How many times is homosexuality in the bible
Leviticus
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”[1] It is not a surprise that this verse seems to say that gay male sex is forbidden in the eyes of God. The dominant view of western Christianity forbids queer relations. This verse is one of the clobber passages that people cite from the Bible to condemn homosexuality. This essay first looks at the various ways the verse is translated into the English Bible and then explores some of the strategies used to create an affirming interpretation of what this route means for the LGBTQ community. More specifically, it presents the interpretation of K. Renato Lings in which Lev. refers to male-on-male incest.
While Lev. is used to condemn homosexuality, we must realize that the term “homosexuality” was only recently coined in the English language. So did this term be in ancient Israel? Charles D. Myers, Jr. confirms that none of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible state homosexuality.[2] He also contends that in ancient Israel homosexual relations were viewed as an ancient Near East challenge. The anc
Was Homosexuality the Sin of Sodom and Gomorrah?
The elderly man then responds just as Lot did, saying in verses 23 and 24, “No, my friends, don’t be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don’t undertake this outrageous thing. Glance, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can apply them and do to them whatever you hope. But as for this man, don’t do such an outrageous thing.”
Unfortunately, with no angels present this time to stop the attack, the men in Gibeah are able to carry out their plans. Verse 25 horrifyingly tells us that “the male took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they permit her go.” But she didn’t survive the vicious sexual violence. As the next verses explain, in the morning, the Levite found her lying deceased in the doorway.
This is among the most horrific stories in the Vintage Testament, and it’s unfeasible to read it without feeling sick to your stomach. But as gruesome and disturbing as it is, it provides us with a clear picture of what the men of Sodom h
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior
One way to argue against these passages is to make what I summon the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, block wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to heed to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).
In other words, if we can disregard rules enjoy the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Elderly Testament. But this argument confuses the Old Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its permanent moral laws.
Here’s an analogy to support understand this distinction.
I recollect 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 own 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 appreciate mom’s handholding rule. The rea
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 crucial to ask what light, if any, the New Testament sheds on this controversial issue. Most people apparently assume that the New Testament expresses strong contradiction to homosexuality, but this simply is not the case. The six propositions that follow, considered cumulatively, lead to the final word that the New Testament does not provide any direct guidance for understanding and making opinions about homosexuality in the latest world.
Proposition 1: Strictly speaking, the New Testament says nothing at all about homosexuality.
There is not a single Greek pos or phrase 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 new concept that would simply own been unintelligible to