Wow, horribly short. Still, you tried to make a point and its evident in the excellent flow and writing style.
Yet with your argument at the start, about Sodom and Gomorrah, you really surprised me. I always just thought God was saying 'Don't look back and question me.' I never really considered "knowing" to be sex.
Admitting I've never read the bible, and probably never will as its boring and against rational thought, in my opinion.
As an avid bisexual and Pagan a.k.a. Witch, Christianity in general irks me. So I was fully set to agree wholeheartedly with your essay.
But I can't. For one, I've found sub texts are always up for debate and can not be considered concrete. For another, the bible is outdated and needs to be burned. Hehe, just kidding. Follow what you want. You did give me new insight into the bible's writings, and I really wish you'd add more to this. But as for Romans 1:26, god says all lust is against his will, and you must bow down to his will like obedient slaves. Yeah, god pretty much says homosexuality and lust is all against him.
Still, it was a nice try there. And as for reincarnation, as one of your helpful reviewers said, it being King John who had it translated still doesn't give very much leeway to the reincarnation theory. As another reviewer stated, you only get one chance.
But...Let's face it, the Christian god is so harsh and unforgiving there's no real need for a hell. You either go to the bad place or the worse place in heaven. You'll always be a slave to your god. I don't think god really wants that. I mean, Jesus Christ didn't want to be worshiped so, why do you think his father would want to be? Logically speaking, why would god be upset about homosexuality? Because the human race would no longer be breeding itself into overpopulation and extinction? Give. Me. A. Break. The bible has blown everything all out of proportion, its just a bunch of lies officials stole from other religions and modified to gain properties and prestige from the kings they bullied with fear.
Oh well though. Maybe I'm wrong. But as one Christian told me, 'You don't have to believe anything you don't want to, you can worship how you want to'. Everyone just needs to follow that simple, inborn knowledge and shove off of a book written by dead guys.
Anyway, Mistress of Goth I do have to Thank You and ask that you forgive my mild rant. You have inspired me, perhaps I will try my hand at looking into more of these subtitles or creating my own essay. Yes, an essay about why the bible should not be followed word for word, or something like that. Thanks again, you're a really kewl author. ^_^

you made many strong but myself not knowing much of the bible can not say much but most of the people with the exception of a few made pointless remarkes

no, thank you. I really enjoyed reading this and very enlightened by it :)

i'm sure this is very well written and brings up a lot of good points. but i refuse to give an intelligent review to an essay that uses the word "homosexuality". i have read too many. all i have to say is this:
it is my sincerest hope that your fruit is attacked by mad cows. god bless mr. rosewater.
thank you.

Steven Bedwell:
The european King in question was James I of England and VI of Scotland after whom the King James Bible is named. He did more such as changing
'You shall not suffer a poisoner to live' to 'you shall not suffer a witch to live'

First of all the bible does explictly speak out gainst homosexuality. In Leviticus, while God is giving the Israelites laws that pertain to sex, he says in verse Lev 18:22: "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable"
Second, reread the verse Romans 1:26. It says that the homosexual relations are "unnatural". It says that they will, in time, pay the pennalty for their perversions. God did most definatley create love but we humans have perverted it to somthing that is utterly detestible.
Lastly as for whether or not reincarnation is true is simply a matter of how you define the term. The Bible does say that Jesus died and left the physical realm for three days. Afterwords we did return and was seen by many people. One could argue that Jesus' spirit was "reincarnated" into his earthly body. In the same way The Bible says that when Christians die they are given new spiritual or heavenly bodies when they reach heaven. But as for reincarnation in the hindu sense, the bible provides no support. In fact Hebrews 9:27 says: "For it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." How many times? Once!

You know, debating over what the Bible says is pointless. If you don't like the Bible, don't believe it. Though you should.

First of all, your argument about Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as that about homosexuality, absurd and sophistic. If we believe the Bible, God condemns homosexuality. There's no way around it, you can look for subtext all you want and it won't change that fact. This isn't even open to argument, both Christians and non-Christians agree.
As to the other, homosexual lust IS homosexuality. We can define lust as desire, and homosexuality as desire for one of our own sex. What you said made no sense.

I agree with your discussion of Sodom and Gomorrah. The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah are also stated in Ezekiel 16:49 - 50 as being "arrogance," "haughtiness," not feeding the poor, and doing "detestable things." The meaning of "detestable things" is up for debate, but homosexuality is not explicitly mentioned.
*
I agree with the idea that the Bible has been translated with political purposes in mind. However, I'd like to see some more sources and some more specificity in your discussion of reincarnation.
*
In all, I enjoyed it!

First of all, you're assuming that God actually created homosexual love. This is wrong. (I'm not saying anything about homosexuals, by the way).
Second, you tell me that "some European king" screwed around with the Bible. Where's your proof? You state it as if it needs no evidence, but it does, and until you provide it, I have no reason to believe you.

And I take a drink... or maybe two.