Is homosexuality addressed in the new testament
Readers of The Lutheran know the ELCA has been involved in a study of human sexuality with specific reference to homosexuality and whether homosexual people should be ordained as pastors. Pastors and others received a thorough study, Background Essay on Biblical Texts, as part of the ELCA’s study.
Members of some congregations have not had the opportunity to read this revise, or they may have been turned off by its length and detail. But even for those who do read it, I share some insights that I have not seen in this study. I will also ask some questions to ponder as you consider the biblical texts, leaving you free to draw your own conclusions.
I am in no way involved in the process for determining the ELCA’s position or policies on the issues before the church. My purpose is to advise and invite reflection on the subject of homosexuality and the church today, while not trying to persuade anyone toward any conclusion on the issues at hand.
In dealing with biblical texts, it is easy to study into or out of them what one wants to uncover. Therefore, different and conflicting interp
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 essential to ask what light, if any, the New Testament sheds on this controversial issue. Most people apparently suppose that the Recent Testament expresses formidable opposition to homosexuality, but this simply is not the case. The six propositions that pursue, considered cumulatively, guide to the decision that the Recent Testament does not provide any control guidance for comprehending and making opinions about homosexuality in the modern nature.
Proposition 1: Strictly speaking, the Recent Testament says nothing at all about homosexuality.
There is not a single Greek word or term 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 contemporary concept that would simply have been unintelligible to
What does the New Testament say about homosexuality?
Answer
The Bible is consistent through both Old and New Testaments in confirming that homosexuality is sin (Genesis –13; Leviticus ; ; Romans –27; 1 Corinthians ; 1 Timothy ; Jude ). In this matter, the New Testament reinforces what the Old Testament had declared since the Law was given to Moses (Leviticus ). The difference between the Vintage and New Testaments is that the New Testament offers hope and restoration to those caught up in the sin of homosexualitythrough the redeeming authority of Jesus. It is the same hope that is offered to anyone who chooses to approve it (John ; –18).
God’s standards of holiness did not change with the coming of Jesus, because God does not convert (Malachi ; Hebrews ). The New Testament is a continuing revelation of God’s interaction with humanity. God hated idolatry in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy ), and He still hates it in the New (1 John ). What was immoral in the Old Testament is still immoral in the New.
The New Testament says that homosexuality is a “shameful lust” (Rom
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior
One way to argue against these passages is to make what I notify the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, halt wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to hear to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).
In other words, if we can disregard rules prefer the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Aged Testament. But this argument confuses the Old Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its permanent moral laws.
Here’s an analogy to aid understand this distinction.
I recall 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 hold 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 prefer mom’s handholding rule. The rea