Homosexuality and the Bible
<< Does God love homosexuals?What follows is a response to four of the major arguments put forward by gay Christians to argue that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality as being sinful.
- Genesis 1-2 is silent about homosexuals
- Why would God treat homosexuals differently to other people?
- The Old Testament laws don't apply to us
- If homosexuality comes naturally to you then it is okay
Argument #1 - Genesis 1-2 is silent about homosexuals
- Genesis 1-2 does not mention homosexuals at all. This silence cannot be used to condemn homosexuals. It just means that God is indifferent to a person's sexual orientation.
- The reason for marriage is companionship (Genesis 2:18), which doesn't involve procreation. As homosexuals can have loving relationships, they fulfill God's purpose for marriage.
Response:
1) Genesis 1-2 is a crucial passage for understanding God's purposes for humanity, and in particular, human's relationships with God, with creation, and with each other. It tells of how God created humans in his image, intended to be in a trusting relationship with God. Genesis 3 narrates how Adam and Eve screwed that one up. It describes God's intentions for humans to be stewards who are instructed to look after God's creation. It also states God's intentions for sexual relationships. Genesis 1-2 is an essential passage for understanding how God intended humans to live. In the New Testament, Jesus and Paul quote from Genesis 1-2 in support of their arguments about marriage. If we are to examine what the Bible says about homosexuality, then Genesis 1 is a passage we can't overlook.
"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." - Genesis 2:24
Gensis 1-2 is not just stating how hetrosexual relationships should work;
it's stating God's intentions for sex. Full stop. God's intended context for sex is within a life-long,
exclusive relationship between a man and a woman. Why is sex before marriage wrong?
Because it is not in a life-long relationship. Why is homosexuality wrong? Because it is not
a relationship between a man and a woman. Both are equally wrong, and for the same reason:
Therefore, the fact that Genesis 1 doesn't mention homosexuals isn't much of an argument, as all it proves is that homosexuality is not part of God's intended purpose for sex.
2) God does mention procreation as one of the purposes of marriage in Genesis 1:28 ("be fruitful and multiply"). Secondly, a careful reading of Genesis 2:18 actually proves the reverse argument. God said "it is not fit that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." This means that just as the animals weren't suitable helpers for the man, so the man himself was not complete just by himself. He needed woman to be complete.
When God saw that man was lonely, he didn't just make another man. No, he made something at once like man, but also different to him. He made woman. This proves that God's intension for man is to find his companion and complement in woman, not in other men.
Argument #2 - Why would God treat homosexuals differently to other people?
If God doesn't distinguish based on race, gender, Jews & Gentile, slave & free, then why would he distinguish between homosexuals and hetrosexuals? God is meant to be un-biased, and the early Christians were famous for accepting anybody and everybody.
The problem with this argument is that it ignores the fact that the Christian God is a moral God. He cares about right and wrong, and is hurt when we sin against him. In fact, because we are incapable of meeting God's moral standards, God had to send Jesus to die for us.
This means that all people everywhere have to face up to sin. God doesn't just single out homosexuals; he treats all people the same. Everyone must repent of their sinful habits, and accept Jesus' sacrifice for them, or else risk standing before God with no excuse their sin.
Just as nobody can save themselves, because we all fall short of God's moral standard, in the same way, Jesus' offer of forgiveness stands for everyone. God does not care if we are Jew or Gentile, slave or free, man or woman, coloured or white. All people are called to follow God, and as Christian brothers and sisters we should treat each other as equals.
However, this does not mean that we should ignore sin in our own lives or in the lives of others. We should seek to eliminate sin from our lives. If the Bible says homosexuality is sinful, then homosexuals who want to be followers of Christ should be seeking to be rid of their homosexuality, in the same way that a mass-murderer who became a Christian (remember, Jesus' offer is to everyone) would seek to be rid of their violent thoughts and actions.
God makes no distiction based on factors which are morally neutral (race, favourite food, football team), however he does distinguish between actions which are morally right and wrong. Western society has been trying to move homosexuality from the morally wrong category into the morally neutral category, and by and large they have succeeded. Continue reading below to see which category the Bible puts homosexuality in.
Argument #3 - The Old Testament laws don't apply to us
This argument rightly points out that the laws in the Old Testament, which were intended for the nation of Israel, are fulfilled in Jesus (Matt 5:17-20). From this, they deduce that none of the Old Testament laws are relevant to us, including Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 which denounce homosexuality.
True, Christians are not bound by the law, because we are saved by Jesus, who fulfilled the requirements of the law for us. However, what does Jesus say in the same passage (Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount)? He says numerous times, "you have heard it said X, but I say Y". Intead of "do not murder", Jesus says, "do not be angry with your neighbour" (Matt 5:21-26). Instead of "do not commit adultery", Jesus says "do not look at a woman lustfully" (Matt 5:27-30). Jesus takes the Old Testament laws familiar to his hearers, and tells them that they must not merely fulfil them in action, but also in thought and heart. The law was an outward code symbolising what God wants us to be inwardly.
Some of the Old Testament laws (e.g. circumcision, and laws forbitting foreign marriages) were cultural laws intended to make Israel a 'holy' (set apart) nation for God, and these do not apply to us. Other laws about sacrifices were pointing the Israelites ahead to the true sacrifice which would come in Jesus. Since we can now look directly to Jesus as our sacrifice, we don't need these laws. However, when it comes to the issue of sexual purity, Jesus actually raises the stakes. If you even look at a woman lustfully then you have committed adultery! Wow! That means that God is still as serious as ever about sexual purity. Therefore there is no reason for us to selectively ignore his commands about homosexuality in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13.
Lastly, I will comment on the argument that the references to homosexuality in Leviticus are referring to cult prostitutes. I am no expert in this area, however I will make some straightforward observations from the text. Leviticus 18:22 comes at the end of an entire chapter devoted to condemning a host of sexual sins such as incest, adultery, and bestiality. Yes, there is one verse there forbidding child sacrifice. But noone is claiming that any of the other sexual sins in the list are related to cult prostitution. The list in Leviticus 20 is very similar.
Also of note is that the law against homosexuality is the second last on both lists, succeeded only by the law against bestiality. This strongly suggests that homosexuality is a similar type of sin to bestiality - sex with an unnatural partner, not with the partner God intended to complement us.
Similarly, it is claimed that 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10 are talking about weak or womanly men, or male cult prostitution as opposed to loving, committed same-sex relationships. This argument dissolves away when you realise that Paul is actually quoting from Leviticus (using the Septuagint's translation). Clearly, Paul thought the prohibition on homosexuality still applied to Christians. For more detail on these passages, see Paul’s letters to the Corinthians and Timothy on homosexuality.
Argument #4 - If homosexuality comes naturally to you then it is okay
The argument is a attempt to deny the implications of Romans 1:25-27:
They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. [26] For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; [27] and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
The argument goes that 'natural' in this passage means
That which is a persons "natural disposition" and something that comes "instinctively" to them. In other words, it is who you are naturally; without reprogramming, counseling, or any other form of behavioral modification that attempts to change your behavior to that which society has deemed acceptable.
Wrong!! Read the passage! In verse 26, "God gave them up to dishonourable passions". Passions come 'naturally', but that doesn't make all passions right! If I burned with lust for a woman who wasn't my wife, I would be following my passion, but I would be sinning. Furthermore, notice how this definition of what is 'natural' tries to define it by what "society has deemed acceptable"?
The truth is that God's intentions aren't defined by humans! God has told humans how we ought to live. But we have rejected God's instructions and made up our own mind, "exchanging the truth about God for a lie" (verse 25). People who say homosexuality is right because it feels right are following their own feelings, not what God says. Lastly, verse 27 explicitly defines 'unnatural' relationships to mean same-sex relationships, not as "what feels right".
In the end, it comes down the the simple question of who will you trust? Will you trust that God's intentions for you are best, even when that means you'll have to change? Or will you trust your own feelings over what God has said? Homosexuals are not the only people to face up to this question. Anyone who wants to follow Jesus must take up their cross daily and follow him. This means you will have to make sacrifices and tough decisions along the way, like giving up sinful habits which don't honour Jesus. Will you follow Jesus, or yourself?
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