Um, that’s sort of the point. What was once viewed as completely legitimate when supported by scripture now seems abhorrent. It’s exceptionally easy to say, “Well, of course *that *example is ludicrous. But this, this example is spot on.”
OK… so, you’re asserting that the defense of the Scriptural prohibition against homosexual activity is ludicrous? That it is not completely legitimate?
The Bible can definitely be used to defend slavery, my friend.
No, it cannot. The ‘slavery’ supported by the OT is
indentured servitude, not slavery! It’s explicitly meant to last less than seven years, at which point – the debts that led to the ‘slavery’ having been sufficiently repaid – the ‘slave’ is returned to freedom. As others have mentioned, it is not the chattel slavery that we experienced in the U.S.! Your argument is really weak – all you’re saying is that, since it’s possible for some people to mis-interpret Scripture, therefore it is impossible to correctly interpret Scripture! That’s just patently silly!
I could easily point to the fact that Leviticus prohibits and condones many things we find ridiculous today
You could; and, if we were arguing for these things, then you’d have a point. But, we’re not, and so, you don’t.
I could easily point to the fact that Christ never spoke about homosexuality
You could; and in doing so, you’d be making the most easily rebuttable of all arguments against the Scriptural prohibition against homosexual behavior. You see, Scripture itself tells us that it doesn’t contain all the things that Jesus said and did (cf John 21:25); and yet, we’re held to all the teachings of Jesus – including those that didn’t appear in the Gospels but do appear in the rest of the NT! Moreover, this argument seems to say that the ‘Word of God’ only appears in the Gospels, and not in, for example, 1 Cor 6 or Romans 1. Inasmuch as Jesus
is the Logos, the Word of God, then the
whole Bible is the Word of God, and therefore, the revelation of Jesus! But then again, you already knew that… right?
100, 150, 200 years from now, one can only guess what will be justified or condemned using scripture as support.
Agreed. Again, though, it all comes down to this: you’re asserting that since it is true that there exist misinterpretations of Scripture, therefore it is true that there cannot be accurate interpretations of Scripture. This is clearly not a good logical argument.