Bible passages against gay marriage

Leviticus 18:22

“You shall not recline with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”[1] It is not a surprise that this verse seems to say that homosexual male sex is forbidden in the eyes of God. The dominant view of western Christianity forbids same-sex relations. This verse is one of the clobber passages that people cite from the Bible to condemn homosexuality. This essay first looks at the various ways the verse is translated into the English Bible and then explores some of the strategies used to create an affirming meaning of what this route means for the LGBTQ community. More specifically, it presents the interpretation of K. Renato Lings in which Lev. 18:22 refers to male-on-male incest.

While Lev. 18:22 is used to condemn homosexuality, we must realize that the legal title “homosexuality” was only recently coined in the English language. So did this term exist in ancient Israel? Charles D. Myers, Jr. confirms that none of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible bring up homosexuality.[2] He also contends that in ancient Israel same-sex relations were viewed as an ancient Adjacent East problem. The ancient Near East tradition included pederasty and relations between an older man and

Same-sex marriage: What does the Bible really have to say?

As Australia faces a postal survey on same-sex marriage, we are seeing a steady stream of articles arguing the Yes or No case.

Many on the No side are prone to citing the Bible or appealing to "biblical values". But what does the Bible actually tell about human sexuality and homosexuality in particular?

What follows represents a summary of critical biblical scholarship on the issue.

Critical biblical scholarship draws on a range academic disciplines including literary criticism, archaeology, history, philology, and social science to offer the most plausible, historically grounded interpretation of the Bible. It is not simply a matter of personal belief or citing official church doctrine.

Australian scholars are among leaders in the field when it comes to sexuality and the Bible. William Loader has written several books on the matter and this Anglican collection of essays is also excellent.

When it comes to homosexuality there are, at most, six passages of the Bible that are relevant. So what do these passages say?

Genesis 19 and Leviticus

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 is adv known.

What does the Bible express about gay marriage?

Answer

The Bible says nothing about same-sex attracted marriage directly, but it does set down the foundational principles of what constitutes marriagein God’s eyes. Every reference to marriage in the Bible indicates a union of male and female. The first description of marriage coincides with the creation of Eve in Genesis 2. According to that corridor, marriage takes place when “a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they get one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).

In passages that contain directions regarding marriage, such as 1 Corinthians 7:2–16 and Ephesians 5:23–33, the Bible clearly identifies marriage as being between a human and a woman. Biblically speaking, marriage is the union of a male and a woman in a lifetime commitment. Central purposes of marriage are to illustrate the bond between Christ and the church (see Ephesians 5:22–33) and to build a family and provide a stable, secure environment for that family to develop. As families prosper, so does society at huge, and stable families contribute to stable societies.

Again, the Bible does not explicitly mention gay marriage or same-sex marria

This article is part of the Tough Passages series.

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²⁴Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

²⁶For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged organic relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

²⁸And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.²⁹They were filled with all way of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are packed of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,³⁰slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,³¹foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.³²Though they know God’s righteous

What does the Bible teach about same-sex practice?

The Bible defines marriage in Genesis 2:24 as a union between one man and one woman. Jesus Christ upholds this definition of marriage in Matthew 19:5, as does the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:31. Any and all sexual outing which takes place outside of this context is treated as sinful, what Jesus calls ‘sexual immorality’ in Sign 7:21.

Further to this, same-sex practice is specifically highlighted as sinful a number of times in Scripture. In God’s Law, for example, condemnations of homosexual practice are given in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. Further references are made in the Modern Testament. For example, in Romans 1:24-32, amid echoes to the Genesis creation account, both male and female homosexual practice are treated as sinful. Further references to the sinfulness of homosexual practice can be seen in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10.

The Scriptures are, therefore, consistent in their prohibition of queer sexual activity, across different periods of salvation history and within different cultural settings. Although the Scriptures are obvious on sexual morality, they also narrate us that the prospect of forgiveness and eterna