Dean Says Faith Swayed Decision on Gay Unions

[demdave]

MUSCATINE, Iowa, Jan. 7 -- Democratic front-runner Howard Dean said Wednesday that his decision as governor to sign the bill legalizing civil unions for gays in Vermont was influenced by his Christian views, as he waded deeper into the growing political, religious and cultural debate over homosexuality and the Bible's view of it.


"The overwhelming evidence is that there is very significant, substantial genetic component to it," Dean said in an interview Wednesday. "From a religious point of view, if God had thought homosexuality is a sin, he would not have created gay people."
<snip> (background info..read article for full text)
Dean said he does not often turn to his faith when making policy decisions but cited the civil union bill as a time he did. "My view of Christianity . . . is that the hallmark of being a Christian is to reach out to people who have been left behind," he told reporters Tuesday. "So I think there was a religious aspect to my decision to support civil unions."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A63152-2004Jan7?language=printer

[Soul On Ice]

1. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=303443

[MysticMind]

2. that doesn't make sense...

The Bible clearly says homosexual acts are a sin so how can Dean's faith lead him to support gay unions. My support of seperation of church and state is why I support them but in no way does my religious faith support it.

[gator_in_Ontario]

3. Read Leviticus

in it's entirety, and then get back to me on the gay thing. Oh...don't be eating a ham sandwhich when you are reading it, or ya might get a visit from a lightning bolt.

[Exultant Democracy]

5. Even better don't eat anything

you might choke to death when you start to laugh out loud. I have a friend who will pull out Leviticus every once and a while when we are drunk just for a lark.

[Beer Snob-50]

4. The bible is full of neat little contridictions

and we have to read the Bible for what it is. According to the Bible I have at home and used to teach a CCD class, much of it is fiction that was written by man, inspired by God, to teach a lesson. Now, books like Leviticus was probably written to preach rules that the Jews needed to get through the trials they were going through at the time (in the desert to flee from slavery)and the rules on homosexuals were probably in there so that we wouldn't waste our seed by not useing it to procreate.