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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