Religious Issues
Introduction
This information has been compiled by people of Christian heritage, and
it therefore reflects that tradition and its views on homosexuality. We
welcome additions from anyone raided in another religious tradition,
please contact someoone on the training committee if you have
information to share.
Bible Verses
Genesis 19:4-11, II Peter 2:4, 6-8, Jude 6-7
Each of these passages mentions the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The interpretation that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for
homosexual activity (knowing the angels of God sexually) is a fairly
recent one. Another interpretation is that the cities were destroyed
for being inhospitable to strangers (knowing who the angels were before
letting them stay), since hospitality was sacred in many desert
cultures.
There are other verses that mention the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 lists these sins as pride, gluttony, sloth and
selfishness. Jesus mentions that the cities were destroyed for
inhospitality in Matthew 10:14-15 and Luke 10:10-12
In Joshua 6 a remarkable similar story told of the destruction of
Jericho. The only person spared from the town was a prostitute (a
prohibited sexual behavior) who offers hospitality to messengers of
Joshua.
Deuteronomy 23:17-18, I Kings 14:23-24, 15:12, 22:46, and II Kings 23:7
Each of these passages used the Hebrew word kadash in reference to the
cult prostitutes common to pagan temples in biblical times. Being a
cult prostitute was considered idolatry. The King James version renders
the feminine form of the noun as whore and the masculine as sodomite.
At the time of this translation sodomy referred to “unnatural” sex acts
between two people; the word would not necessarily imply homosexuality.
Leviticus 18:22, 20:13
These passages say roughly the same thing: man shall not lie with man
as with woman because it is abomination. Many scholars believe this
passage to prohibit anal sex between two men, not homosexuality per se.
During biblical times it was common practice for a conquering army to
rape the vanquished army (anal sex) as a sign of their victory. This
behavior was prohibited to the Jews; instead they place a foot on the
neck of a captured enemy (Joshua 10:24). Furthermore, the Hebrew word
toevah, which is translated as abomination, does not usually signify
something intrinsically evil, but rather something ritually unclean.
In order to attract non-Jewish converts to Christianity, the early
church determined (Acts 15) that converts would not be bound to Mosaic
law – with four exceptions: idolatry, eating meat that still contained
blood, eating the meat of strangled animals, and fornication.
Fornication is sex between an unmarried man and woman.
The Bible thumpers seem to ignore the other proscriptions in Leviticus
(Mosaic law) unless convenient. These laws prohibit such things
as wearing clothing of mixed fibers, sex during a woman’s period,
eating shellfish, and children talking back to their parents.
I Corinthians 6:9-10, I Timothy 1:9-10
These passages from the writings of the apostle Paul enumerate some of
the sins that will keep the unrighteous from the kingdom of heaven.
Since the early 20th century, two Greek words have been taken to
indicate that homosexuals are on this list ... along with thieves,
liars, drunkards and revelers.
The Greek adjective malakos is translated as effeminate in this
one instance and then taken to mean homosexual. This word is translated
as soft, weak-willed, cowardly, unrestrained, etc. in other Greek
writings of this period. It is not used to refer to homosexuals. Church
tradition through the Reformation felt this referred to masturbation.
As popular morality has changed to no longer regard masturbation as a
sin that would keep one out of heaven, the interpretation has changed.
In the New King James bible published in 1985, effeminate has been
replaced with homosexual.
The other Greek word arsenokeetah is quite rare, but is
considered to have meant male prostitute until the 4th century when it
became one of a number of words used to refer to disapproved sexual
activity.
Romans 1:26-27
This is the only passage which talks about lesbians as well as gay men
and condemns those so consumed by passion that they turn from God.
There are two interpretations to be considered within the context of
the entire chapter – which condemns idolatry and polytheism: Paul is
using as example people so consumed with sexual passion that they turn
away from God and worship the flesh instead, or Paul is condemning
heterosexuals who stray from their true path into homosexual relations
for no reason other than physical release.
Church Affiliations
Among the groups on record as supporting civil rights for lesbian, gay,
and bisexual people are: the National Council of Churches, the Roman
Catholic Federation of Priests Councils, the Central Conference of
American Rabbis, and numerous other clergy and lay people.
There are at least two lesbian and gay churches with nationwide
memberships, and almost every religious denomination has a lesbian and
gay organization of some kind.
Most religious denominations will perform same-sex commitment
ceremonies to validate a homosexual union in the eyes of the
church – if not the state.
next subject: Common
Myths and Stereotypes: Sexual Misconceptions
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