Will the so called Christian bashers stop now please???

Question

Subject: What the Bible Says about Homosexuality



Homosexuality & Christianity

by Rev. Michael S. Piazza,
Dean of the Cathedral

The Bible

In our Judeo-Christian society, the documents
collectively known as the Bible serve as the primary
guide on most issues. It is interesting that many
Christians take literally the references to homosexual
acts, while interpreting other text with great
flexibility. One person reported listening to a
nationally-known woman speak in her campaign against
homosexuality. She spent quite a bit of time quoting
impressively from Leviticus. The listener accepted
much of what the speaker said until he realized that,
by Levitical standards, the crusader herself had
broken many biblical laws – she spoke in church (1
Corinthians 14:34), she taught men (1 Timothy 2:12),
she was wearing a dress made of cotton and polyester
(Deuteronomy 22:11), and others of which he was
probably unaware.

What does the Bible really say about homosexuality?
Actually, very little. Most significantly, Jesus said
nothing at all. Considering the relatively small
amount of attention the Bible pays to the subject, we
must ask ourselves why this is such a volatile issue.
Other subjects about which the scriptures say a great
deal (e.g. judgment, pride, hypocrisy) receive much
less passionate attention. Before looking at specific
passages, it is important to note that everyone
understands the scriptures based on, and through, the
light of what they have been taught. The Bible was not
written in a cultural void, and many of its
instructions and laws are simply classified as less
relevant today (e.g. prohibition against eating pork).

Nowhere does the Bible actually address the idea of
persons being lesbian or gay. The statements are,
without exception, directed to certain homosexual
acts. Early writers had no understanding of
homosexuality as a psychosexual orientation. That
truth is a relatively recent discovery. The biblical
authors were referring to homosexual acts performed by
persons they assumed were heterosexuals.

The Sodom Story

A chief text used to condemn homosexuality is the
Sodom story (Genesis 19:1-29), often interpreted as
showing God's abhorrence of homosexuality. In the
story, two angels, in the form of men, are sent to the
home of Lot in Sodom. While they are there, the men of
the city “both young and old, surrounded the house -
everyone without exception” and demanded that the
visitors be brought out “so that we might know them.”
(Genesis 19: 4-5) Lot begged the men to leave his
guests alone and take his daughters instead. The men
of the city became angry and stormed the door. As a
result, they were all struck blind by the angels.

There are several problems with the traditional
interpretation of this passage. Whether or not the
intent of the men of Sodom was sexual, the
inhospitality and injustice coming from the mob, and
that generally characterized the community, were “the
sin of Sodom.” (Ezekial 16:49-50, Isaiah 13:19,
Jeremiah 49:18; 50:40) Jesus himself refers to the
inhospitality of Sodom. (Luke 10:10-13) If the men
were indeed homosexuals, then why would Lot offer them
his daughters? What is threatened here is rape. The
significant point, then, is that all rape is
considered horrible by God. The story deserves another
reading.

It should be noted that not all of the men of Sodom
could have been homosexual or there would have been no
need to destroy them. If they had all been
homosexuals, they would have all died off leaving no
heirs. Quite likely, they were a mixed group of evil
men attempting to be abusive to people who were
different. Ironically, lesbian and gay people are
often the victim of that same sin.


Although the traditional interpretation of the Sodom
story fails as an argument against homosexuality,
there are several other Old Testament passages that do
condemn homosexual acts. Again, it should be noted
that these passages do not deal with same-sex
orientation nor is there any reference to genital love
between lesbian or gay persons.

Homosexual Acts

Of thousands of Old Testament passages, only two make
explicit reference to homosexual acts: Leviticus 18:22
and Leviticus 20:13. Both of these passages are a part
of the Levitical holiness code, which is not kept by
any Christian group. If it was enforced, almost every
Christian would be excommunicated or executed. It has
been logically argued that science and progress have
made many of the Levitical laws irrelevant. For
example, fundamentalist author Tim LaHaye states that,
although Levitical laws prohibit intercourse during
menstruation, medical authorities do not view it as
harmful, and, therefore, it should not be viewed as
sinful. He further explains, “Those laws were given
3,500 years ago before showers and baths were
convenient, before tampons, disinfectants and other
improved means of sanitation had been invented.” (The
Act of Marriage, p.275) With that, LaHaye makes this
law irrelevant and rightly so. Ironically, though, in
his book, The Unhappy Gay, the Levitical laws are one
of the chief cornerstones of his arguments. Much of
the holiness code is now irrelevant for us as moral
law. Thus, having children, which was of exceptional
importance to the early Hebrews, is now made less
relevant by overpopulation, just as the prohibition
against eating pork and shellfish has been made
irrelevant by refrigeration.

The Bible never addresses the issue of homosexual
love, yet it does have several beautiful examples of
same-sex love. David's love for Jonathan was said to
exceed his love for women. (2 Samuel 1:26) Ruth's
relationship with Naomi is an example of a deep,
bonding love, and Ruth’s words of covenant to Naomi
are often used in heterosexual wedding ceremonies.
(Ruth 1:16-17) The Bible clearly values love between
persons of the same sex.

Jesus' Attitude

In the New Testament there is no record of Jesus
saying anything about homosexuality. This ought to
strike us as very odd in light of the great threat to
Christianity, family life and the American way that
some would have us believe homosexuality is. Jesus saw
injustice and religious hypocrisy as a far greater
threat to the Realm of God.

Episcopal priest Dr. Tom Horner has written that the
Gospels imply in two places that Jesus' attitude
toward lesbians and gays would not have been hostile.
(Jonathan Loved David, p. 122) The first is found in
the story of Jesus healing the Centurion's servant.
(Matthew 8:5-13) The word used for the servant is
“pais,” which in the Greek culture referred to a
younger lover of an older, more powerful or educated
man. Clearly, the story demonstrates an unusually
intense love, and Jesus' response was wholly positive.

The other hint of Jesus' attitude is seen in his
comments about eunuchs. (Matthew 19:10-12) Jesus
opposed divorce in opposition to the abuses
experienced by women. It is in the context of marriage
that Jesus said “some eunuchs were born so; others had
been made eunuchs and still others choose to be
eunuchs for the Kingdom's sake.” Jesus' remarks about
celibacy and castration are clear, but a male child
being born without testicles is a rare birth defect.
It is only in our day that the Kinsey Institute has
demonstrated that sexual orientation is likely
determined prior to birth. It could well be that those
to whom Jesus refers as being “born eunuchs” are the
people we call lesbian or gay.

Jesus' attitude toward eunuchs differed greatly from
the fundamentalist Pharisees of his day. To them,
eunuchs should have been excluded from the covenant
and barred from worship and participating in the
community of faith. Jesus' graceful approach to
eunuchs is beautifully pictured in the promise of the
prophecy of Isaiah, “To the eunuchs...I will give them
an everlasting name that will not be taken away.”
(56:4-8)

In Jesus' day there were three types of persons called
eunuchs: celibates, those who were slaves and were
castrated so that children would not be born to them,
and those who were “born eunuchs,” or homosexuals.
Royal and wealthy households used castrated slaves to
work with and guard the concubines and female slaves.
However, when assigning slaves to female members of
the royal family, they would choose homosexual slaves.
With female members, the concern was not just unwanted
pregnancies but also rape.

It is against this background that we must read the
story found in Acts 8:26-40. In this passage, the Holy
Spirit sends Philip the Deacon to witness to and
baptize an Ethiopian eunuch of Queen Candace of
Ethiopia. One of the earliest converts to Christianity
was a person excluded for sexual reasons from the Old
Testament community.

Paul's References

Paul's statement in Romans 1:18-32 has been taken as
the strongest New Testament rejection of
homosexuality. He is concerned about the influence of
the pagan culture on the Roman Christians. After
giving a detailed description of a world that
“exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped
and served created things rather than the Creator,” he
continues, “Therefore, God gave them over to shameful
lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations
for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also
abandoned natural relations with women and were
inflamed with lusts for one another. Men committed
indecent acts with other men and received in
themselves the due penalty of their perversion.”

A complete reading of these passages, in their
original context, clearly shows that what Paul was
actually referring to was homosexual temple
prostitution, which was performed by various cults
(though far more cults used heterosexual
prostitution). Again, Paul is not referring to
same-sex love, and he clearly has no concept of
persons for whom this lifestyle is “natural.”

Paul's other reference to homosexual acts in 1
Corinthians 6:9-10 is similar to 1 Timothy 1:8-11.
These two passages contain lists of persons to be
excluded from the Realm of God. The interpretation of
these passages depends on two Greek words that have
always presented a problem for translators. In the
King James Version, they are translated “effeminate”
and “abusers of themselves with mankind.” In the
Revised Standard Version, they were combined and
rendered as “homosexuals,” however, these are not the
Greek words for homosexual, so these translations
reflects the scholars' bias. The New International
Version illustrates the difference in these two words
by translating them “male prostitute” and “homosexual
offenders.” The Jerusalem Bible uses the terms
“catamites and “sodomites.” Catamites were youth kept
especially for sexual purpose, who were usually paid
large sums of money. Neither passage refers to persons
of same-sex orientation but to people who used their
sexuality for personal gain.

The Love of Christ

Jesus did a great deal to change many social customs
and ideas. He elevated the position of women, and,
ultimately, they were his best and most faithful
disciples. He did this by example and by commandments
that were absolutely inclusive of the rights of all
people. Yet, in the name of the Christ whose love
encompassed all, the Church has been the most
homophobic of all institutions. This should not be
surprising when we realize that the Church is still
the largest institution which is primarily racially
segregated.

The final, and central, message of the New Testament
is that ALL persons are loved by God so much that
God's Son was sent as a means of redemption from a
disease by which we are all afflicted. The cure for
this disease cannot be found in any set of actions.
Neither homosexuality nor heterosexuality is
redemptive. God's love through Christ was given to all
people.

The Theological Reflection

For the Christian, sin must be understood as a disease
that results FROM a broken relationship with God and
that results IN a broken relationship with one another
and with ourselves. Hence, Jesus' supreme command is
to love God and to love our neighbors as we love
ourselves. Christianity is not a religion with new
rules and laws but rather is a new relationship with
God. Those things that the legalists are fond of
labeling “sins” are actually just symptoms of the much
deeper disease of alienation and estrangement. Much of
the energy of the Church has been spent dealing with
symptoms while leaving the disease intact. Jesus did
not seem overly concerned about the legal
transgressions of those to whom he ministered. Rather,
he was much more concerned with healing the physical,
spiritual, emotional and relational brokenness of
people. Perhaps if the Church would again give itself
to the healing/reconciling ministry of Jesus, then
some of the symptoms about which we are so concerned
would begin to disappear.

That brings us to the question: Is homosexuality a
symptom of brokenness? In a very few cases, perhaps.
Yet, pointing fingers of blame and accusation is not
Christ's way. Rather, Jesus accepted people as they
were and allowed love and acceptance to work its
miracle. However, most lesbians and gays have been
lesbian or gay for as long as they can remember. For
them, it is a much a natural characteristic as their
eye color or their handedness. Kinsey Institute
research (University of Indiana, 1981) has suggested
that homosexuality may well be genetic or, at least,
linked to some prenatal factors. (Sexual Preference,
Bell &Weinberg) Certainly most competent psychologists
would concur that sexual orientation is set prior to
the age of five in most persons. It is, therefore, not
a matter of choice, so it cannot be a moral or ethical
issue.

Many Christians insist that God can change/cure the
homosexual. In the book The Third Sex there are six
reported cases of homosexuals whom God has “cured.” Of
these six, at least four are known to have returned to
their gay lifestyle. (Christianity Today, February
1981) Many lesbians and gays spend most of their lives
trying, with no success, to persuade God to change
them. It is like trying to get God to change your eye
color. What option, then, is left to these persons?
They have been told that they can't be gay and
Christian. Since all efforts have failed in their
struggle not to be gay or lesbian, then their only
recourse, according to the Church, is that they can't
be Christian. So, the Church has discounted or
discarded as much as 10% of the population.

If they are excluded from the life of the Christian
community, who, then, will tell them of God's
inclusive love and of Jesus' reconciling death? Are
they left to assume that God is so narrow-minded as to
exclude them for something over which they have no
control and for a choice they did not make? When will
the Church finally be brave enough to say with Paul,
“in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave or
free, male or female,” gay or straight? God has enough
love for all,

I found this on the web. I hope this will help people really understand; also, I hope it will allow us all to get along and care for each other.

Why is Dr. Doris afraid to let his/her email address be shown? Give it up!

This is not my sermon. It was written by a minister, and I feel that he know the Bible very well. It doesn't matter if you believe in the Bible or not, but it should show the bashers that they are wrong and everyone should be non-judgemental. Jesus loves EVERYONE not just a selected few.

BSUG----- I am NO virgin by any means, and anyway, we are not talking about virginity.

also check out visionsofdaniel.net for more info regarding this topic.

Answer 1

I'm yet to read it all, but I will later. Very good.

I need to remember a number of these. We should just post them anytime someone tries to use the bible as a weapon on here. If they keep getting shot down by their own bible, they should go away in time.

Errr and I keep reporting Dr Doris, I hope everyone reports her, I'm trying to get her IP perma-banned. I'm here to learn, not get harassed.

Answer 2

A true Christian does not judge his neighbor, he accepts him as God's creation! A true Christian does not bash Satanism, even if a satanist is believed to be the Christian's arch-enemy. Are you perhaps talking about the Crusades? They were nothing more than a pretext for robbing the richer Muslim states. People, over the ages, always tried to impose their point of view to his neighbor, sporting his prodigious ego with every chance he got. Even in today's society, we are thought that we simply MUST do better than the others. We MUST be better. About 'turning the other cheek'. That is what our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us to do. That is the ideal we all must aspire, but some reach it later than others. In today's society every we consider everyone the same, no matter the color of their skin, background or political beliefs. Yet we see democrats bashing communists and communists bashing democrats. We see Americans bashing Mexicans and Mexicans bashing Americans. Yet everyone is equal. We aspire to this belief, but we still have a lot to learn. The belief is perfect, it is us that make errors. Christianity is perfect, it is the human nature that contradicts itself.

Answer 3

I found only one fault with this question. That was:- did you really have to give us a sermon so long that I was falling asleep reading it. I agree with what you say and a little more, if there is a god why did he make hermophrodite fish and animals and not humans ? I know there are a few hermophrodite people but a lot more of what we term the lower species. The religious people consider us as very lowly and yet that doesnt stop a lot of gay people worshipping God. Just as there a lot of hetrosexual people dont believe in god. Are they chastised because they dont believe, I think not but we are easy to pick on.

Answer 4

All I can say is that I have known as far back as I can remember that the extremist religious pundits are misinterpreting what the bible says.

The scary part is that they are also misinterpreting many of the passages that seem to be less important and less controversial also.

Answer 5

That was one fascinating read. Well done. Unfortunately, the only people who will appreciate are the LGBT community. The bashers won't read it and even if they did, they would not believe it. They have a really hard time facing facts. The can't even see the facts that they are breaking the laws of the bible.
Like I said, Well done.

Answer 6

Isn't Dr. Doris so impressive. with all this knowledge all she can say is an insult. I do however, thank you, Sir for your well put information.
I've always been certain of the Love of God. The wrath and hatred of God is unknown to me, foreign and has been since I was a small child. My parents (bless them) never taught it to us.
I thank you for this. God indeed has enough Love for us all.
Blessings.

Answer 7

Hello,

I dont think it will ever matter what happens or what others say. All religious groups will always TRY and convert us or tell us how we are sinners and are going to hell.
They can preach, shout, pray and do whatever they like but aslong as everyone continues to have control of their own minds then they will never change us.

Answer 8

That's a lot to read Good luck on finding your answer.

Answer 9

Great. Maybe you should go teach that to some of the so-called Christians on here who post questions like: "Hey f@g, do you know you are going to burn in hell? and othere such intelligent discourse.

The hate is coming from all sides because it is inside all of us.

Answer 10

I don't think any of the hate full questions/statements will stop until we stop responding to them.