Why does the Bible state it is okay to kill gay men?

Question

"If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives." (Leviticus 20:13)

Do Christians really believe this?

If not Christians, do Jews believe this?

Answer 1

Why just that verse? Read the whole section -

Lev 20:9 “ ‘If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head.
Lev 20:10 “ ‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife —with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.
Lev 20:11 “ ‘If a man sleeps with his father’s wife, he has dishonored his father. Both the man and the woman must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
Lev 20:12 “ ‘If a man sleeps with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads.
Lev 20:13 “ ‘If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
Lev 20:14 “ ‘If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that no wickedness will be among you.
Lev 20:15 “ ‘If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal.
Lev 20:16 “ ‘If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

But we can be thankful that Christ put an end to this, otherwise we would have mass executions of about all the people who ever appeared on the Jerry Springer show.

Answer 2

Actually, that was the law for the ancient Hebrews in the Old Testament. When Jesus died on the cross, the old laws, according to God, went out the window and a new covenant was established. Hence, the "New" Testament. I could discuss this (Jesus dying on the cross and nullifying the old law) further for your better understanding, but it would take too long and I've already typed a long answer. :-)
If you're really curious about this part, you should ask a preacher, another Christian, or maybe another question on YA (although I wouldn't recommend the last option).

The Bible does say that homosexuality is a sin, but it doesn't say to kill gay men (excepting the old Jewish law, which applied only to the ancient Hebrews).

*edit* Note that I said that the OT law applied to the ANCIENT Hebrew nation. So no, I don't think Jews believe this now.
MAYBE they do in the Middle East; the Arabic culture is very much set against homosexuality, regardless of religion.

Answer 3

If you read the Levitican law, you'll see a lot more than just killing gays. If someone gathers food on the sabbath, they are to be stoned. If anyone has an affair, they should be stoned. Levitican law is very strict. If you'd like to see it first hand, go to any country governed by Shiite laws.

As a christian, I'm governed by the rules of Christ, only those that are sin-free can cast the first stone, and of course, none of us are sin-free. That's why the bible said he came not to change the laws, but to fulfill them, meaning that while the 10 commandments are not negotiatable, we were no longer under the Levitican laws. That's why christians don't have to make sacrifices, He became the sacrifice that released us.

Answer 4

No, most Christians do not believe this. It's from the Old Testament. From what I've read recently, this is a man-made law that dates from around the time of the Exodus from Egypt. There weren't really all that many Israelites in Egypt, so far fewer left Egypt than movies like 'The Ten Commandments' would lead you to believe. So, the Hebrews needed to build up the population before they reached the Promised Land, and homosexual relationships didn't help reach this goal. So, this law was developed to aid population growth, and was never retracted after the goals were reached.

Answer 5

Why? I'm not qualified to answer, but your second part "Do Christians really believe this?" is within my realm of personal experience.

No. I am a Christian, and those I know believe in redemption, forgiveness and grace. Most churches I have belonged to will not allow homosexuals as members and will not condone homosexuality. We believe in loving the sinner but despising the sin.

There is one small cult in Kansas led by a guy named Fred Phelps that is famous for marching around with signs that imply that Christians hate homosexuals. Hate is not a Christian attribute and those people are not true Christians.

Answer 6

This was written to the Jews. Death was the prescribed penalty for many offenses under the Law of Moses.
Christians are not under the law, but under grace.
Paul gave a much sterner warning in his letter to the Corinthians, namely the danger of eternal damnation:
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate (by perversion), nor homosexuals, not thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers shall inherit the Kingdom of God.
And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God."
(I Corinthians 6:9-11 NASB)
So if you or someone you know is found in this list of people, please take note of the last verse, which testifies that there is hope in the Gospel to set you free from those things which damn the soul, of which homosexuality is only one in a list.

Answer 7

Genocide and slavery back in the OT was ONLY allowed for people of the nations they were conquering and the surrounding nations because THEY were evil and rejected God. Now why wasnt this made universal? Why was it ok for the Jews to slaughter people and take them into slavery? god was trying to show his power here on earth and it was an illustration of a few things we see pop up in the NT.

1. Anybody who sins and doesnt repent is a slave to sin. (John 8:34) Therefore these people that were not Gods people were put into slavery to illustrate the fact that they ARE slaves deep down anyway!

2. The penalty for sin is DEATH. (Romans 6:23) God HATES sin and the destruction of human life back then was to illustrate what eternal punishment is going to be like. Evil people are going to be wiped out on a massive scale and it is by the hand of God that it is done, not the hands of men. If God commands that people should die, they should die.

Answer 8

I don't think all the Christians answering your question really have an answer.They say "it is in the old testament". NEWS FLASH!!! That is still a part of your bible.Moses, King David and Goliath,the exodus are all in the old book so they are not to be held true any more either? And NO it was NOT referring to their souls, it meant to kill them physically. I have nothing against Christians,it is a GOOD religion but too many of you believe falsely and are not educated enough in your religion to answer questions about in a vast media like the Internet. You do your religion a disservice.

Answer 9

No, it is not OK for Christians.

The sentence you quoted is from Old Testament, the time before God's grace revealed. The basis of OT is Law. But if you read OT, it is proven that we are too weak to follow the Law, because of sin in us. So, God revealed Himself in Jesus Christ to bring grace and atonement.

If you go through other part of OT, it is stated that a woman or a man who commits adultery shall be put to death. But in New Testament, when Pharisees came to Jesus bringing an adulteress, He gave mercy to her, and the Pharisees could not say anything. It doesn't mean He tolerates sin, He just want to give redemption and let us have a new life in Him.

Answer 10

Firstly, this statement is being taken in isolation and one may not interpret the information the way it was intended to. The entire chapter 20 of Leviticus (Especially verses 9 - 16) speaks about acts that are not correct or accepted in the sight of God. In addition to the statement on "gays' , other acts that will suffer the same fate includes cursing of your parents, adultery, incest and beastiality.

You can read it yourself in the Bible!