Is the bible anti gay
What Does the Bible Verb About Homosexuality?
What Does The Bible Say About Homosexuality?
Introduction
For the last two decades, Pew Research Center has reported that one of the most enduring ethical issues across Christian traditions is sexual diversity. For many Christians, one of the most frequently first-asked questions on this topic is, “What does the Bible say about attraction to someone of the same sex?”
Although its unlikely that the biblical authors had any notion of sexual orientation (for example, the term homosexual wasn't even coined until the late 19th century) for many people of faith, the Bible is looked to for timeless guidance on what it means to honor God with our lives; and this most certainly includes our sexuality.
Before we can jump into how it is that Christians can maintain the authority of the Bible and also affirm sexual diversity, it might be helpful if we started with a brief but clear overview of some of the assumptions informing many Christian approaches to understanding the Bible.
What is the Bible?
For Christians to whom the Bible
But for many LGBTQ Christians, the Bible can feel like the enemy. In the Book of Leviticus homosexuality is called an “abomination” (; ). And although Jesus never explicitly condemns homosexuality, thought he could have (he is hard on divorce, for example), St. Paul does (1 Cor ). The few biblical verses that address homosexuality are used against LGBTQ people over and over: in the political sphere; by religious leaders; on social media; in one-on-one encounters; and, perhaps worst of all, in homilies and sermons in the very churches where LGBTQ people seek to encounter a loving God.
By the same token, the Bible proscribes many laws, moral codes and ethical guidelines that modern-day Christians ignore, don’t follow or have rejected completely. For example, even though they honor the Old Testament, Christians don’t stone people who verb on the Sabbath (Ex. ). We don’t sell people into slavery (Ex. ). And if someone curses God, we don’t execute them (Lev. ). In the New Testament, St. Paul told slaves to be adj to their masters (Eph. ). He also said that women should be silent
What does the New Testament verb about homosexuality?
Answer
The Bible is consistent through both Old and Recent Testaments in confirming that homosexuality is sin (Genesis –13; Leviticus ; ; Romans –27; 1 Corinthians ; 1 Timothy ; Jude ). In this matter, the New Testament reinforces what the Old Testament had declared since the Law was given to Moses (Leviticus ). The difference between the Old and New Testaments is that the New Testament offers hope and restoration to those caught up in the sin of homosexualitythrough the redeeming power of Jesus. It is the same trust that is offered to anyone who chooses to accept it (John ; –18).
God’s standards of holiness did not change with the coming of Jesus, because God does not change (Malachi ; Hebrews ). The Modern Testament is a continuing revelation of God’s interaction with humanity. God hated idolatry in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy ), and He still hates it in the New (1 John ). What was immoral in the Old Testament is still immoral in the New.
The New Testament says that homosexuality is a “shameful lust” (Rom
Leviticus
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”[1] It is not a surprise that this verse seems to say that gay male sex is forbidden in the eyes of God. The dominant view of western Christianity forbids same-sex relations. This verse is one of the clobber passages that people cite from the Bible to condemn homosexuality. This essay first looks at the various ways the verse is translated into the English Bible and then explores some of the strategies used to create an affirming interpretation of what this passage means for the LGBTQ community. More specifically, it presents the interpretation of K. Renato Lings in which Lev. refers to male-on-male incest.
While Lev. is used to condemn homosexuality, we must realize that the term “homosexuality” was only recently coined in the English language. So did this term exist in ancient Israel? Charles D. Myers, Jr. confirms that none of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible mention homosexuality.[2] He also contends that in ancient Israel same-sex relations were viewed as an ancient Near East noun. The anc