The Bible and homosexuality
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This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. (March 2011) |
Direct references to homosexual activity in the Bible are relatively few.[1] Traditional Jewish and Christian societies have interpreted these passages as moral imperatives forbidding all forms of homosexual activity. Modern biblical scholarship tends rather to attempt to understand them within the context of the societies which produced them.
Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
Leviticus 18 and 20
Chapters 18 and 20 of Leviticus, which form part of the Holiness code, contain the following verses:
- Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination.(Leviticus 18:22 KJV)
- If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.(Leviticus 20:13 KJV)
The two verses have traditionally been interpreted by Christians as blanket prohibitions against homosexual acts.
Traditional Jewish sources view these verses as prohibitions against anal sex between males.
Possible references
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis has traditionally been interpreted within Christianity as a punishment for homosexuality; Judaism regards it as a story about the need for hospitality.
Jesus spoke of the punishment of Sodom in telling the disciples as he was sending them out what would happen to towns which did not welcome them. Matthew 10:14-15 and Luke 17: 10-12.
The Hebrew Bible uses the word kedeshah for prostitute. The meaning of the male form kadesh or qadesh is not entirely clear.[2] Some translations imply a male cultic attendant, apparently with some sexual implication. The account of the friendship between David and Jonathan in the Books of Samuel, depicted by traditional and mainstream religious interpretation as a relationship of platonic love, has been interpreted by some secular writers as being of a sexual nature.[3][4]
Passages from the New Testament
Romans 1
(26) Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. (27) In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
However, it says in verse 27, "In the same way...", which is a comparative phrase, meaning that the women in verse 26 practiced unnatural relations in the same way that the men in verse 27 did, through homosexuality. This passage is also debated, both in terms of its relevance today and in terms of its actual prohibition.[5] In terms of relevance, some argue that Paul's writings must be considered fallible because of his support for slavery and the oppression of women. [by whom?] Others argue that the passage is not a blanket condemnation of homosexuality at all.[6][7][8]
Other Epistles
In the context of the broader immorality of his audience, Paul of Tarsus wrote in the First Epistle to the Corinthians,
Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, arsenokoitēs, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers, none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
The word arsenokoitēs (ἀρσενοκοίτης) has challenged scholars for centuries, and has been variously rendered as "abusers of themselves with mankind" (KJV), "sodomites" (YLT), or "men who practice homosexuality." Greek ἄῤῥην / ἄρσην [arrhēn / arsēn means "male", and κοίτην [koitēn] "bed," with a sexual connotation": there is no evident reason for Paul to choose this word to signify homosexuality, as Greek has the word androkoitēs for this meaning. It is likely that arsenokoitēs is taken from the Septuagint (LXX) reading of Leviticus 20:13 where the root forms (Greek ἄῤῥην / ἄρσην [arrhēn / arsēn] and κοίτην [koitēn] both appear. Paul's use of the word in 1 Corinthians is the earliest example of the term; its only other use is in a similar list of wrongdoers given (probably by the same author) in 1 Timothy 1:9–10:
Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. This means understanding that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, fornicators, arsenokoitēs, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. (1 Timothy 1:8–10)
In 35 A.D., the secular philosopher Philo wrote that arsenokoitēs referred to "temple prostitution". Later Christian literature used the word to mean variously prostitution, incest or rape without any single clear meaning – Patriarch John IV of Constantinople, in a passage dealing with coercive and non-procreative sex, speaks of "...many men [who] commit the sin of arsenokoitia with their wives".[9] Other scholars have interpreted malakoi and arsenokoitēs as referring to weakness and effeminacy, or to the practice of exploitative pederasty.[10][11]
See also
- Religion and homosexuality
- Homosexuality and Christianity
- Homosexuality and Judaism
- Homosexuality in ancient Greece
- Women in Christianity
- Malakia
- Biblical law in Christianity
References
- ^ David Hilborn (2002, p. 1)
- ^ Anderson, Ray Sherman (2001), The shape of practical theology: empowering ministry with theological praxis, InterVarsity Press, p. 267, ISBN 9780830815593
- ^ Boswell, John. Same-sex Unions in Premodern Europe. New York: Vintage, 1994. (pp. 135–137)
- ^ Halperin, David M. One Hundred Years of Homosexuality. New York: Routledge, 1990. (p. 83)
- ^ Interpretations of Romans 1:26-27 by Religious Liberals, Religious Tolerance
- ^ Mentioning the Unmentionable. Nelson, Eugene Jr. (Rev.), 12 Oct 1997, Community Church of Sebastopol
- ^ Romans: Exposing The Lie That Paul Condemns Homosexuality
- ^ Romans 1: Read the Whole Chapter Kiddo. Cadonau-Huseby, Anita
- ^ Boswell, John (1981). Christianity, social tolerance, and homosexuality: gay people in Western Europe from the beginning of the Christian era to the fourteenth century. University of Chicago Press. p. 364.
- ^ Scroggs, Robin (1983). The New Testament and homosexuality: contextual background for contemporary debate. Fortress Press. pp. 62–65, 106–109.
- ^ Berlinerblau, Jacques (2005). The secular Bible: why nonbelievers must take religion seriously. Cambridge University Press. p. 108.
Literature
- Amsel, Nachum. Homosexuality in Orthodox Judaism.
- Bahnsen, Greg L. 1978 Homosexuality: A Biblical View. ISBN 0-8010-0744-5
- Bahnsen, Greg L. 1994 In the Shadow of Sodom: Does the Bible Really Say What We Thought About Homosexuality?
- Biblical Studies Press 1996–2005 The NET Bible.
- Boswell, John. 1980 Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-06711-4
- Brooten, Bernadette. 1998 Love Between Women: Early Christian Responses to Female Homoeroticism University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-07592-3
- Brown, Driver, Briggs and Gesenius. Hebrew Lexicon entry for Dabaq. The Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon.
- Brunson, Hal. 2007 Lesbos, Narcissus, and Paulos: Homosexual Myth and Christian Truth. ISBN 0595405967
- Catholic Answers 2005 Early Teachings on Homosexuality, iuniverse, 2007.
- Dover, Kenneth. 1978 Greek Homosexuality. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674362705
- Durns, John Barclay 2002 Lot’s Wife Looked Back. Journal of Religion and Society 4, p. 1–16.
- Chapman, Patrick 2005 Homosexuals in the Bible: Jesus, John, the Centurion and the Slave?. Rainbow Journal Olympia, vol 2(1) (November 2005).
- Crompton, Louis, et al. 2003 Homosexuality and Civilization. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press ISBN 0-674-01197-X
- Elliott, John 2004 No kingdom of God for softies? or, what was Paul really saying? 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 in context Biblical Theology Bulletin Spring 2004.
- Gagnon, Robert A. J. 2001 The Bible and Homosexual Practice. Abingdon Press. ISBN 0-687-08413-X
- Greenberg, David 1988 The construction of homosexuality. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-30628-3
- Halsall, Paul. Homosexuality and Catholicism: A Partially Annotated Bibliography
- Helminiak, Daniel 2000 What the Bible really says about homosexuality. Alamo Square Press. ISBN 1-886360-09-X
- Hilborn, David. 2002 Homosexuality and Scripture. Evangelical Alliance.
- Horner, Tom. 1978 Jonathan Loved David. Westminster Press. ISBN 0-664-24185-9
- House of Bishops 1991 Issues in Human Sexuality. Church of England. ISBN 0-7151-3745-X
- Howard, Kevin L. Paul's View of Male Homosexuality: An Exegetical Study. M.A. thesis (unpublished). Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Deerfield, Illinois. June 1996.
- Jennings, Theodore 2003 The Man Jesus Loved: Homoerotic Narratives From the New Testament. Pilgrim Press. ISBN 0-8298-1535-X
- Johns, Loren 2004 Homosexuality and the Bible: A Case Study in the Use of the Bible for Ethics (The Academic Dean of the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary).
- Koch, Timothy R 2001 Cruising as methodology : homoeroticism and the scriptures, In Queer Commentary and the Hebrew Bible, ed. Ken Stone, Pilgrim Press. ISBN 0-8298-1447-7
- Martin, Dale. 1996 Arsenokoites and malakos: Meanings and Consequences, pp. 117–136. In Biblical Ethics and Homosexuality. Ed Robert Brawley. Westminster Press ISBN 0-664-25638-4.
- Marston, Paul 2003 'Christians, Gays and Gay Christians'. Free Methodists.
- McNeill, J. J. 1993 The Church and the Homosexual. Beacon Press. (4th edn.). ISBN 0-8070-7931-6
- Nissinen, Martti. 1998 Homoeroticism in the Biblical World: A Historical Perspective. Augsburg Fortress Publishers. ISBN 0-8006-2985-X
- Ostling, R. N. 2003 Book claims Jesus had homosexual relationship Chicago Sun-Times 29 May 2003.
- Robinson, B. A. 1996–2005 What the Bible says about homosexuality. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
- Satlow, Michael 1995 Tasting the Dish: Rabbinic Rhetorics of Sexuality. Scholars Press. ISBN 0-7885-0159-3
- Townsley, Jeramy 2003 All known references to arsenokoit*
- West, Mona 2005 The Bible and Homosexuality. Metropolitan Community Church.
- White, James and Neill, Jeffrey 2002 The Same Sex Controversy: Defending and Clarifying the Bible's Message About Homosexuality. ISBN 0-7642-2524-3
- Williams, Rowan 2002 ’The Body’s Grace’, in Eugene F. Rogers (ed.), Theology and Sexuality: Classic and Contemporary Readings, Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-21277-9
External links
Texts and definitions
- LGBT texts Internet Sacred Text Archive
- Porneia / Fornication Internet Archive cache of gerrior.net definition page
- Literal Genesis BELIEVE Religious Information Source
- Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality American Psychological Association
Essays
- Dispelling the Myth Essay at MercyToAll.net Bible study guides
- What the Bible says and means about homosexuality Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
- One More Article Explaining That The Bible Does Not Condemn Homosexuality Adult Christianity essay
- Homosexuality: The Christian Perspective Evbible.com Apologetics essay
- Homosexuality: The Christian Perspective Bible.org FAQ discussing verses
- The Catholic Church and Homosexuality excerpt from In the Murky Waters of Vatican II by Atila Sinke Guimarães
- The Bible Is Clear About Same-Sex Sexual Behaviour Christianity.ca essay
- The Old Testament and Homosexuality Kevin L. Howard essay at neednotfret.com