Well...
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Ok, so Christians have the Bible. This they believe to be the inerrant, unambigous word and law of God.
Actually, inerrancy is a specifically conservative evangelical doctrine. Many Christians do not hold to it.
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A God who gave us free will - the choice to choose between what is right and wrong, which inevitably guides us to heaven or hell. To sin or not to sin.
Up to a point...
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In the Christians mind you will suffer if you choose to have pre-marital sex, or be a homosexual. Yes, some of us actually choose to be gay! Nothing to do with physiology or psychology, it's a bad choice that will cause suffering in hell.
Again, a good critique of some extreme fundamentalist positions, but not representative of the opinions of most Christians I know.
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My question is this: Does being a God remove the right to change your mind or opinion? Could God look down upon the Earth and see that many homosexuals are really nice people, and that all those unmarried couples really do love each other. Could God change his mind? And if he did, how would we ever know? If I was to have a personal visit from God, just like old Moses did, and he told me he'd had second thoughts over a few issues, would the Christian community listen? Or would they reject their own God in preference to the God that dwells in the Bible?
Well, I think the church as a whole is changing its mind. As to God - well, insofar as human concepts can be applied to God, perhaps He does. The story in Genesis of Abraham's negotiation with God over Sodom and Gomorrah indicates He does. Indeed, the rationale for the flood - "God was sorry He'd created them" is indicative of a God who can change His mind. What that means for a being existing outside of the created temporal order is anyone's guess.
But your last sentence raises an important question. And yes, I do think that some Christians raise the Bible to such a height that it effectively comes before God Himself. This is often referred to as Bibliolatry, and it's a real problem.
Indeed, it feeds back into this sexual morality question you raise. Jesus' way was one of unconditional acceptance, for which He was roundly criticised by the religious powers of His day. When we apply an ancient Levitical law against same sex relationships to exclude and villify a whole group of people, I indeed think we were following the text rather than the God it should point us to.
[This message has been edited by Karl, 05-07-2003]
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