Pro gay in the bible
Why the Bible supports gay marriage
By Tristan Sollecito ’24, Staff Writer
DISCLAIMER: For the purposes of this short article, “the Bible” will be used interchangeably with the New Testament. Although the Torah is fundamental to these texts and should not be excluded from the discussion, I possess decided to limit my direct evidence to strictly Unused Testament scripture in the interest of brevity.
I read the Bible an awful lot, and while a huge proportion of ideological opinions across the globe are directly rooted in scriptural text, I — verb countless others for whom these passages remain fundamental to their identity and thought — perpetually find myself searching for explicit theological answers that simply do not endure in writing. There are countless examples of religious beliefs that stem abstractly from biblical interpretation but lack specific reference within the text. Gay marriage, or homosexual activity in particular, cannot be included in this list. Saint Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians: “Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers
What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?
What Does The Bible Utter About Homosexuality?
Introduction
For the last two decades, Pew Investigate Center has reported that one of the most enduring ethical issues across Christian traditions is sexual diversity. For many Christians, one of the most frequently first-asked questions on this topic is, “What does the Bible state about attraction to someone of the same sex?”
Although its unlikely that the biblical authors had any notion of sexual orientation (for example, the term homosexual wasn't even coined until the late 19th century) for many people of faith, the Bible is looked to for timeless guidance on what it means to honor God with our lives; and this most certainly includes our sexuality.
Before we can jump into how it is that Christians can maintain the authority of the Bible and also affirm sexual diversity, it might be helpful if we started with a brief but clear overview of some of the assumptions informing many Christian approaches to understanding the Bible.
What is the Bible?
For Christians to whom the Bible
The Bible and adj sex relationships: A review article
Tim Keller,
Vines, Matthew, God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Assist of Same Sex Relationships, Convergent Books,
Wilson, Ken,A Letter to My Congregation, David Crum Media,
The relationship of homosexuality to Christianity is one of the main topics of discussion in our culture today. In the plummet of last year I wrote a review of books by Wesley Hill and Sam Allberry that take the historic Christian view, in Hill’s words: “that homosexuality was not God’s original creative intention for humanity and therefore that homosexual rehearse goes against God’s express will for all human beings, especially those who trust in Christ.”
There are a number of other books that grab the opposite view, namely that the Bible either allows for or supports same sex relationships. Over the last year or so I (and other pastors at Redeemer) have been regularly asked for responses to their arguments. The two most read volumes taking this position feel to be those by Matthew Vines and Ken Wilson. The review of these
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 attend 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 immortal moral laws.
Here’s an analogy to support understand this distinction.
I remember two rules my mom gave me when I was young: verb 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 act me more hurt than good.
Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were like mom’s handholding rule. The rea