Old heresies, new realities
4/6/2004
IN 1633, the Catholic Church forced Galileo to recant his "heresy" that the Earth orbits the sun. Heliocentricity didn't adversely affect anyone's life; but, looking through Galileo's telescope, people saw with their own eyes that the Bible said something false. The most fanatic could still insist (and they did) that their eyes must be deceiving them, since the Bible is infallible. But to most Christians, the telescope's evidence was deeply threatening. If the Bible were fallible, they would have to think for themselves instead of accepting biblical authority.
Gay marriage is like Galileo's telescope. Seeing married gay couples who look and act just like anyone else, many of whom raise children just like anyone else's, challenges the belief that homosexuality is wrong. What, after all, is wrong with it, if gay families are seen to be just as nurturing as straight families?
The most fanatic can still insist that it's wrong "just because," and that their eyes deceive them. But homosexuality, like heliocentricity, is threatening because it undermines the supposed infallibility of the Bible -- this time with regard to moral questions -- and thereby forces people to think for themselves, a prospect many find deeply troubling.
GARY L. DRESCHER Cambridge
© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
