Does the bible say anything about homosexuality
Has 'Homosexual' Always Been in the Bible?
Reprinted with permission from The Forge Online
The synonyms “arsenokoitai” shows up in two distinct verses in the bible, but it was not translated to mean “homosexual” until
We got to sit down with Ed Oxford at his home in Long Beach, California and talk about this question.
You possess been part of a research team that is searching to understand how the decision was made to place the word queer in the bible. Is that true?
Ed: Yes. It first showed up in the RSV translation. So before figuring out why they decided to use that word in the RSV translation (which is outlined in my upcoming guide with Kathy Baldock, Forging a Consecrated Weapon: How the Bible Became Anti-Gay) I wanted to see how other cultures and translations treated the matching verses when they were translated during the Reformation years ago. So I started collecting vintage Bibles in French, German, Irish, Gaelic, Czechoslovakian, Polish… you name it. Now I’ve got most European major languages that I’ve calm over time. An
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Confused how two groups of church-goers can contain such conflicting views about whether it's OK to be gay?
Both sides of the debate about homosexuality in the church, which threatens to split the worldwide Anglican church, maintain their views sincerely and after much study. So how can their views be so contradictory?
The Bible makes very limited mentions of homosexuality - lesbianism isn't mentioned at all in the Elderly Testament - and as the examples below display, interpretations of the verses that do exist differ hugely.
Following each of the verses below is a brief illustration of what a hardline pro- and anti-gay position might be. (Most Christians grip views somewhere in between these two stances.)
An illustration of the division can be seen by what either side might say about the friendship in the Old Testament between David and Jonathan. One verse reads: "I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; dear and delightful you were to me; your love for me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women."
| PRO-GAY A pro-gay position might be that this is a clear i What does the Bible utter about homosexuality?Answer In some people’s minds, being homosexual is as much outside one’s control as the dye of your skin and your height. On the other hand, the Bible clearly and consistently declares that homosexual activity is a sin (Genesis –13; Leviticus ; ; Romans –27; 1 Corinthians ; 1 Timothy ). God created marriage and sexual relationships to be between one man and one woman: “At the origin the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will depart his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’” (Matthew –5). Anything outside of God’s intent and design is sin. The Bible teaches that Christians are to dwell for God, deny themselves, pick up their cross, and follow Him (Matthew ), including with their sexuality. This disconnect between what the Bible says and what some people feel leads to much controversy, debate, and even hostility. When examining what the Bible says about homosexuality, it is important to distinguish between homosexual behaviorand hom The Bible on Homosexual BehaviorOne 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 prohibit on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Old Testament. But this argument confuses the Vintage 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 road and don’t drink what’s under the sink. Today, I hold 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 regulation. The rea |