Is it wrong to be gay according to the bible
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 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 translation of what this alley 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 remain 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 ancient Near East tradition included pederasty and relations between an older man and a young man, which was
What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?
What Does The Bible Speak 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 tardy 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 vault 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 concise 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 is God’s very written word, it is widely understood that God produced its contents through inspired
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior
One way to argue against these passages is to make what I phone 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 eavesdrop to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).
In other words, if we can disregard rules fancy the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Antique 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 retain 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 include 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 reason they forbade the Israelites from using certain fabrics or foods, or interacting with bodily flui
What the New Testament Says about Homosexuality
The Fourth R Volume May-June
Mainline Christian denominations in this land are bitterly divided over the question of homosexuality. For this reason it is important to demand what light, if any, the New Testament sheds on this controversial issue. Most people apparently suppose that the New Testament expresses strong opposition to homosexuality, but this simply is not the case. The six propositions that follow, considered cumulatively, guide to the conclusion that the New Testament does not provide any control guidance for understanding and making judgments about homosexuality in the modern nature.
Proposition 1: Strictly speaking, the New Testament says nothing at all about homosexuality.
There is not a single Greek word or phrase in the entire New Testament that should be translated into English as “homosexual” or “homosexuality.” In fact, the very notion of “homosexuality”—like that of “heterosexuality,” “bisexuality,” and even “sexual orientation”—is essentially a modern concept that would simply have been unintelligible to the Brand-new Testament writers. The synonyms “homosexuality” came into apply only in the latter part of the ni
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