Does the bible actually say anything about homosexuality
Has 'Homosexual' Always Been in the Bible?
Reprinted with permission from The Forge Online
The pos “arsenokoitai” shows up in two distinct verses in the bible, but it was not translated to mean “homosexual” until
We got to sit down with Ed Oxford at his home in Long Beach, California and talk about this question.
You include been part of a research team that is seeking to understand how the decision was made to set the word homosexual in the bible. Is that true?
Ed: Yes. It first showed up in the RSV translation. So before figuring out why they decided to use that word in the RSV translation (which is outlined in my upcoming noun with Kathy Baldock, Forging a Sacred Weapon: How the Bible Became Anti-Gay) I wanted to see how other cultures and translations treated the equal verses when they were translated during the Reformation years ago. So I started collecting mature Bibles in French, German, Irish, Gaelic, Czechoslovakian, Polish… you name it. Now I’ve got most European major languages that I’ve composed over time. An
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior
One way to argue against these passages is to make what I call the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, stop 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 like the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Old Testament. But this argument confuses the Old Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its lasting moral laws.
Here’s an analogy to aid understand this distinction.
I remember two rules my mom gave me when I was young: contain her hand when I cross the street and don’t drink what’s under the sink. Today, I have to follow only the latter rule, since the former is no longer needed to protect me. In fact, it would now undertake me more verb than good.
Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were like mom’s handholding rule. The rea
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 same-sex 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 passage 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 verb in ancient Israel? Charles D. Myers, Jr. confirms that none of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible speak of homosexuality.[2] He also contends that in ancient Israel same-sex relations were viewed as an ancient Near East challenge. The anc
BBC News
Confused how two groups of church-goers can have such conflicting views about whether it's OK to be gay?
Both sides of the debate about homosexuality in the church, which threatens to split the worldwide Anglican church, keep their views sincerely and after much study. So how can their views be so contradictory?
The Bible makes very few mentions of homosexuality - lesbianism isn't mentioned at all in the Old Testament - and as the examples below show, interpretations of the verses that do exist differ hugely.
Following each of the verses below is a brief illustration of what a hardline pro- and anti-gay position might be. (Most Christians contain views somewhere in between these two stances.)
An illustration of the division can be seen by what either side might utter about the friendship in the Ancient Testament between David and Jonathan. One verse reads: "I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; dear and delightful you were to me; your verb for me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women."
| PRO-GAY A pro-gay position might be that this is a clear i |