The Bible is 2000ish years old. It's been translated dozens, if not hundreds, of times. Its original language has very few direct translations, and there are tons of metaphors, expressions, and figures of speech that scholars have no idea what they mean (e.g. 'turn to salt' means to become barren, not literally turned into a pillar of salt), to say nothing about the various political influences whilst translating. While I think the Bible says a lot of great things, I don't think it is the verbatim word of God. I don't mean to deride anyone for their theology, but I feel that the Bible is too flawed to use for legislative justification.
The following is the first few paragraphs from a political paper I was supposed to write last semester; however, it was supposed to be nonpartisan paper, so I had to forgo this draft. But it's a good start.
More than two hundred years ago, founded under pretenses of liberty and equality for all, our country declared itself a haven for people of all nationalities, beliefs, backgrounds and ideals. Throughout history, however, this nation has not been as diligent in maintaining that utopia that the Founding Fathers envisioned. Countless minority groups, including women, African-Americans, Japanese-Americans, Native Americans, Immigrants, Catholics, Jews, atheists, and anarchists, have been persecuted in this, the land where ‘all men are created equal.’ After equal rights, affirmative action, reparations, and social evolution, only one minority group is still seen as sub-human, and their rights are actively ignored, if not out and out outlawed- the gay community. The Supreme Court only recently legalized sodomy, it is still legal to discriminate against someone due to their sexual orientation in 36 states, and gays are still denied the right of marrying the person they love. The topic of gay marriage will prove to be a deciding factor in next year’s presidential election; many view President Bush’s declaration of “Marriage Protection Week” as an blatant slap in the face for gay marriage supporters, and the proposed Constitutional Amendment outlawing gay marriage would further denounce and vilify the gay community.
Most views and beliefs about the gay community are derived from the bible. This 2,000-year-old book has had a profound authority over world history, and is quite possibly the most influential book in history. However, as research states, the bible is not as infallible as it appears to be. Throughout the reign of Christianity, from the “Dark Ages” to the conservative moment of today, the Bible has been mistranslated and taken out of context to prove one view or another. This paper proves the problems inherent with the current papal administration’s views of homosexuality, and the sway it holds on American ideals.
