SOME MORE ON GAYS

What's wrong with being gay?
Homosexual behavior versus the Bible


The issue of homosexual behavior has had a lot of publicity of late. Homosexuals say that the slaves have been freed and women have been liberated, so gay rights are long overdue. Society does seem to be moving in that direction. Many homosexuals are “coming out” and openly declaring their homosexuality. In many parts of the western world, homosexual couples receive the same recognition as heterosexual couples with regard to social security benefits. Some religious leaders are giving their blessing to homosexual relationships, homosexual religious leaders and even homosexual ministers.

Many homosexuals' claim that…

1. They are made that way.
2. Homosexuality is of no harm to the participants or to anyone else.
3. If it feels right to those involved, it is nobody else's business.
4. Homosexual relationships and heterosexual relationships are equally valid. (Some even claim that the religions condones homosexual relationships.)

Made that way?

Since other groups who have been discriminated against (such as women, blacks and the disabled) have been given equal opportunity, homosexuals claim that they, too, should be liberated. However, as one expert has said …

“Gender, race and impairment all relate to what a person is, whereas homosexuality relates to what a person does.”

In contrast, homosexuals claim that scientific studies have shown that there is a biological basis for homosexuality.

Three main studies are cited by “gay rights” activists in support of their argument, Hamer's X-chromosome research, LeVay's study of the hypothalamus, and Bailey and Pillard's study of identical twins who were homosexuals.

In all three cases, the researchers had a vested interest in obtaining a certain outcome because they were homosexuals themselves. More importantly, their studies did not stand up to scientific scrutiny by other researchers. Also, “the media typically do not explain the methodological flaws in these studies, and they typically oversimplify the results”. There is no reliable evidence to date that homosexual behavior is determined by a person's genes.

To the extent that biological or social factors may contribute to a person's bent toward homosexual behavior, this does not excuse it. Some people have a strong bent towards stealing or abuse of alcohol, but they still choose to engage or not engage in this behavior the law rightly holds them accountable.

The final report of the Baptist Union of Western Australia (BUWA) Task Force on Human Sexuality states “that a person becomes a homosexual ultimately by choosing to be involved in same-sex activity… This is in contrast to innate characteristics such as gender and ethnicity.” The report affirms that in Christians “the Bible is clear that sin involves choice, and it unequivocally condemns homosexual behavior as sin.”

The foundational teaching in Christians on marriage and sexual issues is found in Bible Genesis chapters 1 and 2. Genesis teaches us that “male and female He created them”. We were created to a plan, male and female complementing each other. That is, God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, nor Madam and Eve.

Genesis also teaches that God instituted and designed marriage between a man and a woman. There are a number of reasons why He did so.

1.The complementary structure of the male and female anatomy is obviously designed for the normal husband and wife relationships. Clearly, design in human biology supports heterosexuality and contradicts homosexuality.

2.The combination of male and female enables man (and the animals) to produce and nurture offspring as commanded. “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth.” This command is repeated. But procreation is not the only reason God made humans as sexual beings. The BUWA report affirms “that sexual intimacy between husband and wife is good, and is intended by God for bonding, pleasure and procreation.”

3.Thirdly, God gave man and woman complementary roles in order to strengthen the family unit. Woman was to be the helper that man needed. However, the woman’s role as the helpmate is certainly not an inferior one. The enterprising God-fearing woman in is an inspiring role model.

No harm?

Andrew Lansdown points out that 'homosexual activity is notoriously disease-prone. In addition to diseases associated with heterosexual promiscuity, homosexual actions facilitate the transmission of anal herpes, hepatitis B, intestinal parasites, Kaposi's Sarcoma and AIDS.' Research on the life expectancy of a group of homosexual men in Canada in the early 1990s indicated that they could expect 8-21 years less lifespan than other men.

Effect on others

Secular psychologists assure us that 'children raised in lesbian and gay households are similar to children raised in heterosexual households on characteristics such as intelligence, development, moral judgments, self-concepts, social competence and gender identity'. The humanists have, however, forgotten one important ingredient.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it”.

You cannot faithfully teach God's Word to your children while living a lifestyle specifically condemned by God’s Word. All humans are sinners forgiven by God's grace, but living in a homosexual relationship constitutes habitual, non repented sin.

Nobody else's business

Gay activists claim that homosexual activity is nobody's business other than those involved in the relationship. However, this is not true. God, our Designer and Creator, has authority over all aspects of our lives. He makes the rules, and He quite specifically forbids homosexual behavior.

“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination”.

Disobedience of such a clear command indicates rejection of God's authority.

Some people argue that the Old Testament law was superseded with the coming of Christ. However, we should at least consider as binding those aspects of the law that are renewed in the New Testament..

Equally valid

Some people claim that homosexual behavior was only condemned in the Bible because it was associated with idolatry. However, it is clearly condemned apart from idolatry as well. It is described in Scripture as an unnatural, immoral perversion.

The Greek word arsenokoitai literally means “men who sleep with men.” It is the same Greek word used for “homosexual offender” variously translated as “abusers of themselves with mankind” (KJV), homosexuals (NASB) or homosexual offender (NIV).

Some people claim that the sin involved in Sodom was rejecting hospitality customs or selfishness rather than homosexual behavior. Certainly, the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was great and their reported sin was grievous to God.

“While it is true that the Hebrew word yadha does not necessarily mean 'to have sex with,' nonetheless in the context of Sodom and Gommorah, it clearly had this meaning. …It means 'to know sexually' in this very chapter when Lot refers to his two daughters not having “known” a man” You would not offer virgins to appease a mob if their sin was lack of hospitality, but only if their desire was sexual.

Although Ezekiel condemns Sodom for its selfishness with regard to poverty etc., this does not contradict its condemnation for homosexual practices. “The very next verse of Ezekiel calls their sin an ‘abomination.’ This is the same Hebrew word used to describe homosexual sins.

It is also used in Scripture to describe such things like the practice of offering children to Moloch, but never such things as mere selfishness or lack of hospitality. Even in legal parlance, the word used to refer to one aspect of homosexual practice is 'sodomy'.

Another argument is that Jonathan and David were homosexuals as 'Jonathan loved David, that Jonathan stripped in David's presence, and they kissed each other'.

However, “David's love for Jonathan was not sexual (erotic) but a friendship (philic) love. And Jonathan did not strip himself of all his clothes, but only of his armor and royal robe.” Also, a kiss was a normal greeting in that day, such as when Judas kissed Jesus. In several cultures today, men normally greet each other with a kiss, too. Further, David's love for his wives, especially Bathsheba, clearly reveals his heterosexual orientation.

Isaiah states that eunuchs will not be excluded from God's presence (“my temple”), but practicing homosexuals are not eunuchs. Eunuchs have no sexual relations at all.

Other scriptural arguments for homosexuality can similarly be easily refuted. It is clear that heterosexual marriage is the only form of marriage sanctioned in the Bible and that homosexual practice is always condemned.

Punishment

The Bible not only describes homosexual behavior as detestable, but it also calls for the punishment of those involved. Their unrepentant attitude caused God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.

Just as homosexual conduct has been punished in the past, so it will also be punished by God in the future.

“…Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionists will inherit the kingdom of God”.

Hope

However, there is hope for the homosexual. God forgives and cleanses a person who repents and turns from their sin, including the sin of homosexual behavior. As well as forgiveness, God's grace brings with it the power to live a life that is pleasing to God. If repentance and reform are genuine, prior homosexual actions should not be a bar to church membership or ministry, as all Christians are reformed sinners.

“Liberal” churches espouse tolerance of homosexual behavior in the name of “love.” They plug for the acceptance of homosexual conduct as normal, “because they can't help it.” They are not only wrong about the latter, but they are actually not being at all loving towards homosexuals, because, contrary to the Bible, they reduce the homosexual person to the level of an animal, driven by instinct. In removing moral responsibility from the person, they dehumanize them, whereas the Bible says we are made in the image of God, with the power of moral choice.

Furthermore, the gospel proclaims liberation from the bondage of sin, including homosexual sin, whereas the “liberals” tell the homosexual that they cannot help it, and they can't help them either, so they will accept them as they are! However, many a person has been gloriously rescued from the bondage of homosexual sin (and other sin) by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion

As with all moral issues, our beliefs about our origin determine our attitude. If we believe that we arose from slime by a combination of random chance events and the struggle for survival, it is understandable to say that there is no higher authority, and we can make our own rules. However, if there is a loving God who planned us and gave commands for us to follow, then we must do so. God has set forth His standards beginning with the foundational teaching in the book of Genesis.

Post Script: Various studies indicate that homosexual behavior makes both men and women more vulnerable to disease and decreases lifespan. If the same pattern of mortality were to continue, then nearly half of gay and bisexual men currently aged 20 years will not reach their 65th birthday. Homosexual men are at significantly increased risk for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, anal cancer, gonorrhea and gastrointestinal infections. Women who have sex with women are at significantly increased risk of bacterial vaginosis, breast cancer and ovarian cancer than are heterosexual women.