My goal is not necessarily to sway anyone into reading these passages in the way I do, and I certainly recognize that the ways in which I read them are shaped by a bias I have developed over my lifetime. At the same time, I hope that I, as a non-religious individual, can provide a somewhat fresh and analytical approach to the Bible. As society grows and changes we must constantly reread and reevaluate our understanding of the holy texts. While I agree that some laws and ethics from the Bible transcend time (such as do not murder), if we were to try to maintain all of the values of the texts then I fear we would be stuck in a theological, ethical, and technological rut. How well would our world be functioning if we could not wear polyester cotton blend, or if women still had to be ritually segregated during and cleansed after their period? Most Americans have long since abandoned or reinterpreted these passages because of their negative impact on society. In the same way, we must wonder what the consequences of failing to reevaluate our interpretations of the “anti-gay” texts in the Bible. Perhaps we will conclude that the best or even the only logical interpretation of the passages is the current mainstream interpretation, or perhaps we might see that another interpretation better fits the context of some of the passages. At the very least, as we deeply study the major passages that seem to imply that homosexuality is bad or sinful, we will be getting at the root of the verses and working on seeing them, to the best of our abilities, in the manner in which they were intended to be read.