In reading Jay Vinson’s viewpoint on “Gay lifestyle is a sin,” I must find myself agreeing with him on the point that Leviticus 18:22 says, “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman: that is detestable.” And I Corinthians 6:9-10 says, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral . . . nor homosexual offenders . . .will inherit the kingdom of God.” However as I review the writings of Leviticus, I find myself, as I write this response to his editorial, sinning against God in many ways. Last night for dinner I had a steak with lobster sauce. I have sinned in the eyes of the Lord. Leviticus 11:9-11 says, “These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. And all that have not fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcasses in abomination.”
I am currently wearing a shirt with a linen wool mix, I have sinned in the eyes of the Lord Leviticus 19:19 says, “Ye shall keep my statutes. . . . : neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.” In my youth I have cursed my father I have sinned in the eyes of the Lord. Leviticus 20:9 says, “For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.” And where does my challenged cousin fit within the Bible? Handicapped people cannot approach the altar of God. They would “profane” it, says Leviticus 21:16-23 The Bible condemns many different people for many different reasons. If I want to pick and choose those abominations from the Bible, that is one thing. If I believe that all of Gods abominations should be heeded, so be it. But I cannot decide which abominations God really feels are important and which are not. I choose to live my life through God’s words of “love thy neighbor as thyself.” — Leviticus 19:18
Ronald Shaw
NKU faculty member