Sir,

Ref: Anne Alton's letter of February 22, I am concerned by her misquoting the Bible to support her personal view on same-sex marriage.

Leviticus 19v19 which Ms Alton refers to, regarding not wearing clothes of mixed fibres, is one of many ritualistic laws given specifically to the people of Israel at that time, which no longer apply to us today now that Jesus Christ has come and abolished the old system of Jewish law. However, there are moral, ethical laws in the Old Testament which still do apply today, and which are reinforced and endorsed in the New Testament.

We can't twist the Bible to make it say what we want it to and fit it into our preconceived beliefs! When reading a book, it's an insult to the author to say he didn't say or mean what he said! Yet people try to change the meaning of the Bible if they don't like its message.

The Bible is clear about homosexuality, both in the Old and the New Testament. Of course each person has the choice whether or not to believe and obey it, but Romans 1v26-27 speaks about people having "shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men." In 1Cor6v9-10 "homosexual offenders" are listed among those who "will not inherit the kingdom of God".

The Bible clearly teaches that marriage is meant to be heterosexual. In Matthew 19v4-6 and Mark 10v7 Jesus repeats the origin of marriage from Genesis 2v24: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh".

I would like to thank MP Simon Hart and the others who voted to preserve marriage in its true state, "an institution ordained by God", one man and one woman making a lifelong commitment to each other. It has been around for thousands of years since the beginning of civilization, in almost every culture across the world.

Two men or women together is a different type of relationship which is already recognised in "civil partnerships", with equal rights to heterosexual marriage. Polls show that many gay people do not even want same-sex marriage, and seven out of 10 people want to keep marriage as it is. If marriage is "redefined" it would then be easy to also include polygamy or male and female multiple partners! Teachers would be forced to teach it in schools, even against their own or parents' beliefs. Church ministers would be pressurised or forced to perform gay marriages against their religious convictions.

I do not wish to offend anyone as I believe in having mutual respect for each other's freedom of lifestyle choice. Each person has the privilege and responsibility of choosing their own viewpoint and relationships. But I would appeal to those who like Ms Alton see it as their 'Christian role' - please don't use the Bible to back up a personal conviction which it speaks so clearly against!

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