Given the recent comments in the Valley Record regarding marriage rights and how faith communities are approaching this, it would be very illuminating to find out more about the churches in or near the Valley that are so-called “welcoming” churches—churches who accept and welcome people regardless of sexual orientation (most seem to be Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Church of Christ, Episcopalian and Unitarian).

I would like to hear more from local church leaders regarding their interpretation of God’s teaching.

I’m not persuaded by selected Bible verses that seem to condemn homosexuality.  Many quote Leviticus 20:13 (which I choose not to), but ignore many other verses in the same section that are obviously obsolete and no longer (or never were) meaningful. For example Leviticus 20:9 – “If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death.”  As long as there have been teenagers, that’s made no sense.  Or Leviticus 25:44 – “Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.”  Can a chapter with advice on procuring slaves really be cited as the last word on proper human relations?  There are numerous similar examples.

For Christians, I believe the question isn’t answered by a few select verses, and focusing on these misses the point.  It really comes down to believing in the central themes of the Bible: Love, acceptance, inclusion and forgiveness rather than judgment, fear, condemnation and exclusion.

I am an occasional church-goer and have visited several area churches, and although I am not gay, I would not feel comfortable in a church community that felt it necessary to pass judgment on those who are.

Dwight Hutchinson

Snoqualmie