Homosexuality represents a very divisive and controversial issue in America's current ideological and political climate. It seems to me that people inside and outside of the church do not usually understand what the Bible says and does not say about homosexuality, with the ignorance on the matter resulting in possible straw man attacks from non-Christians and Biblically false claims by Christians. The purpose of this post is to clarify just what the Bible teaches and does not teach about homosexuality.
I will add beforehand that it is beyond dispute that simply by visually observing the male and female genitals one can tell that the external sex organs of men and women are biologically incompatible with identical sex organs. A penis and a vagina are biologically compatible, but not a penis and a penis or a vagina and a vagina. Logic reveals that this alone does not make homosexual acts wrong (naturalistic fallacy, non sequitur), but it is important to note that biology itself does not support any claim that homosexual use of the genitals is natural, regardless of whether it can truthfully be said that the desires themselves can be natural in certain individuals. I also want to clarify that whether or not actual homosexual impulses are acquired or innate tells us nothing about whether or not acting upon them is wrong. Also, I have no way to prove the origin of such desires in another person.
Now, the Bible does indeed condemn homosexual behaviors in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Romans 1:24-27, and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 all clearly list homosexual behaviors as sinful, and anyone who claims otherwise is not objectively representing the Bible. I do want to add, though, that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 is not really in and of itself a specific condemnation of homosexual actions in general despite how some bring it up as if it were. I will list the reasons why: 1) it is a narrative, not a part of Mosaic Law or some part of the Bible detailing Christian morality (narratives alone do not necessarily communicate the Biblical stance on a moral issue, only a record of events); 2) the story itself features attempted homosexual rape and not any consensual homosexual behaviors (meaning that even if someone credits the narrative with providing moral prescriptions and not just descriptions about events, it doesn't necessarily include condemnations of consensual homosexuality); and 3), Ezekiel 16:49-50 describes arrogance, selfishness, and unwillingness to help the poor as the defining sins of Sodom, not homosexuality. While Genesis 19 is not totally irrelevant to what the Bible says about homosexuality, there are vastly better passages to go to in order to demonstrate that the Bible condemns homosexual activities. The ones I listed before will suffice.
As I said already, I do not know if homosexual desires are acquired or natural or either depending on individuals. But I do know that the Bible does not once condemn people simply for experiencing or having what society now calls a "homosexual orientation". If a man or woman truly is born with homosexual desires or is struggling with them after acquiring them elsewhere, Christians operating in accordance with what the Bible actually teaches will condemn homosexual acts but show understanding towards those struggling with the presence of such desires. Christians should be willing to empathize with such people, offer them love, and be willing to understand their difficulties; after all, I can scarcely imagine the difficulty committed Christians struggling with homosexual desires must endure. People who have actual homosexual desires should not be treated as subhuman beings--they remain bearers of God's image (Genesis 1:26-27) and Christians need to act accordingly.
I hope that readers can see the clear, distinct line between the Bible's condemnation of outward homosexual behaviors and its lack of condemnation of any possible homosexual orientation. It is crucial that Christians recognize this--for if some people really are born with homosexual "orientations", then no amount of talk is liable to change that fact. As an analogous example, I am asexual. I do not experience sexual attraction, desire, or impulses in the way that other people at large claim to. No, this condition is not condemned in Scripture [1], but there is not anything I can do to simply will the presence of sexual desires into my life. Likewise, people with homosexual desires cannot necessarily will such desires away. Instead of condemning something that the Bible does not and placing a gratuitous and oppressive burden on others, Christians need to be understanding of the desires themselves while remaining opposed to the actions that Scripture prohibits. There is a difference. And it is a very important one.
[1]. https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2017/05/an-explanation-of-asexuality.html
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