Preacher arrested for saying homosexuality is a sin

[jotabe]

Well, i don't have religion breakup either, but the results in Europe seem to be quite different:
http://www.muslimwestfacts.com/mwf/File ... -2009.aspx
http://www.muslimwestfacts.com/mwf/1075 ... -West.aspx

About Spain, here, the CIS poll about general topics in june 2004 (it's in spanish, page 9 of the poll, 14 of the pdf), question 14 finds a 66% support for (fully fledged) gay marriage*.
Also a majority of spaniards in question 15 agree with allowing gay couples to adopt children on equal footing with hetero couples (48%). A much greater majority (75%) thinks that children should go to the couples who can best grant the child welfare, independently of their sexual orientation.
Question 16 finds that 68% of spaniards disagree to the statement: "Homosexuality goes against nature."
While it doesn't openly address the matter of moral gauge of homosexuality, these 3 questions seem to give an idea of where the consensus is.

Also, for reference: 76% of Spaniards are christian, 63% of French, 72% of Britons and 63% of Germans.

What IS in the Bible is that homosexual behaviour is a sin; not the state of being attracted to people of the same sex.

Not only that... to bible-thump a bit, it would be about the sexual acts between men, the sodomy to be precise (laying with a man as you like with a woman, and whatnot). I don't think i found precise formulas against, for example, oral sex (but yes against mutual masturbation, probably). And definitely, i didn't find statements against female homosexuality.



*people who don't see gay relationships as bad, but don't want them to be equal to hetero ones, call for it to be called "civil union".

[Azarel]

It's not so much that I would see it as against nature, because the second you say that, people start referring to same sex pairings in monkeys, indicating that 'nature' allows for it.

I believe I see it contradicting the first commandment, (not the Deuteronomy one, the Genesis one) "Be fruitful, go forth and multiply..."

But as I have stated before, given freedom to choose, should someone choose to have nothing with God, it is fairly unreasonable to expect them to govern their actions by the guidelines of God.

It would be nice however, if people who do, did not have to compromise on them (beyond causing other direct harm) and were allowed to exercise freedom of conscience in accordance to their faith.

What I mean to say is, that I don't believe the correct balance has been reached.
Neither side should punish the other, and neither side should be militant about pushing their agenda.