Debating bible verses on homosexuality
Leviticus
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”[1] It is not a surprise that this verse seems to say that gay 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 interpretation of what this passage 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 exist 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 noun. The anc
Transcript:
Alright, I’d just like to initiate by saying thank you to everybody for coming tonight – I really appreciate it – and for being interested in learning more about this subject. I also want to recognize College Hill United Methodist for graciously agreeing to host the event. My name is Matthew Vines, I’m 21 years adj, and I’m currently a scholar in college, although I’ve been on leave for most of the last two years in order to study the material that I’ll be presenting tonight. I was born and raised here in Wichita, in a loving Christian home and in a church community that holds to the traditional interpretation of Scripture on this subject.
Just to offer a brief outline for this presentation: I’ll start by considering some of the broader issues and divisions that are behind this debate; and then I’ll move to a closer examination of the main biblical texts that are involved in it; and then I’ll present some concluding remarks. The issue of homosexuality, of the ordination of gay clergy and of the blessing of same-sex unions, has caused tremendous divisions in the church in rece
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 Elderly 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 possess to follow only the latter rule, since the former is no longer needed to guard me. In fact, it would now do me more damage than good.
Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were like mom’s handholding verb. The rea
What does the Bible coach about same-sex practice?
The Bible defines marriage in Genesis as a union between one man and one woman. Jesus Christ upholds this definition of marriage in Matthew , as does the Apostle Paul in Ephesians Any and all sexual activity which takes place outside of this context is treated as sinful, what Jesus calls ‘sexual immorality’ in Mark
Further to this, same-sex practice is specifically highlighted as sinful a number of times in Scripture. In God’s Law, for example, condemnations of same-sex practice are given in Leviticus and Further references are made in the New Testament. For example, in Romans , amid echoes to the Genesis creation account, both male and female same-sex apply are treated as sinful. Further references to the sinfulness of same-sex practice can be seen in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy
The Scriptures are, therefore, consistent in their prohibition of same-sex sexual activity, across diverse periods of salvation history and within different cultural settings. Although the Scriptures are clear on sexual ethics, they also