What does christianity say about homosexuality
Homosexuality
Discourse around homosexuality, which is sometimes referred to as “same-sex attraction” and more frequently understood today as lesbian, gay, or double attraction identities, remains divisive and difficult for churches to discuss. Whilst Christians over the centuries have often come to uneasy compromises on other notable theological differences, it is sexual identities that are not heterosexual which continue to cause disagreement all over the world today.
In the last forty years, there has been a seismic shift in legal reforms around the world. Whilst these have not been universally adopted, many countries have decriminalised homosexuality; acted to prevent discrimination of employment, healthcare, and housing to lesbian and homosexual people; and some own introduced legislation for queer marriage.
Such developments have often received a mixed reaction from Christian denominations, and there continue to be lived-out tensions as clergy and lay people battle to “love God and love your neighbour” when their disagreements often undergo insurmountable.
Much of a contemporary Christian understanding of sexuality, homo and hetero, is rooted in the teachings of Paul, as found in
What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?
What Does The Bible Utter About Homosexuality?
Introduction
For the last two decades, Pew Research 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 say about attraction to someone of the matching 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 behind 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 bounce 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 terse 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 is God’s very written word, it is widely understood that God produced its contents through inspired
How Should Christians Respond to Gay Friends or Family Members?
Caleb Kaltenbach (M.A. ’07) is an alumnus of Biola’s Talbot School of Theology, lead pastor of a large church in Simi Valley, Calif., and a married father of two. He’s also an emerging voice in the discussion of how Christians should engage the LGBT community. That’s because Kaltenbach has an insider perspective, having been raised by a dad and mom who divorced and independently came out of the closet as a same-sex attracted man and a queer woman. Raised in the midst of LGBT parties and pride parades, Kaltenbach became a Christian and a pastor as a immature adult. Today, he manages the tension of holding to the traditional biblical teaching on sexuality while loving his gay parents.
Kaltenbach’s unique story is detailed in his new novel Messy Grace: How a Pastor with Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Without Sacrificing Conviction and landed him on the front page of the New York Times in June. Biola Magazine reached out to him to talk about his guide and his perspective on how Christians can improved navigate the complexities of this issue with fact and grace.
In your guide you say that it’s time for Christians to own the iss One way to argue against these passages is to make what I name the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, cease wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to tune in to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21). In other words, if we can disregard rules enjoy the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Vintage Testament. But this argument confuses the Old Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its permanent moral laws. Here’s an analogy to aid understand this distinction. I keep in mind two rules my mom gave me when I was young: hold her hand when I cross the street and don’t drink what’s under the sink. Today, I hold to follow only the latter rule, since the former is no longer needed to protect me. In fact, it would now do me more harm than good. Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were love mom’s handholding rule. The reason they forbade the Israelites from using certain fabrics or foods, or interacting with bodily flui .
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior