Homosexuality: A Biblical Overview

Denison Forum on Truth and Culture ^ | March 28, 2013 | Jim Denison

[Secret Agent Man]

the very fact the gay lifestyle results in homosexuals and lesbians living decades less than normal people indicates the fact this does carry a swifter death penalty than other sins. it is still that wicked and severe that their lives are shortened by their own actions.

we all die because we have sinned and death is a penalty that will be administered for our sin, but some sins get you there quicker than others. of that fact, it is not debatable.

[Secret Agent Man]

yeah abortion is the worst.

[Sherman Logan]

You are quite correct. The prohibitions of homosexuality in the OT are not valid for Christians as such. Any more than we are prohibited from eating shellfish, cutting the corners of our beards, or wearing clothing of mixed fibers. Or that Christian women are required to live in the backyard while having their period.

IMO Christians should not cite passages as applicable today when they are from a Law that no longer applies as such.

However, the NT repeats in multiple places the prohibitions of the OT against homosexuality and other forms of sexual immorality. These prohibitions are, of course, fully binding on Christians.

That said, the peculiar modern conservative animus against homosexuality as uniquely or peculiarly sinful is not supported by the NT, where the practice is usually cited in the middle of a list of immoral practices. IOW, homosexual immorality is not inherently greatly more sinful than heterosexual immorality.

And you are quite right that this hypocrisy is one reason fewer and fewer people are listening to Bible-thumpers.

[RegulatorCountry]

Acknowledging slavery and dealing with the subject does not equate to condoning or endorsing it. The closest you’ll come would be the admonishment to a slave not to rebel, to obey his master. Humans have been bound in one form or another for all recorded history. Our era is the exception, not the rule.

[CatherineofAragon]

Sorry, but that’s absurd. It’s the same easily refuted argument I’ve seen from liberals and atheists.

Your view is based on a misunderstanding of God’s laws. The dietary/hygiene laws, etc., were given specifically to the Israelites....when God gave them, He said to Moses, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying....”.

However, abominations such as sexual sin applied not only to Israel, but to ALL the nations. Look at Leviticus 18:22-30, where God forbids such sin among the Jews, AND among the alien sojourner. He speaks of such sin being practiced among the previous inhabitants of the land, so it was clearly wrong for them, as well.

It’s important not to confuse the Law which was intended on ly for Israel with God’s moral law which extends to everyone today. The ceremonial laws expired when Christ made His sacrifice. Moral laws are unchangeable because they are based on God’s character.

Besides, if we’re going to dump what Leviticus says about homosexuality, shouldn’t we also ignore its prohibition against lying, theft, bearing false witness, committing adultery, bestiality, and incest, and sacrificing children? Of course not.

Lastly, what is this “Bible-thumping” stuff I’m seeing on this Christian site? Bill O’Reilly, is that you? You won’t find anything better TO thump THAN the Bible, and when someone has a problem with it, it usually indicates they should do a bit of soul-searching.

[Sherman Logan]

Just curious. You obviously have firmly in your mind the distinction between “ceremonial” provisions of the Law and its “moral” provisions.

Which passage of the Law, or other Scripture, defines which group a particular provision falls into? Or is this distinction you find so compelling based on anything at all besides your personal preference?

[Graybeard58]

yes, I know that

[gdani]

The ceremonial laws expired when Christ made His sacrifice.

Serious question as I have followed this debate in the past & am curious as to what all sides have to say -- Is your contention that the "ceremonial" laws expired when Christ made his sacrifice backed up in Scripture or is this an interpretation/analysis after the fact?

[Yosemitest]

The writer doesn't even touch Judges 19 , Judges 20, and Judges 21 and this story shows just how destructive homosexuality really is.

It's SIMPLE, if you have the guts to accept God's WORD, His Laws, Judgements, and Statues, and then OBEY HIM!

Those who support homosexuals are against our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
These anti Christ people only bring destruction on us ALL.
I have NO sympathy for homosexuals!

Homosexuality is a "Mark" of disobedience.

It was given by our Heavenly Father to test us
to see ... if we will OBEY our Heavenly Father,
and abide by His commandments, statues, and ordinances.

Someone once asked

"Why are they [homosexuals] all so angry?"

The answer is in the definition of "REPROBATE".

rep·ro·bate \ˈre-prə-ˌbāt\ a. [L. reprobatus, reprobo, to disallow; re and probo, to prove.]

1. Not enduring proof or trial; not of standard purity or fineness; disallowed; rejected.


Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them. Jer. 6.




2. Abandoned in sin; lost to virtue or grace.

They profess that they know God, but in works deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate. Titus 1.

3. Abandoned to error, or in apostasy. 2Tim. 3.

And the reason"why" is given in the Bible.

God has a cure for homosexuals.

But will we OBEY our Heavenly Father?

[Sherman Logan]

Leveticus 19

1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

5 “‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 6 It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up. 7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. 8 Whoever eats it will be held responsible because they have desecrated what is holy to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.

11 “‘Do not steal.

“‘Do not lie.

“‘Do not deceive one another.

12 “‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.

13 “‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.

15 “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.

18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

“‘Do not mate different kinds of animals.

“‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.

“‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.

20 “‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment.[a] Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. 21 The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord. 22 With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.

23 “‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden.[b] For three years you are to consider it forbidden[c]; it must not be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.

27 “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.

28 “‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.

32 “‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord.

33 “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

35 “‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. 36 Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah[d] and an honest hin.[e] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.

37 “‘Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the Lord.’”

This starts off with the statement you claim means that the provisions apply only to the people of Israel. So lying, robbery and deceit are wrong for nobody but Israelites? Respect for the aged is not a moral issue?

I think any reasonable person will agree the above is a total intermingling of what you refer to as moral and ceremonial provisions of the Law. IOW, the distinction between the two is in your mind, not in the Law.

[US Navy Vet]

Remember Homosexual “Marriage” is OFTEN the LAST straw before G*D HARSHLY Judges a Nation. G*D ordained Marriage and he takes a DIM view of Nations “playing” with his Ordinations.

[Yosemitest]

Have you read "Joshua 23:6-16" ?

[US Navy Vet]

I have now, what about it?

[Yosemitest]

If you’ve read it, and you watch the news today, then you know it’s happening NOW!

[US Navy Vet]

Yep

[robowombat]

The British Anti-Slavery Society, which is still around, claims there are in absolute terms more persons held in some form of chattelage today than at any time in its existence. This counts millions of individuals mostly in Asia ,’bound’ to their employers for various terms of service. Throughout the Arab Muslim countries slavery of various sorts openly exists and is simply not talked about.

[CatherineofAragon]

"Serious question as I have followed this debate in the past & am curious as to what all sides have to say -- Is your contention that the "ceremonial" laws expired when Christ made his sacrifice backed up in Scripture or is this an interpretation/analysis after the fact?"

Yes, it is backed up by Scripture.

Jesus said that He came not to change the law (paraphrase there), but to fulfill it. And He did; He was the completion and the fulfillment. The Law was given to show man that he was sinful and could not possibly atone for himself nor cleanse himself; it led straight to Christ, the true sacrificial Lamb. “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24).

Gal 3:19: “What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made.”

Gal. 3:23-25: “But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor (to lead us) to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. "

Mark 7:17: "17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)"

Romans 14:20" Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble."

[CatherineofAragon]

Again, lying, robbery, and deceit are moral law, which, according to God, applied not only to Israel, but to the Gentiles, as well.

Corinthians 1:9: "Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. "

There's Paul in the NT, clearly telling the church at Corinth that homosexuals will not be saved. Yet you say the prohibition against sodomy doesn't apply to Christians (one of the most incredible claims I have EVER seen online).

God's moral law doesn't change.

[CatherineofAragon]

Just curious. You obviously have firmly in your mind the distinction between “ceremonial” provisions of the Law and its “moral” provisions.

Which passage of the Law, or other Scripture, defines which group a particular provision falls into? Or is this distinction you find so compelling based on anything at all besides your personal preference?"

Well, no, I didn't sit here by the window and make it up. It's a traditional view which goes all the way back to the Westminster Confession of 1643.

So where did you get the idea that Christianity doesn't prohibit homosexuality?

[Sherman Logan]

Care to go back and quote where I said any such thing?

The New Testament clearly prohibits homosexual behavior and all other sexual activity outside of marriage. Between a man and his (female) wife.

My point was that the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) do not produce the distinction between homosexuality as uniquely evil compared to all other forms of sexual immorality. The standard I believe in is actually higher, since it requires abstaining from heterosexual as well as homosexual immorality.

So of the 613 (or whatever) laws in The Law, somebody sits down and places each in either column A (ceremonial) or column B (moral). Since no such distinction is specifically found in the Law itself, and the two groups are intermingled throughout, as shown by Leviticus 19, it means somebody has to decide which column to put a law into.

Which means the question arises, who makes that decision and on what basis? And what scriptural reason is there for not later deciding that the prohibition against homosexual acts should not be reclassified as ceremonial rather than moral? Other than personal preference, of course.