The Bible: What Does it Really Say About Homosexuality?
About four years ago, when I was struggling with my sexuality, I researched this very topic. I just couldn't believe that the God I believe in, and many others as well, would be so unkind and turn his back on homosexuals. I didn't want to go to Hell so I struggled for a long time within myself. Finally, I decided to do research and to find out what the Bible really says about people who are homosexuals and are in a committed, loving relationship. There were many things brought to light upon doing this. In the end I was able to accept my sexuality and myself.
If some were to compare the original Greek and Hebrew writings to the various English translations of the Bible, they would find that many discrepancies occur. In the English passages of the Bible there are scriptures that clearly condemn homosexuality. However, when one studies the original Greek and Hebrew texts the passages tend to be a bit ambiguous. There is also no relation about homosexual acts between consensual adults in a committed relationship.
There are two words that are often mistranslated within the Hebrew Scriptures. Those words are quadesh and to'ebah. Quadesh refers to a male temple prostitute who engages in ritual sex. This word is often mistranslated as "homosexual" or "sodomite." To'ebah means a condemned foreign Pagan religious cult practice. It is often mistranslated as "abomination." The words homosexual and homosexuality do not appear in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts.
Many pastors today will argue that scriptures in the Bible clearly condemn homosexuality. Two of the most widely known verses used to condemn homosexuality are Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13. In Leviticus 18:22 it says "You shall not lie with man as one lies with a woman; this is an abomination." In Leviticus 20:13 the verse states, "If a man also lie with mankind as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they should surely be put to death, there blood is upon them." The Holiness Code of Leviticus was written as a ritual manual for Israel's priests. Today these rules and rituals do not bind Christians. If many Christians today insist on using these passages to condemn homosexuality, then they should also be bound to follow the other rules and rituals that are described in Leviticus. Other things that the Holiness Code of Leviticus prohibits are sexual intercourse during a woman's menstrual cycle, eating certain kinds of meat, tattoos, and crossbreeding livestock. To use these scriptures against homosexuals is unfair since many Christians today do not follow the rest of the rules and rituals.
Pastors today also refer to Sodom and Gomorrah when they refer to homosexuality. Many believe that God destroyed a whole town because of "sinful" acts like homosexuality. If you break down these passages and look at the actual meaning and text of what is said, you will see that in nowhere among these scriptures did God destroy a town because of homosexuality. Why was Sodom actually destroyed? Lets break it down.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 says "Behold, this was the iniquity of they sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good." This passage describes the people of Sodom as self-indulgent, lazy, and they took no responsibility for the poor to help them out in any way. They were also "stuck up" and had attitudes of arrogance and superiority.
Genesis 19:1-4 says "And there came two angels to Sodom at even; Lot sat in the gate of Sodom and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in I pray you into your servant's house and tarry all night and wash your feet and ye shall rise up early and go on your ways. And they said, nay but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them gently and they turned unto him and entered into his house and he made them a feast and did bake unleavened bread and they did eat. But before they lay down them of the city even the men of Sodom compassed the house round both old and young, all people from every quarter." Genesis 19:5 says "And they called unto Lot and said unto him, where are the men, which came in to thee this night? Bring them unto us, that we may know them." This passage means that all men young and old surrounded Lot's home. They wanted Lot to bring the strangers out so that they may "know" them." From my understanding the word "know" has an entirely different meaning. The term used then referred to sexual acts. The men wanted to "know" the strangers. This could imply sexual behavior used to humiliate and shame the strangers. Plus, again it shows inhospitality. This would also assume that every male, young and old, were homosexuals. Considering that, that isn't the case it would seem unfair to say that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of homosexuality.
In reading and breaking the text down it would be fair to say that Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed because the people were inhospitable, they didn't take care of the poor, and elderly, they had become lazy and full of abundance. Now you have the men of the town wanting to humiliate and degrade two strangers by possible rape. They had also turned their back on God completely. The town had forsaken him. Isn't this really why Sodom and Gomorrah was really destroyed?
Lastly, let's look at this scripture Roman 1:26-27. It says "For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, 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 their own persons the due penalty for their error." Back in this time Paul surely was unaware of the distinction between sexual orientation. Paul would have had to assume that every person was heterosexual and were acting contrary to nature, "leaving," "giving up," or "exchanging" their normal orientation that was foreign to them. There was no modern psychological understanding of homosexuals during this time. Many people today are homosexuals by nature. It is unknown if genetics are involved, environment, or upbringing, play a role in why someone may be homosexual. This doesn't matter. I would assume for someone to act "straight" who is actually gay or lesbian, wouldn't that seem "unnatural" to them, being with the opposite sex, and therefore be a sin?
I believe in the Bible but I also believe that there is room for error. Jesus said in Luke 12:57, "Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?" I have done this very thing and for the first time in a long time have felt right within myself and at peace with God and my religion.
Published by Dawn Fuller
I am a single mom of one little boy. I used to love writing back in high school but never stuck with it. This site just seems like a fun and creative way to get back into writing again. View profile
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25 Comments
Post a CommentGod does not turn His back on anyone. He loves every person and gave Himself for them. It is the sin that he doesn't like. Whether it is homosexuality, adultery, fornication, murder, stealing, gluttony, hatred, etc. You did not cite Romans where it talks about men with men and women with women. This is very clear in both the Greek and English texts. No the term "homosexuality" is not used, but it is definitely clear here. God does not just give us do's and don'ts. They are there for our protection and we serve a Holy God. He delights in us and wants the very best for us. Don't focus on the sin, but rather focus on establishing a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and let the Holy Spirit conform your life to the will of God. God wants a blessed life for you and has established foundations and truths in the world for our benefit. Love you much and continue to seek the Lord.
I suggest you do research into the medical and health ramifications of homosexual practice. Males suffer the most but women do as well. God did not create people to live lives of sickness and a shortened lives due to their sexual preference. BTW you cite only the most commonly referred to passages related to homosexuality. There are several others like Rev. 22:15. The "dogs" mentiioned here is a New Testament times term for homosexuals. I applaud you for going back to the original languages. But you need to do more research. Just because the word "homosexual" doesn't appear in the Hebrew & Greek does not mean the concept is not plainly revealed in the Scriptures. God does love you as much as God loves a "saint." But God does not create someone to live a health destroying lifestyle that shortens the life of males by 15 to 20 years (according to published, peer review research).
I would like to point out that it is a fantastically written article, albeit flawed. I identify with it since I, too, struggled with my sexuality. However, instead of doing what FELT good and what made me FEEL at peace, I went and sought what was ACTUALLY correct, objective and true... because I KNEW that my feeling would deceive me, as they have done so much in the past. I have been so blessed by God because I chose the right path, without twisting the Word so that I could feel at peace. I realized, the Gospel is NOT about me and what makes me feel at peace... it's about what pleases God.
One thing I have found in all of my years of debates:
If you have to question whether something is right or not and then have to justify doing it... it's really not.
Take care and God Bless.
You are wrong in the fact that God turns away from homosexuals and "Christians" that say that God hates homosexuals are wrong too. You can love your husband, but hate his drinking problem. You can love the person, but disagree with what they do. That's the case. God loves homosexuals, He just disapproves of your lifestyle. Homosexuality is not a greater sin than lying, for example. Both will deprive you from Heaven in exactly the same way. Homosexuality is nothing more than misplaced lust.
In Biology, one of the things that a living entity must achieve in order to be a natural element of it's biosphere is that it needs to be able to reproduce. Homosexuals can't, hence, homosexuality is not natural. If homosexuality was a good thing and everyone wanted to do good, everyone would practice homosexuality. And if everyone practiced homosexuality, humanity would cease.
I would like to point out that it is a fantastically written article, albeit flawed. I identif
I've always found this interesting. But, there are many flaws in your "logic". For example, God didn't destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of homosexuality. It was one of the reasons but it wasn't THE reason. Also, you can take any part of the Bible out of context to fit whatever you want it to fit into... but you can't do that when you take the Bible as a whole. The Bible is clear in the "homosexuality" department... it maintains the same view of it even AFTER Jesus came to amend some of the more weirder rules you so criticize in Leviticus. The 2010 NIV says in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 the following: "Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." See? Some things stayed the same.
You are wrong in the fact t
Personally, i don't care what the bible says. Why does Judeo-Christian mythology have such a strong hold on our culture? There are too many inconsistencies to name. I am a heterosexual male taking a womens studies course. i'm working on a paper, so i'm out. thaks www.nlirh.org for being a great resource
As a Christian, I struggled with this issue and came to a similar conclusion. I am not trying to promote my site and I am definitely not spam. On my site, although it usually has different content the month of October is dedicated to Gay and Lesbian history month. My comment is much different to some of the comments below. Please come see my struggle with this issue and what I have found.
The link is http://clinicallyclueless.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-do-i-believe-about-homosexuality.html
I promise that you won't be sorry and it is a safe link. You can also search Clinically Clueless homosexuality.
The Levitical Law is not one I would argue on concerning homosexuality, but with the verses in Romans I feel you are arguing in a circle. You are right away assuming that homosexuality is natural, then dismissing Paul's God-inspired writings. Paul may not have known about whether or not homosexuality was natural, but Paul didn't TRUELY write the Book of Romans. God did. I think God would know whether or not homosexuality is a natural, perfectly acceptable lifestyle. Your Romans argument is self-defeating. I recently wrote an article concerning this called "What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?" on my page. Click on my name to the left, and you can find it. You may be surprised with what you find.
How can you throw out these versus as simple errors of mankind? Apparently you don't believe that the Word is God-breathed. How can you have a peaceful relationship with your Creator if you don't even believe all he inspired? I have felt the temptations of homosexuality too, but I realized it was Satan pulling me away from God. Every time I felt this way, it was a time when I was most distant from my Father. Homosexuality is a choice. Maybe it's a predetermined temptation in one's family, like alcoholism, but you aren't born with an addiction to alcohol or drugs. Just like you aren't born with a desire for people of the same sex. But I love everyone, for God loves everyone. I'm not going to tell my lesbian and gay friends they're going to Hell, because how does that win them over to Christ? He wants us to love as he loves.
It is not true to say that Christians should follow either all of the Holiness Code of Leviticus or none of the Code. Christians should obey any Old Testament commands (including those in the Code) specifically adopted in the New Testament by Jesus, Paul or the other apostles.
The early church decided that non-Jews who became Christians would have to follow some, but not all, of the Old Testament (Jewish) laws. The non-Jewish Christians were not to eat certain food and they were not to be sexually immoral. Therefore they had to follow the Old Testament laws on sexual conduct, including no incest, adultery, bestiality or male-male sex. See Acts 15:13-30. This decision still generally applies to Christians today.
However the application of the decision to male-male sex does not apply today because the prohibition on sex between men applied only to the ancient Israelite and Roman cultures. See the "Gay and Christian" website (www.gaysandslaves.com) for more details.