Bible forbids homosexuality
The Bible on Lesbian 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 pay attention to their diatribes about homosexuality existence a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).
In other words, if we can disregard rules like the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Old Testament. But this argument confuses the Old Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its everlasting moral laws.
Here’s an analogy to aid understand this distinction.
I remember two rules my mom gave me when I was young: contain her hand when I cross the street and don’t drink what’s under the sink. Today, I have to follow only the latter rule, since the former is no longer needed to protect me. In fact, it would now perform me more injure than good.
Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were like mom’s handholding rule. The rea
What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?
What Does The Bible Utter 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 similar 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 behind 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 skip 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 little 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
Leviticus
“You shall not be situated with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”[1] It is not a surprise that this verse seems to say that lgbtq+ 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 meaning 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 endure 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 obstacle. The anc
Male and Female, God Created Them
The Bible is unequivocal on the question of homosexual sex. First, men sleeping with men is prohibited in the Jewish regulation (e.g., Lev. ; ). This does not prove the case for Christians. Many Old Testament laws are specifically declared not binding in the New Testament (for example, food restrictions). But the logic of opposite sex marriage and the prohibition on homosexual sex are reaffirmed multiple times.1
Let’s start with Jesus’s framework. Jesus is sometimes caricatured as a prophet of free admire , unconcerned about sexual ethics. But his teaching on sexual morality was consistently stricter than the Old Testament law.2 For instance, when the Pharisees asked Jesus whether a man may divorce his wife “for any cause,” he replied:
Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, allow not man separat