Biblical references about homosexuality
What does the Bible utter about homosexuality?
Answer
In some people’s minds, being homosexual is as much outside one’s control as the dye of your skin and your height. On the other hand, the Bible clearly and consistently declares that homosexual activity is a sin (Genesis –13; Leviticus ; ; Romans –27; 1 Corinthians ; 1 Timothy ). God created marriage and sexual relationships to be between one man and one woman: “At the first stage the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will abandon his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’” (Matthew –5). Anything outside of God’s intent and design is sin. The Bible teaches that Christians are to inhabit for God, deny themselves, pick up their cross, and follow Him (Matthew ), including with their sexuality. This disconnect between what the Bible says and what some people feel leads to much controversy, debate, and even hostility.
When examining what the Bible says about homosexuality, it is important to distinguish between homosexual behaviorand hom
Has 'Homosexual' Always Been in the Bible?
Reprinted with permission from The Forge Online
The synonyms “arsenokoitai” shows up in two distinct verses in the bible, but it was not translated to mean “homosexual” until
We got to sit down with Ed Oxford at his home in Long Beach, California and talk about this question.
You contain been part of a research team that is looking for to understand how the decision was made to deposit the word lgbtq+ in the bible. Is that true?
Ed: Yes. It first showed up in the RSV translation. So before figuring out why they decided to use that word in the RSV translation (which is outlined in my upcoming novel with Kathy Baldock, Forging a Consecrated Weapon: How the Bible Became Anti-Gay) I wanted to see how other cultures and translations treated the alike verses when they were translated during the Reformation years ago. So I started collecting aged Bibles in French, German, Irish, Gaelic, Czechoslovakian, Polish… you name it. Now I’ve got most European major languages that I’ve unhurried over time. An
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 gay 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 legal title “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 issue. The anc
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior
One way to argue against these passages is to make what I name the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, interrupt wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to attend to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).
In other words, if we can disregard rules favor the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Elderly Testament. But this argument confuses the Old Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its permanent moral laws.
Here’s an analogy to support understand this distinction.
I recall 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 protect me. In fact, it would now do me more harm than good.
Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were appreciate mom’s handholding rule. The rea