Bible verses that talk about homosexuality

What the New Testament Says about Homosexuality

The Fourth R Volume May-June

Mainline Christian denominations in this country are bitterly divided over the question of homosexuality. For this reason it is significant to ask what light, if any, the New Testament sheds on this controversial issue. Most people apparently assume that the New Testament expresses strong disagreement to homosexuality, but this simply is not the case. The six propositions that follow, considered cumulatively, lead to the decision that the New Testament does not provide any direct guidance for understanding and making assessments about homosexuality in the current world.

Proposition 1: Strictly speaking, the New Testament says nothing at all about homosexuality.

‍There is not a single Greek pos 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 current concept that would simply possess been unintelligible to

The Bible on Lgbtq+ 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 attend to their diatribes about homosexuality creature 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 Old Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its everlasting moral laws.

Here’s an analogy to serve understand this distinction.

I remember two rules my mom gave me when I was young: grip her hand when I cross the street and don’t drink what’s under the sink. Today, I have to follow only the latter rule, since the former is no longer needed to protect me. In fact, it would now perform me more damage than good.

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

Leviticus

“You shall not recline with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”[1] It is not a surprise that this verse seems to say that same-sex attracted 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 channel 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 live 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 anc

This article is part of the Tough Passages series.

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²⁴Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

²⁶For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged innate relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷and 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.

²⁸And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.²⁹They were filled with all style of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are complete of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,³⁰slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, dis