Re: Islam and homosexuality...
You are the one who said I'm sure you know that the Quran is not the world Alamanc and encyclopedia.
And that was in response to this:
As "complete" as many want the Quran to be, it only contains 77,000 words, and the complex study of human genetics is not included in those 600 or so pages ....
So you instigated it not me.
Of course it's a matter of interpretation and scholars and culture. The Old Testament has more condemnation of homosexuality than the Quran does, yet there are Churches that accept homosexuals today and there are millions of gays that believe in God and consider themselves Christian.
Muslims do not follow the conduct of Churches or Christians.
One small example from Christianity (Leviticus) is that sexual relations with a woman during her monthly perioed was declared immoral. Modern interpretation has deemed that irrelevant. Morals change with time.
Not always for the good though. The fact that many Christians believe the Bible to be the word of God and then go around reforming it proves that their faith in it as word of God is on shallow ground to begin with. If they truly thought they had the words of God then why the need to reform what God has said. Your argument simply shoots Christian claims of divinity in the foot.
Additionally the example you have given is not a result of modernization. Women had periods 2000 years ago and so did people have sex. So what has changed in that that required it be be deemed not immoral or transgression now. Its not as if modernization has caused women to get periods. Personal hygiene has improved though. This is a classic example of Christians reforming their God given teachings for no good reason.
Islam's choice or those who follow Islam's choice? (Islam, after all is made up of as many disparate and suspect components as Christianity is.) Again, see my comments about how the views on homosexaulity have changed in Christianity. Islam is 700 some years newer than Christianity, maybe that enlightenment won't take place until the 2700's. But it will.
Islam is not made of up disparate components. It the Quran and life of Muhammad SAW. I would agree though that Christianity is disparate. For even the scripture cannot be sifted through for what is actually words of Jesus PBUH and words of others. Islam overall is derived from two hierarchical sources i.e. Quran and Sunnah but they remain distinct from each other.
If God made man gay (as he does with other animals) and God doesn't make mistakes, why would he outlaw what he has made natural?
God created everything, good and evil, why would he outlaw evil acts then. Natural does not imply it is something correct always. Our nature can incline towards both good and evil, what wins is what is nourished the most. We are born with a balanced inclination IMO for good and evil. Its our upbringing, circumstances and choices which tip the scales to one side or the other.