Where is being gay mentioned in the bible

Not so fast, say others. John Fitzgerald , an expert in the New Testament who teaches at Notre Dame, said that parsing the words of each text isn't the only challenge. Differing views on same-sex relationships in Christianity reflect "different assumptions and different interpretative approaches" to the Bible, he said. Another point made by Fitzgerald and other theologians: Although homosexuality is singled out by some today as an especially vile sin, the Bible tends to lump it with other sins, such as greed and gossiping.

Julie Mack writes for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Email her at jmack1 mlive. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. All rights reserved About Us. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Ad Choices. Don't settle for anything less than responsible journalism.

Subscribe today. Mayor Hopewell weds first gay couple at Bronson Park. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love. It could refer to the individual pagan, who goes beyond his own sexual appetites in order to indulge in new sexual pleasure. Paul did not deny the existence of a distinction between clean and unclean and even assumed that Jewish Christians would continue to observe the purity code.

He refrained. However, from identifying physical impurity with sin or demanding that Gentiles adhere to that code.

The following books are highly recommended for those wishing to carefully study issues of homosexuality as related to the Christian Church:. Boswell, John. Christianity, social tolerance, and homosexuality: gay people in Western Europe from the beginning of the Christian era to the fourteenth century. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, Countryman, Louis William.

Morehouse Publishing, Furnish, Victor Paul The Moral Teaching of Paul. Nashville : Abingdon Press. Pilgrim Press, Hanks, Tom. God So Loved the Third World.

Helminiak, Daniel A. San Francisco : Alamo Square Press, Heyward, Carter. Harpercollins Horner, Tom Philadelphia : Westminster Press. McNeill, John J.

The Church and the Homosexual. Boston : Beacon Press. Scroggs, Robin The New Testament and Homosexuality. Philadelphia : Fortress Press. View statement online by Rev. What was the Sin of Sodom? In order for suffering to be Christ-like, it must be redemptive. Redemptive suffering does not uphold oppressive forces but always expresses resistance against them. While the six passages that address same-sex eroticism in the ancient world are negative about the practices they mention, there is no evidence that these in any way speak to same-sex relationships of love and mutuality.

To the contrary, the amount of cultural, historical and linguistic data surrounding how sexuality in the cultures of the biblical authors operated demonstrates that what was being condemned in the Bible is very different than the committed same-sex partnerships we know and see today. If neither sex differentiation nor gender complementarity are the basis for Christian partnership, then what is? From Genesis 2, to Matthew 19, to Ephesians 5, what these passages make explicit and is echoed throughout the rest of Scripture is something mentioned earlier: marriage is sacred for Christians because it can represent the enduring love between Christ and the Church.

Anyone who has ever been in an intimate relationship of any kind can testify to the range of differences and resulting conflicts that are an inherent part of any two personalities attempting to integrate their lives. All things considered, it is important to remember that throughout church history, new information about people and the world have frequently led Christians to reconsider their beliefs.

This need not be a reason to distrust Scripture, but rather should serve as an invitation to wrestle with the contexts of the biblical writers and our own lived experiences.

Read about what the Bible says about transgender people here. For further reading: Cheryl B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, Matthew Vines. Eerdmans Publishing Co. By clicking "GO" below, you will be directed to a website operated by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, an independent c 3 entity. By using this site, you agree to our use of cookies.