Pope on Gay Marriage: 'A Threat to Humanity'

So why is someone's sexual orientation a moral issue at all?
01/18/2012 03:16 pm ET Updated Mar 19, 2012

On Jan. 9, Pope Benedict XVI told a gathering of diplomats that family is only "based on the marriage of a man and a woman" and then went on to say that "policies which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself." (See report here) Why are so many Christian churches still offended by homosexuality? Of all of the "causes" that a religious group could choose to focus their attention (and wrath) upon, what is it about gays that bothers them so much? Why does this issue carry more weight for some people than the environment, terrorism, poverty, domestic violence, the national debt, or the myriad of other real issues facing our society? Today we better understand the complicated interplay of genetics, environment, biochemistry, and psychology that shapes all aspects of who we are. So why is someone's sexual orientation a moral issue at all?

The answer we often hear to these questions is that the Bible teaches that homosexuality is an abomination. But if we step back and understand that the purpose behind morality is to set forth the principles that govern how we live in harmony with others in our society, then we realize that the specifics of our moral laws will be dependent upon the times and cultures in which we live. If we look to Jesus' teaching about the most important commandments (to love God and to love our neighbor), we can find universal moral principles that are as applicable today as they were two thousand years ago. However, the context in which we live today is very different. (We don't stone unruly children to death, we do not own slaves, and women are not subservient to men). Therefore, we should expect the application of these moral principles to be different today than they were then. Are two people in a loving gay relationship causing moral harm to our society while those who angrily condemn them are helping?

A few years ago, radio pop-psychologist Dr. Laura Schlesinger, who is Jewish, spoke out against homosexuality, justifying her stance with teachings from the Bible. Although she has since recanted her comments, the following letter, which can be found online in various forms, written to her then is still applicable (and quite funny) to the debate we continue to hear today. In fact, we might as well change the salutation to Dear Pope Benedict.

Dear Dr. Laura:

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to best follow them.



3. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as allowed in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?








Sincerely, Your adoring fan"

As the letter above so humorously demonstrates, the Bible contains many moral teachings we no longer heed because the society in which we live today is different from the one in which the authors of these books lived. Is it not time to add the teachings against homosexuality to the list of outdated commandments?