The Bible is filled with descriptions of sin. You needn’t be a theologian to know that.
Call them moral evils, offenses against God or sins. They are legion in the Good Book. I could fill more than this newspaper quoting chapter and verse.
In Galatians 5:19-20, St. Paul states this about anyone committing certain sins: “Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like … as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Quite a list, isn’t it? From sex to murder, from having too many beers to wishing you had your neighbor’s pickup.
The current debate in Olympia over gay rights has me thinking about everything deemed wrong in the eyes of believers in Christianity or other religions.
My religion considers the practice of homosexuality to be wrong, along with a long, long list of other behaviors. Imagine if our secular laws were based on that list. Taken to the extreme, it could be illegal to skip church on Sundays, to divorce or to eat too much. Taken to the extreme, we’d have a theocracy.
In Iran, sex outside marriage is illegal, and lashings or even the death penalty can be imposed. Imagine that.
At a hearing in Olympia on Tuesday, people on both sides of House Bill 2661 spoke about the measure. It would add “sexual orientation” and “gender expression or identity” to a state law that now bans discrimination in housing, employment and insurance based on race, gender, age, disability, religion, marital status and other factors.
The bill passed in the House last year, but was defeated by one vote in the Senate. Among arguments against the bill are moral and religious ones.
The Rev. Ken Hutcherson, pastor of Antioch Bible Church in Redmond, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, “We’re tired of sitting around thinking that morals can be ignored in our country.”
Hutcherson has called for a boycott of the Microsoft Corp. and other businesses that support the gay civil rights bill.
State Sen. Dan Swecker, a Thurston County Republican, said Thursday his opposition springs from his Christian beliefs. He conceded that many fellow Republicans oppose the bill based on “a right to freedom of expression” or because it would leave small businesses “vulnerable to litigation.”
He shares those concerns, but for Swecker, “it’s primarily the moral issue.”
“I don’t want to send the message that everything is OK,” he said. “It’s kind of a tough-love position.”
He countered my comparison to an Iran-style theocracy.
“In our society, homosexuals are free to be homosexuals,” Swecker said. “But in the private sector, people have the right to express themselves.”
Yvette Houser of Monroe upended my view that some are trying to impose their religious beliefs on society at large.
“I feel there are laws in place already that go against my values,” Houser said.
She and her husband, Keith, traveled to Olympia last year with a group from Cedar Park Assembly of God Church in Bothell to rally against gay marriage.
“I don’t want to have something really against my moral values put into law,” Houser said. “It’s the same way I feel about abortion. I have rights, too.”
Houser, who teaches her five children at home, worries that a gay civil rights law could affect what is taught in schools.
With the gay-themed movie “Brokeback Mountain” and the TV comedy “Will &Grace” on the pop-culture landscape, Houser said it’s hard enough “living in a society where a lot of things are going in a different direction than you are.”
“You teach your children what you feel is right and wrong,” she said.
After a cordial talk, Houser and I agreed to disagree. As parents and as people, we’re faced with sorting out long lists of right and wrong.
Certain sins seem to be lightning rods. Look at that Bible verse I quoted. Hatred, wrath, even murder are way down the list from the sexual sins. Any theologians want to explain that?
I try to teach my kids right and wrong, too. High on my list are fairness and equality.
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.
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