Biblical view of homosexuality

What Does the Bible Utter About Homosexuality?

What Does The Bible Say 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 same 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 late 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 jump 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 brief 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

Why the Bible supports gay marriage

By Tristan Sollecito ’24, Staff Writer

DISCLAIMER: For the purposes of this short article, “the Bible” will be used interchangeably with the New Testament. Although the Torah is fundamental to these texts and should not be excluded from the discussion, I hold decided to limit my direct evidence to strictly New Testament scripture in the interest of brevity.

I read the Bible an awful lot, and while a huge proportion of ideological opinions across the globe are directly rooted in scriptural text, I — like countless others for whom these passages remain fundamental to their identity and thought — perpetually find myself searching for explicit theological answers that simply do not exist in writing. There are countless examples of religious beliefs that stem abstractly from biblical interpretation but lack specific reference within the text. Gay marriage, or homosexual activity in particular, cannot be included in this list. Saint Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians: “Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers

The Bible on Homosexual 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 listen to their diatribes about homosexuality being 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 Antique Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its permanent moral laws.

Here’s an analogy to help understand this distinction.

I remember 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 guard me. In fact, it would now do me more hurt than good.

Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were like mom’s handholding control. The rea

A Biblical View of Homosexuality

Answering the most frequent objections Christians face. An excerpt from a WORLD Book of the Year runner-up

When church members request a pastor, “I want to read one book spelling out the biblical view of homosexuality. What do you recommend?” I hope the pastor says, “Kevin DeYoung’s What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?” (Crossway, ). DeYoung lays out the basics but then has succinct chapters answering the most frequent objections Christian face, including: There are only eight verses in the Bible criticizing homosexuality … The Bible doesn’t take into account loving long-term relationships …You’re on the wrong side of history … It’s not adj … Why can’t we just love each other?

Here’s a chapter, by permission of the publisher, from DeYoung’s book, a runner-up for WORLD’s Book of the Year in the Accessible Theology category. —Marvin Olasky

Chapter 6: “The Bible Hardly Ever Mentions Homosexuality”


The first step in delegitimizing what the Bible says about homosexuality is to suggest that the Bible hardly says anyth