the sin of homosesuallity
"Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable"(Leviticus 7:22). This is the quote that most often justifies Christian homophobia. This essay will show that everyone, is this is what they believe, is welcome into the kingdom of God no matter what their sexual preferences are. The Gay and Lesbian community should be welcomed into the house of God instead of being turned away for being openly homosexual. This subject is the cause of some conterversy between the church and the Gay and Lesbian community. The Church seems to think that being homosexual is a choice the individual makes in order to directly defy Gods wishes, "The Christian homosexual position when carefully examined can be exposed for what it is at it's very core: an attack upon the integrity, sufficiency, and authority of scripture, which for the Christian church is an attack upon the very nature of our Holy God!" (P3 Scroggs). Others think that it is just a phase that everyone goes through, and once you fulfill your homosexual desires you can truly be heterosexual again (Moberly). Some people have evidence that the words in the Bible were translated wrong from Hebrew to Greek and then to English. They believe that this should be made kno
Coming back to the phrase "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable" (Leviticus 18:22), and "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads" (Leviticus 20:13). According to these verses the act of homosexuality is punishable by death, this seems to be a very serious offence. Other offences punishable by death, according to the bible are sins such as "cursing one's parents...adultery, incest and intercourse with a menstruating woman" (p 44 Helminiak). In this the 20th century how can we conceder these serious offences? If the Christian community would see such a thing as cursing one's parents as they see homosexuality there would be no Christian community. Also, the list in 1 Corinthians includes adulterers, thieves, and the greedy. 1 Timothy includes that of liars and perjurers. Then why is the sin of homosexuality seen in today's society as so terrible they cannot be ordained and a sin such as greed is not given a second thought when they are considered for ordination. There are also some people who believe that the bible does not oppose homosexuality; this point will be shown throughout this essay. The book The New Testament and Homosexuality by Robin Scroggs suggests that the bible does not oppose homosexuality. In the case of Leviticus he says that the bible isn't dealing with homosexuality in general. He suggests that the answer to the condemnation objection is to the wasting of male semen. "The condemnation of male homosexuality acts must be seen in the context of the procreative ethic which it served.... since today wasting of semen may not considered sin at all, the contemporary relevance of the law in nullified" (p13 Scroggs). Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D., author of What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality says that the translation of the words "man-lying-with-man" was translated from Hebrew to Greek wrong. The Hebrews had no word for homogenital behavior therefore it was translated as "the man who lies with a male the lying of a woman" this phrase could have been translated one of two ways. The first being "lying of a male" and the second "lying with a male." One is interpreted as any homosexual act and the other as an act of male prostitution. This author believes that the sin is not the act of homosexuality but is the act of male prostitution. These are some ways of interpreting this bible verse. Scroggs, Robbin. The New Testament and Homosexuality. Fortress Press Philadelphia. 1983 Moberly, Elizabeth R.. Homosexuality: A New Christian Ethic. James Clarke & Co. Ltd.. 1982
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Approximate Word count = 3258
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)
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