What does the bible really say about homosexuality
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior
One way to argue against these passages is to make what I call the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, stop wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to listen to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).
In other words, if we can disregard rules like the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus 11:12, then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Old Testament. But this argument confuses the Elderly Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its permanent moral laws.
Here’s an analogy to help understand this distinction.
I remember two rules my mom gave me when I was young: hold her hand when I cross the street and don’t drink what’s under the sink. Today, I possess to follow only the latter rule, since the former is no longer needed to safeguard me. In fact, it would now do me more impair than good.
Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were like mom’s handholding verb. Th
A Biblical View of Homosexuality
Answering the most frequent objections Christians face. An excerpt from a WORLD Book of the Year runner-up
When church members demand a pastor, “I want to read one book spelling out the biblical view of homosexuality. What do you recommend?” I hope the pastor says, “Kevin DeYoung’s What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?” (Crossway, 2015). DeYoung lays out the basics but then has succinct chapters answering the most frequent objections Christian face, including: There are only eight verses in the Bible criticizing homosexuality … The Bible doesn’t take into account loving long-term relationships …You’re on the wrong side of history … It’s not unbiased … Why can’t we just love each other?
Here’s a chapter, by permission of the publisher, from DeYoung’s book, a runner-up for WORLD’s Book of the Year in the Accessible Theology category. —Marvin Olasky
Chapter 6: “The Bible Hardly Ever Mentions Homosexuality”
The first step in delegitimizing what the Bible says about homosexuality is to suggest that the Bible hardly says a
BBC News
Confused how two groups of church-goers can have such disagreeing views about whether it's OK to be gay?
Both sides of the debate about homosexuality in the church, which threatens to split the worldwide Anglican church, hold their views sincerely and after much study. So how can their views be so contradictory?
The Bible makes very few mentions of homosexuality - lesbianism isn't mentioned at all in the Old Testament - and as the examples below show, interpretations of the verses that do exist differ hugely.
Following each of the verses below is a brief illustration of what a hardline pro- and anti-gay position might be. (Most Christians hold views somewhere in between these two stances.)
An illustration of the division can be seen by what either side might say about the friendship in the Vintage Testament between David and Jonathan. One verse reads: "I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; dear and delightful you were to me; your love for me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women."
| PRO-GAY A pro-gay position might be that this is a clear i Leviticus 18:22“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. 18:22 refers to male-on-male incest. While Lev. 18:22 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 Proximate East |