Is being gay a sin yes or no
Has 'Homosexual' Always Been in the Bible?
Reprinted with permission from The Forge Online
The word “arsenokoitai” shows up in two different verses in the bible, but it was not translated to intend “homosexual” until 1946.
We got to sit down with Ed Oxford at his house in Long Beach, California and talk about this question.
You have been part of a research team that is seeking to grasp how the decision was made to put 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 employ that word in the RSV translation (which is outlined in my upcoming book with Kathy Baldock, Forging a Sacred Weapon: How the Bible Became Anti-Gay) I wanted to see how other cultures and translations treated the same verses when they were translated during the Reformation 500 years ago. So I started collecting old Bibles in French, German, Irish, Gaelic, Czechoslovakian, Polish… you name it. Now I’ve got most European major languages that I’ve collected over time. Anyway, I had a German friend come back to town and I asked if he could facilitate me with some pa
LGBT Issues and the Church: Problems With a ‘Gay Christian’ Identity
This is part one of an continuing series on problematic trends in the church regarding LGBT issues.
There’s a movement in Christian circles where those struggling with homosexual attractions identify themselves with terms like “gay Christian” or “gay celibate Christian.”
Others use terms like “sexual minority Christians,” “queer Christian” or even “trans Christian.”
Many who describe themselves this way – but by no means all – say they are embracing chastity or celibacy and pursuing a relationship with Christ. That is, they believe the historic, biblical Christian sexual ethic, that God created humans male and female, and sexual expression is reserved for the marriage relationship of a husband and wife.
A number of Christian writers and ministries have adopted this nomenclature, with some of them training churches and other ministries to follow their lead.
Focus on the Family does not believe these terms are biblical or helpful for same-sex-attracted strugglers. Although these groups and individuals carry to biblical teaching that transgender and homosexual lust and behavior are erroneous, they fail to exercise
Is being gay a sin?
Answer
In order to answer the question “Is being homosexual a sin?” we necessitate to challenge some assumptions upon which the scrutinize is based. Within the past fifty years, the term gay, as applied to homosexuality, has exploded into mainstream culture, and we are told that “being gay” is as much outside one’s regulate as “being short” or having blonde hair. So the question is worded in a loaded way and impossible to adequately answer in that create. We need to split this question up and deal with each piece separately. Rather than seek , “Is being gay a sin?” we need to ask, “Is it sinful to have same-sex attractions?” And, “Is it sinful to engage in queer activities because of those attractions?”
Concerning the first doubt, “Is it sinful to have same-sex attractions?” the answer is complicated. First, we should probably distinguish between (actively) sinning and (passively) being tempted:
Being temptedis not a sin. Jesus was tempted, but He never sinned (Matthew 4:1; Hebrews 4:15). Eve was tempted in the garden, and the forbidden fruit definitely appealed to her, but it seems that she did not actually sin until she took the fruit and ate it (Genesis 3:6&n
The Bible and same sex relationships: A review article
Tim Keller, 2015
Vines, Matthew, God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same Sex Relationships, Convergent Books, 2014
Wilson, Ken,A Letter to My Congregation, David Crum Media, 2014.
The relationship of homosexuality to Christianity is one of the main topics of discussion in our culture today. In the fall 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 imaginative intention for humanity ... and therefore that lesbian practice goes against God’s express will for all human beings, especially those who trust in Christ.”
There are a number of other books that take 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 seem to be those by Matthew Vines and Ken Wilson. The review of these two books will be longer than usual because the topic is so contested today and, wh
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