Thoughts from Bishop John Shelby Spong

"The issue of homosexuality is not a 'moral' issue so much as it is a 'being' issue. That is because all contemporary and scientific data today suggest that homosexuality is not something people choose to do; it is something that a minority of the world's population simply is. It is abnormal only in the sense that it is minority. Prejudice against a gay or lesbian person is thus in the same category as prejudice against those whose skin color is different, or against women or left-handed people. To denigrate a person simply because of who that person is, is evil and yes, I would also call it sinful...

"Above all I think it is time evangelical Christians stop quoting the Bible to perpetrate their prejudices against both homosexuals and women. The Bible is not a medical and health textbook and the level of knowledge available to the ancient people who wrote it compromises its authority. Jesus is even portrayed, you might recall as thinking epilepsy is caused by demon possession. The Bible came into written form roughly between 1000 B.C.E. and 135 C.E. The world has learned much since then. To suggest that the Bible somehow has the answer to complex modern issues like homosexuality and abortion is to be uninformed at best; it is to be malevolent and destructive at worst."

Bishop John Shelby Spong