Bible verses condemning 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 prohibit on eating shellfish in Leviticus , 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 highway and don’t drink what’s under the sink. Today, I include to follow only the latter rule, since the former is no longer needed to safeguard me. In fact, it would now do me more damage than good.
Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were like mom’s handholding dictate. The rea
What does the Recent Testament say about homosexuality?
Answer
The Bible is consistent through both Old and Modern Testaments in confirming that homosexuality is sin (Genesis –13; Leviticus ; ; Romans –27; 1 Corinthians ; 1 Timothy ; Jude ). In this matter, the Modern Testament reinforces what the Old Testament had declared since the Law was given to Moses (Leviticus ). The difference between the Old and Unused 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 hope that is offered to anyone who chooses to accept it (John ; –18).
God’s standards of holiness did not alter with the coming of Jesus, because God does not change (Malachi ; Hebrews ). The New Testament is a continuing truth 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 Modern Testament says that homosexuality is a “shameful lust” (Rom
Leviticus
“You shall not lounge with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”[1] It is not a surprise that this verse seems to say that same-sex attracted 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 perception of what this route 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 occur 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 issue. The anc
What the New Testament Says about Homosexuality
The Fourth R Volume May-June
Mainline Christian denominations in this territory are bitterly divided over the question of homosexuality. For this reason it is important to demand what light, if any, the New Testament sheds on this controversial issue. Most people apparently believe that the New Testament expresses strong opposition to homosexuality, but this simply is not the case. The six propositions that follow, considered cumulatively, manage to the conclusion that the New Testament does not provide any lead guidance for understanding and making judgments about homosexuality in the modern nature.
Proposition 1: Strictly speaking, the New Testament says nothing at all about homosexuality.
There is not a single Greek word or phrase in the entire New Testament that should be translated into English as “homosexual” or “homosexuality.” In fact, the very notion of “homosexuality”—like that of “heterosexuality,” “bisexuality,” and even “sexual orientation”—is essentially a modern concept that would simply have been unintelligible to