Editor,
I have read several articles and letters regarding the Bible and the issue of homosexuality.
First, religion is created by human beings. For example, Warren Jeffs presided over a splinter group of Mormonism that still believes in the covenant of plural marriage. The initial covenant of plural marriage was conceived by Joseph Smith. Who was Joseph Smith? A human being who came up with a religion.
That said, many things in the Bible, or any religious text, must be taken in the contexts in which they were written. In the times these texts were initially written, religion was a means of instilling order and obedience, especially among those who would not accept simple, man-based authority, but rather authority that came from above. Pork was banned to
prevent diseases such as trichinosis. However, in the area that is now
Israel/Palestine and the surrounding areas, people would not accept the idea of a mere man giving orders to not eat pork. So, the leaders had to say that it was God's wish that pork not be consumed.
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Homosexuality was most likely condemned not due to what is now thought of as a divine wish but so that heterosexual mating and breeding could continue to produce sufficient numbers to face continued incursions and occupations by various empires. In other words, heterosexual mating and breeding kept the population intact; homosexuality would decrease breeding and mating and, therefore, people would become extinct over time.
Add in the fact that the Bible, over time, has been translated into numerous languages and edited so many times - usually for political reasons - nobody knows what was truly written years ago. Therefore, it cannot be considered a valid source of history unless one can obtain the original writings of the period and interpret them.
Behind any religious text is an undercurrent of both politics and nationalism. The Bible, Talmud, Torah and Quran were written with specific audiences in mind - the people of the Middle East of the period. This is like the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Beowulf. Those works were written specifically by and for the Teutonic peoples who would settle in Britain after the Romans departed.
To base modern policy on such a text would be akin to basing policy on Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung or Beowulf. These are great works of history and fiction but not anything to base public policy on. Any person wishing to dispute this need only look at Afghanistan under the Taliban and modern-day Iran.
Brandon Curtis
UNM alumnus
