Image by Daniel Greene via Flickr

The Bible — the Word of God itself — says we are right in this cause. These people are not equal, nor shall they ever be.

This was the argument James Jackson, a representative from Georgia to the 1st Congress in 1790 and Revolutionary War hero, used in defending slavery. The Bible says it’s all right.

It’s safe to say that time has proved Jackson — an otherwise intelligent, able Patriot — to be on the wrong side of history. I know it’s been beaten to death, but stick with me here. Two hundred and nineteen years later, we’re inaugurating our first black president. Someone who Jackson, a man who was there when our Constitution was created, would consider no better than a piece of property. Someone to pick the cotton and drain the swampland.

This post isn’t about race or Barack Obama though, it’s about religious leaders hiding behind their misinterpretations of scripture to defend their ignorance and hatred.

Recently a Lutheran School in California expelled two girls because they were suspected of being lesbians. The California Supreme Court backed the school up because it isn’t a business. Here is the story.

So, fair enough, it’s not a business and not legally bound to the same anti-discrimination laws government agencies and businesses are. School officials argue, as do many religious leaders of all stripes, that the Bible condones homosexuality as a sin.

These are the same people who got Prop 10 passed in California. The same who pushed for “Pro-Marriage” amendments in Michigan and several other states. It’s people like these, hate mongers cowering behind misinterpretations of God and Jesus Christ’s teachings, who think that homosexuality is a choice and are determined to punish anyone who believes differently.

At its roots, Christianity is a religion of peace and love. It’s been a while since I read the Bible (I read it cover-to-cover some time ago), so maybe I’ve forgotten the part of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus said “The meek shall inherit the Earth. The homos, however, will inherit a great fashion sense, constant harassment from good Christians – unless we need our hair done — and a trip straight to Hell”

Of course, I’m not lending any insight that somebody hasn’t said before. I guess I just wanted to point out that 200 years ago people were using the Bible to make the same argument against a different group of people. Hopefully this battle for civil rights doesn’t take 200 years more.