Can you be gay in the bible
Is being gay a sin?
Answer
In organize to answer the question “Is being gay a sin?” we need to challenge some assumptions upon which the question is based. Within the past fifty years, the term gay, as applied to homosexuality, has exploded into mainstream culture, and we are told that “being gay” is as much outside one’s control as “being short” or having blonde hair. So the question is worded in a loaded way and impossible to adequately answer in that establish . We need to break this question up and deal with each piece separately. Rather than ask, “Is being gay a sin?” we need to seek, “Is it sinful to possess same-sex attractions?” And, “Is it sinful to engage in lesbian activities because of those attractions?”
Concerning the first question, “Is it sinful to have same-sex attractions?” the answer is complicated. First, we should probably distinguish between (actively) sinning and (passively) creature tempted:
Being temptedis not a sin. Jesus was tempted, but He never sinned (Matthew ; Hebrews ). Eve was tempted in the garden, and the forbidden fruit definitely appealed to her,
Has 'Homosexual' Always Been in the Bible?
Reprinted with permission from The Forge Online
The synonyms “arsenokoitai” shows up in two other 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 possess been part of a research team that is inquiring to understand how the decision was made to set the word lesbian 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 publication with Kathy Baldock, Forging a Consecrated Weapon: How the Bible Became Anti-Gay) I wanted to see how other cultures and translations treated the identical verses when they were translated during the Reformation years ago. So I started collecting antique 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
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior
One way to argue against these passages is to make what I contact the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, halt wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to hear to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).
In other words, if we can disregard rules love 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 assist understand this distinction.
I call to mind 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 contain 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 prefer mom’s handholding rule. The rea
Leviticus
“You shall not lie down with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”[1] It is not a surprise that this verse seems to say that homosexual 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 corridor 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 challenge. The anc