Is it or is it not true that Christianity bans homosexuality?

Question

I am a jr. high student and recently have been very active in my church and youth group, I've been attending a lot of our meetings, and have been to three Christian youth conferences (Battle Cry/Aquire the Fire events).

The thing is, skimming through my Bible as one of our lessons was about to begin, I came across the infamous Leviticus passage- the one that states, "It is disgusting for a man to have sex with another man". Now, not to be critical or anything, but doesn't the Bible also say that God loves us all equally if we are willing to accept Him into our lives?

I can relate to this strongly because, truth be told, I am a bisexual. I realized it about 2 months ago, and I've only told one of my close friends(she handled it very well). I've been wondering about this in relation to the passage- I can't control the fact that I'm bisexual, so what do they expect me to do here?

Answer 1

okay, you really have to read this then. I'm not condemning you:

1) homosexuality is wrong, but homosexuals are not sinful in themselves. have I lost you? most people define a homosexual as one who has the inclination to have sexual desires for the same gender. however, the Bible clearly states, clearly in my opinion, that someone who commits homosexual ACTS is sinning, not neccessarily those who have the feelings.

the Bible says that a person who doesn't believe contrary to God, condone sin, or practice sin, is not guilty of it. so, okay, I can't honestly say it's fine to be homoseuxal in desire, but I don know that if you don't believe it's fine, don't condone it and don't practice the acts, then you're fine in that area by God.

2) God loves people equally despite what they've done. He cannot hate people. However, sin, He does abhor and commands us to do the same. as a Christian, I am not to condemn or hate homosexuals, as that would not be "loving your neighbour".

Jesus commanded us to love (agape) your neighbor. Agape love refers to seeking the highest good for a person, continually, even unto leading them to Christ, without interference of personal preferences, dislikes or biases. not agape loving them would be hating them, which God disapproves of.

3) sexual urges are controllable. all urges are. you can't really say this is wrong. guys especially have trouble keeping sexual desires under control, as we're stimulated more through the eyes and skin than females are. homosexual desires are no worse and no stronger than any sexual urge, and so can be repressed. God commands us not to give into sinful desires.

you may be wondering "why is it wrong?". the answer basically is that it goes against God. now I don't mean the "God said so" thing, I mean it goes against God's plan for marriage and proper sexual/romantic relationships in general.
homosexuality generally promotes the condoning of other sexual sins, picking and choosing what is actually right, disbelieving in the Bible, the idea that giving into urges is okay, and often disobedience, as a lot of homosexuals that I know seem to think everyone who doesn't support homosexuality is hateful and doesn't deserve respect.

I hope you didn't find this offensive and I hope you understand.

Answer 2

As nancyjo properly says "God doesn't condemn homosexuals. He condemns homosexuality. Do not act on your feelings. It is no different than hetero people having sex outside of marriage. God forbids it."

That's it in a nutshell. And my reply to that is

SCREW THE CHRISTIAN GOD AND THE MEN WHO CREATED IT!

I am gay and I am not going to be told by some ancient tent dwelling cretins how to live my life. They were ignorant of what being gay is. They were not gay so they don't know and neither does anyone else who isn't gay. For some straight person to tell a gay person "don't act on your feelings" is to tell them that they may as well DIE.

SCREW THAT.

I can't tell you how angry I get over this. This is precisely the reason that I left Christianity. I was going to kill myself years ago over my being gay for the reasons Nancyjo stated above, but before I did I studied the Bible to make sure it was saying what it was really saying. (after all death is rather permanent) And it was true, but the more I studied it the more I realized that it's all Bull-crap. I now know that most Christians remain Christian because they've never really read the Bible even when they claim they have.

Yes, Christianity is against being gay. Christianity is a lie. I know this personally in a very close and intimate way that most Christians never have to face.

So look into it. Question it. Research more deeply in to it than anything you've ever done in your entire life. That's just how sure I am. Yes, I'm an atheist telling you that you should study the Bible. That itself should tell you alot right there. But study it. This is an issue of your LIFE that we're talking about. Don't just believe other people. Look DEEPLY into what you are reading. Find out the WHY of things. Study also the history of the Bible itself, from an independent scholarly study. Not some Christian website or book. I'm telling you there's some MAJOR questions that will come up. Don't be afraid to Question things.

Answer 3

christians technically believe in the principle of love the sinner, hate the sin. in an ideal world, this would apply, but we all know thats not how it works. the bible is full of contradictions, if god loves us all equally, how can there be a hell, and if there is only one god, whats all this talk in the old testiment of gads battle with other gods?? but unfortunatly, the truth of the matter is that religiously, homosexuallity between males is a sin, and as far a the bible is concerned, lesbians dont exist. now, even more unfortunatly, in the vast majority of religions, the religion and its followers are two separate things entirely, open and exploited by individual interpretation. it could be love thy neighbour or strike down the unrighteous. whatever a persons personal belifs, they will be able to find a bible passage to back it up, so feel justified in theirown belifs and claim it is part of their religion. its not the religion you have to worry about, its the people. and if your worried about life after death, read the bible again, and have a look at the terms and conditions, because no one in this day and age can fufil them all, and anyone who doesnt conform, including you for your natural desires, cant have a happy life after death. if you interprate things strictly by the bible, you can justify almost anything, and someone else will be able to condemn anything you do as well. an eye for an eye, or no killing? sorry for the rant!

Answer 4

True Christianity "bans" every sin. That doesn't mean G-d does not accept us in Christ. Also, if you have had feelings toward one of the same sex and sometimes to the opposite, it doesn't necessarily mean you are bisexual. It means you are starting to understand the world around you, building your alliances and discovering what options are out there. You are also just beginning to explore your sexuality. Of course... this does not mean you have to act on anything, because afterall, it would not be in your best interest to do so. I think you know that since you are a christian? Yes?? If this were a perfect world, you would not have to think about right or wrong or diseases, pain or suffering etc., because then it would be all be perfect. It would be heaven. But, this isn't heaven, and you have to be very careful. G-d wants you fullfilled AND safe. Focus on what is good and righteous for you to do and so in this way avoid what could be destructive. Keep in the word and in prayer, I will also be praying for you. Sometimes this can be a very difficult struggle, although I am not saying it will be for YOU. Nomatter what happens in life, TRUST G-d.... know, and never forget that He loves you and accepts you unconditionally, Because Jesus Christ died for all the sickness and sin and confusion and imperfection, etc. in the world that would come against you. G-d knows none of us are perfect until we are with Him in heaven. I hope I've encouraged you... Shalom.

Answer 5

No, not that I have noticed. It's about as banned as wearing polyester and cotton together.

The Old Testament was more about rules and disobedience and men being more important than women. (You'll notice they don't care about women having sex with women.) The New Testament is more about love and - seems a little about men being special, depending on the speaker.

I have noticed that conservative Christians like to hang on to old testament and judgmental things more, and liberal Christians like to hold on to new testament love and humanitarian kindnesses/equality more. (More of a "What would Jesus do?" group.)

I found my favorite objective site which explains both sides well is: http://www.religioustolerance.org/

You always have to take into consideration what let up to the statement and why they would have made such a statement. And if they were ignorant of any particular facts at the time.

A friend of mind was saying this Leviticus section was all about married guys and what they shouldn't be doing. I think of it as the kind of rule you make when you are a small, wandering tribe trying to make sure you'll have enough kids so you don't end up extinct.

Answer 6

Honestly it varies. Roman Catholics, Evangelicals, Jehovahs Witnesses and Mormons ban homosexuality because they believe that the bible is the word of God where as Protestant groups view the bible as the witness of God, but accepting homosexuals varies within Protestantism. You CAN be bi & be a Christian. Do you care that homosexuals have a line in Leviticus? Where in the 10 commandments does it say its wrong? My church varies congregation to congregation on this topic however we were the first to ordain an openly gay man & woman. We are the United Church of Christ and we have a coalition within our community check the link.

http://www.ucccoalition.org/

Also check this out

http://www.melwhite.org/

Answer 7

well, I don't how to say it well. I guess it depends on the person your asking. Me, I say go with the flow, man, don't think what other people say. God loves us all, but you ask a faithful person they'd say it's wrong for a man to love another man because it's in the bible. But I really don't care about the bible much. I know it from inside and out. All I just say as long God loves us its okey.

Answer 8

One of the fruit of the Spirit is self control. You may be born gay or bi but you do not have to act on it. God have provided for men and women to come together, to enjoy themselves, the marriage bed is undefiled.

Here is where a I think the point is being missed. Wheather you are gay or bi or straight there are only two gender-male and female.

The scripture teaches this: when you believe in Jesus Christ in your Heart and allow the Holy Spirit to come into your life. Then and only then will you please God and not yourself.

Answer 9

Okay, here's my views ... take it or leave it.

Jesus spoke out against lust and the desires of the flesh. I think that whether they are hetero- or homosexual make no difference. However, they are a natural part of living on earth and inhabiting this sinful flesh. Its up to us whether we succumb to them or not.

However, the Old Testament law (Leviticus, Deutoronomy) is no longer applicable today. And the letters of Paul ... well, personally, I find them to be contradictory to the words of Christ in many ways. But that's an entirely different discussion.

No one else can mandate your spirituality or your relationship with God. Pray about it ... ask God what you should do. People will mess with you and lead you in the wrong direction, but God never will.

Answer 10

as far as the religion goes the same book that has sodom and gommorrah, also says not to eat shellfish and pigs, or any fish that doesnt have scales or any animal with a split hoof, whatever, but then again here's the deal,,,, there are many reasons that people choose to be gay most of which i can't figuire out, men and women just seem to fit so well to me, most that i know were sexually abused as children, but i'm sure that's not nation wide, there just seems to always be some sort of weird stipulation that leads to that choice, either they don't fit in with the other kids or can't find a date or go to prison or they just like art and poetry too much, there just seems to be other things involved, i never hear this "hmmm i wonder why he's straight" but you do hear "hmmm wonder what made him gay"