You know what the bible says about that?........ It's against it!

That is one of my favorite lines from the movie "King Pin." Woody Harrelson is recruiting a professional bowler in an Amish community, and when he is questioned about his "ethics" he responds by saying, "you know what the bible says about that, it's against it!" He obviously has no idea what the bible says about anything.

I wonder how many people go around quoting scripture and saying homosexuality is a sin "because the bible's against it," who don’t actually know what the bible really does say about it. And what does the bible actually say about other social issues? I think we should look at a handful of very interesting bible verses. The next blog posts will be devoted to talking points, I think we should use, when our ultra conservative bible thumping friends show up and say.... "The bibles against it!"

But today let’s looks at one of my favorite bible verses that I like to throw out to some of my opponents who often quote scripture when talking about the sin of homosexuality. Please understand I’m not posting as an expert on religion or as a biblical scholar; rather as someone who thinks we should bring a good healthy dose of common sense into the argument about what the bible says and doesn’t say about certain things.

Here’s one of my favorites; 1Timothy 2:12 - -“I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.”  Hmmmm….that doesn’t seem very hard to understand. Simple and straightforward!  I was debating an old friend in Wheatland last year when the Platte County School Board made a decision to take down the “No Place for Hate,” banners due to the fact that one of the sponsors had ties to a pro LGTB group.

This particular conversation/debate was with one of my female friends, she home schools her children, two of them are boys. She is the praise team leader at her church, and she argued that the banners needed to come down because they encouraged homosexual behavior and we could never have that because….” The Bibles Against It!!”  So I asked her what she thought about 1Timothy, chapter 2, verse 12……

Anyone who has debated before knows what a wonderful feeling it is when your opponents jaw drops, their eyes open wide and nothing comes out of their mouths’ because they are speechless.

What about two very vocal lobbyists this last legislative session; Lynn Hutchins of the Wyoming Family Coalition and Becky Vanderberghe of WyWatch? These two women represent two ultra conservative, bible touting groups, and both were sent to testify at multiple committee meetings about what the bible says about homosexuals, abortion, and preserving the sanctity of marriage. On Wyoming Family Coalitions website is says their mission is to lobby elected officials about Godly principals. If they’re so godly why did they send a woman to do it?

Bottom line I’m not a male chauvinist, but I can’t stand people that pick and choose what parts of the bible they want to talk about, simply to make a point and remain silent on the rest. More to come in the following days.. I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on bible verses you think are a little out of touch, misquoted, or just plain crazy.

Jeran