Preface any of the following statements from me with "I believe that ..." if you like.

The other hot-button, the thing that seems to define Christian fundamentalism, is the view on homosexuality. There are doubtless many web pages on both sides of this issue as well, but I will try a different approach. I know what the Bible says about homosexuality, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. The arguments that seem to come up most often are "Which homosexuals (or which behaviors) was God talking about?" and "Homosexuality is determined genetically." As with any cases of meaning in the Bible, a first step should be prayer for understanding — as I noted above, I am not a theologian and I'm not going to try to interpret scripture here. As for genetics, it has not been proven nor disproven, but at most it can only determine a disposition toward something. It would be the actual act that is addressed in the Bible. Things are not quite so clear-cut when you also consider our thought-lives, but there is still some distinction.

Whatever conclusion you draw from that will determine how you fulfill the first of the two greatest commandments: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5, Mark 12:30). No matter how your neighbor fulfills (or fails to fulfill) that commandment, there is always the second of the two greatest commandments: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Leviticus 19:18, Mark 12:31). Even if your neighbors sin (and it is impossible to have a neighbor who doesn't) you may not hate, despise, or revile them.

Whew! That was more long-winded than I intended to be, and probably it was still too soft or too harsh depending on your viewpoint. Last question: creation or evolution? Answer: both!

The Bible does not answer every question (such as Who was Pharaoh? or Did Jesus eat meat?). It does answer every important question, so it is sufficient. The current theory of evolution does not provide all the answers either.

But no matter what facts are uncovered in the examination of evolutionary theory, the answers provided in the Bible will hold. Because God exists outside of our temporal limitations He is able to create the world as described in Genesis and leave a record as discovered by archaeologists.

Some will put evolution on the same level as gravity, and suggest those who question evolution must also question the "theory of gravity", which is disingenuous. I don't buy into the odd claims of "evolution is a fact and a theory" or that equate evolutionary theory with gravitational law, but I understand how such claims come to be made when an issue becomes as polarized as this one has. Scientifically, the degrees of certainty for an idea range from conjecture (least verified), hypothesis, theory, law (most verified). Gravity is a law; evolution is a theory. Biblical creation does not fall on that range of degrees at all; it deals only with the past (how did things happen) and has no predictive or falsifiable aspects.

I used to have an editorial on this page from another author, but I noted that elsewhere he took exception to my "Both!" above, comparing it to being "double-tongued" (I Timothy 3:8). I don't think that every argument must come down to a winner and a loser, though. If I say that both the Beatles and Elvis are great musicians, rather than taking sides in an argument over who is better, that is not double-tongued; many, many arguments fall into this category. Rather than propogating every dichotomy, I prefer to live at peace with everyone as far as it depends on me (Romans 12:18). I am not a relativist, but that does not mean that everything must divide the world into two camps.