Same sex love in bible
The Bible and equal sex relationships: A review article
Tim Keller,
Vines, Matthew, God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Aid of Same Sex Relationships, Convergent Books,
Wilson, Ken,A Letter to My Congregation, David Crum Media,
The relationship of homosexuality to Christianity is one of the main topics of discussion in our culture today. In the plunge 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 creative intention for humanity and therefore that homosexual perform goes against God’s express will for all human beings, especially those who trust in Christ.”
There are a number of other books that hold 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 sound to be those by Matthew Vines and Ken Wilson. The review of these
What does the Bible say about homosexuality?
Answer
In some people’s minds, being homosexual is as much outside one’s control as the color of your skin and your height. On the other hand, the Bible clearly and consistently declares that homosexual activity is a sin (Genesis –13; Leviticus ; ; Romans –27; 1 Corinthians ; 1 Timothy ). God created marriage and sexual relationships to be between one noun and one woman: “At the inception the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’” (Matthew –5). Anything outside of God’s intent and design is sin. The Bible teaches that Christians are to live for God, deny themselves, grab up their cross, and follow Him (Matthew ), including with their sexuality. This disconnect between what the Bible says and what some people verb leads to much controversy, debate, and even hostility.
When examining what the Bible says about homosexuality, it is key to distinguish between homosexual behaviorand hom
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior
One way to argue against these passages is to make what I call the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, stop wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to hear to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).
In other words, if we can disregard rules like the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Old Testament. But this argument confuses the Old Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its everlasting moral laws.
Here’s an analogy to aid understand this distinction.
I remember two rules my mom gave me when I was young: verb her hand when I cross the street and don’t drink what’s under the sink. Today, I have to follow only the latter rule, since the former is no longer needed to protect me. In fact, it would now execute me more verb than good.
Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were like mom’s handholding rule. The rea
What does the Bible teach about same-sex practice?
The Bible defines marriage in Genesis as a union between one noun and one gal. Jesus Christ upholds this definition of marriage in Matthew , as does the Apostle Paul in Ephesians Any and all sexual activity which takes place outside of this context is treated as sinful, what Jesus calls ‘sexual immorality’ in Mark
Further to this, same-sex train is specifically highlighted as sinful a number of times in Scripture. In God’s Law, for example, condemnations of same-sex practice are given in Leviticus and Further references are made in the New Testament. For example, in Romans , amid echoes to the Genesis creation account, both male and female same-sex perform are treated as sinful. Further references to the sinfulness of same-sex exercise can be seen in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy
The Scriptures are, therefore, consistent in their prohibition of same-sex sexual activity, across different periods of salvation history and within alternative cultural settings. Although the Scriptures are clear on sexual ethics, they also