I must respond to the Friday letter "Gay marriage runs counter to God's word" from Tom Duncan.

I must respond to the Friday letter �Gay marriage runs counter to God�s word� from Tom Duncan.

I am not sure what Bible he is reading, but �God�s word� defines marriage in additional ways. For instance, there are several stories of major characters in the Bible who engaged in polygamy (apparently sanctioned by God). There are several instances of such polygamous male figures also including any number of concubines.

Deuteronomy 22:28-29 prescribes that a rapist must marry his victim and pay her father to compensate him for his loss.

Genesis 38:6-10 spelled out a requirement that a widow who had not borne a son must marry her brother-in-law.

These relics of the Old Testament are just as much a part of God�s word as the verses describing what is now being referred to as �traditional marriage.�

Can we stop taking our moral cues from an ancient, politically assembled collection of myths written by and for people far removed from the modern population?

TIM ROHAL II

Blacklick