What do the books of Leviticus and Genesis actually say?

So I won't pretend to know the Constitution of India since I live in the US and I'm sure it's different, but I can offer some insight seeing as I was raised in a Christian family. All I will say is that I don't see religion being a valid argument against actual law, seeing as it doesn't impede religious practices. Law is generally separate (as you said, secular) since if we were to base law on a specific religion, then other religions would be labeled as wrong by default since they follow different teachings and may believe in a different God or gods.

That being said, I'll touch a bit on Genesis and Leviticus to explain why they are quoted so often. In Genesis, people are usually referencing Sodom and Gomorrah. Specifically, they are taking a passage to mean that being homosexual is a sin and that the people were punished because of it; however, it is much more likely (although admittedly this is my opinion) that they were punished because of the rape going on, not because of the homosexual nature of it. In Leviticus, it is more clear cut as to saying "Homosexuality is a sin".

In my opinion though, if you are going to be going around claiming homosexuality is a sin from just a couple of passages, then you are ignoring the rest of the Bible and are ignorant by extension. People cling to these several passages like law, but ignore the fact that the Bible was not written by God and was indeed still subject to cultural bias at the time (keep in mind things like sacrificing animals were normal and it was a sin to eat certain animal products that are now staple foods that you can find in any grocery store). The point is, I don't see the Bible as being clear enough on the subject to ever make an actual argument out of it without specifically ignoring other parts to cherry pick what you want to make your point. It's funny how the Bible continuously says to "Love thy neighbor as thyself" and to not judge others yet most Christians spend all of their time judging others and ignore this message every time it is said (keep in mind that it is said significantly more often than anything "condemning" homosexuality).

Again, this is coming from someone who is Christian and part of the LGBT community, so I'm not trying to trash talk my own religion, it's just that it's all too often taken out of context by what I would consider extremists and not actual Christians. Hope this helps to some degree, I'm sorry I couldn't offer more on the legal side of things.

 

Well hey I'm glad it's working out and seemingly heading the right direction, best of luck to everyone there ^_^

 

First thing to say is that the religious nutjob wasn't quoting the entirety of the book of Genesis or the book of Leviticus. What he was doing was selectively quoting from three specific chapters: Genesis 19 and Leviticus 18 and 20. Fundamentalist Christians have used and abused these passages from the Old Testament for years now and it's getting pretty tedious to hear the same old crap spewed forth whenever their narrow- minded worldview is threatened by progress.

To save me time and effort, I'm going to link you to a great resource from the Gay Church website that debunks many of the arguments about what the Bible says. The resource was written by Justin R. Cannon, an Episcopal Clergyman and author. Everything he writes in the resource is endorsed by a long list of world renowned theologians (just in case anyone claims bias):
https://www.gaychurch.org/homosexuality-and-the-bible/the-bible-christianity-and-homosexuality/

 

Leviticus also says that thou mustn't wear clothes of mixed fiber. I don't see many 'good Christians' following this, so... That's there for selective quoting, too.

 

I offended a religious relative when I asked where in the Bible, God said it was a buffet and you could just pick out the parts you liked and tossed out the rest.

Leviticus says a lot of things, that a lot of people don't follow. So if you spot a religious person with a religious tattoo, merely point out they have sinned according to Leviticus 19:28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead nor print or tattoo any marks upon you; I am the Lord.