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Originally posted by blizzard
OK. These are not very thoughtful comments.
Consider the issue more closely. Why are religous leaders against homosexual marriage? Well? No, despite what some seem to think they don't make this stuff up themselves. They have texts that set rules! And they are supposed to follow them. Regardless of whether or not you believe that the Bible is true, consider whether any religion would mean anything if the guides of thier conduct just changed along with the prevalent though of the day!
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A good question that deserves an answer.
First it must be pointed out that for the most part, the admonition against homosexuality is found in the Jewish and Jewish derived religions (e.g. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, B'hai). To the best of my knowledge, you do not find the same prohibition in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, etc. (I could be wrong on some of these, feel free to correct.) So for the most part we are dealing with religions that start from one religion that prohibits the practice.
Within the Torah, the prohibitions are primarily found in Genesis 19 (Sodom and Gomorra) and Leviticus 18:22, (new testiment includes Romans 1:26-27 and I Corinthians 6:9).
Now to understand these passages, there are some things that need to be known.
First, the ancient Hebrews had no notion of Heaven. As close as they came was the idea of "Sheol", which was not really heaven and not really Hell, but a nebulous place (underground) where the spirit went (whatever that was). Hence, children were VERY important to the Hebrews, as they ONLY way they survived death was through their progeny. (This can also be seen in the many ancient Jewish laws concerning inheritance, children of slaves, marriage of dead brothers' widows, etc.)
So, it follows that to the ancient Hebrews, homosexuality was an abomination because it effectively cut off a person from children and their "afterlife". Supporting this view is the fact that the Bible never says ANYTHING about lesbians, which makes sense, as women were property of their husbands and did not have 'souls'.
There is also much debate about the actual meaning of the story of Sodom and Gomorra, especially what the "sin" of those two cities actually was. Liberal Christians point out that the sin can be interpreted as the wickedness of the cities towards the visitors (angels of God) that Lot was housing.
The ancient Hebrews also had no knowledge of DNA and possible genetic causes of homosexuality. We also know through science that homosexuality is not
unnatural as it is found in the animal kingdom among apes, birds and other species, all of which do not have "souls" and did not eat from the "Tree of Knowledge" (Genesis 3:6).
An excellent discussion of Homosexuality and the Bible can be found on the
Religious Tolerance Website including reference to the specific passages, discussion of the specific biblical translations, the original hebrew and what conservative and liberal Christians generally interpret them to mean.