis 38:9-10). For Jewish text writers, a man sleeping with another man was an abomination. But it was also an abomination (and worthy of death) to masturbate (have sex with one's self) or even to interrupt coitus (to halt sex with one's spouse before ejaculation as an act of birth control).

Why were these sexual practices abominations to Scripture writers in those ancient times? Because the Hebrew pre-scientific understanding was that male semen contained the whole of life and it was thought to be finite. With no knowledge of eggs and ovulation, it was assumed the man's sperm contained the whole child and that women provided only the incubating space. Therefore, the spilling of semen without the possibility of having a child was considered murder. Thus, spilling the seed made one a murderer and worthy of death.

The Jews were a small tribe struggling to populate a country. They were outnumbered by their enemy. You can see why it was an abomination to risk wasting even one child, but the passage says nothing about homosexuality as we understand it today.