BIBLE STUDY

When Rita Mae Brown accused some Christians of selective reading of the Bible (April 27), the letters you printed last Sunday proved her right. The assertion that the Bible is clearly anti-gay is not a fact, but a sectarian interpretation made out of context. All of the supposedly anti-gay passages are open to other interpretations.

Most biblical scholars agree, for example, that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is about violating hospitality, a serious crime for ancient desert dwellers, and that it is not about homosexuality. Moreover, in that same story, God does not disapprove when Lot offers his daughters to the townsmen for gang rape, or when the daughters get their father drunk and commit incest with him. In modern times this morality tale sends a confusing and frightening message that most of us could not accept.

But even if it could be proved that the Bible is anti-gay, that would not exonerate its use as a weapon and would not settle the civil rights issue. After all, the Bible is clearly pro-slavery, as 19th century slaveholders asserted, but that did not stop us from banning slavery in the name of morality and human rights.

Those who claim that they know God’s opinion about gays are confusing their own opinions with God’s. That takes incredible arrogance.

DENNIS TRUNK

Palmdale