Recently I have been hearing a lot about the rising number of Christians who promote homosexuality, saying it is fine to reciprocate and live out romantic feelings with the same gender. Not too long ago there was a case in Malaysia where a pastor filed a divorce with his wife and later announced his marriage plans with his partner. He also went on and urged the homosexual community here to stand up and voice their opinions.
I also came across a person who claimed to hold a doctorate in theology supporting this stance, expressing his astonishment by such arguments, quoting the letter of Romans that we are saved by grace alone, both heterosexuals and homosexuals sin, and that we are not to judge others since we are all sinners.
First off, it needs to be established that the act of homosexuality is sinful. The passages in the Bible reflects that and strongly condemns such behaviour. Sodom (in which we derive the word sodomy from) was destroyed for their sin mentioned in Genesis 19:5. Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13 mentioned explicitly God commanding the Israelites to keep away from this practice lest they be put to death. St Paul also condemns this practice in the New Testament in Romans 1:26,27,32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; and 1 Timothy 1:9-10.
Some pro-homosexualists argue that Sodom was destroyed, not because of their homosexual behaviour, but because they did not show hospitality. That cannot be the case as Lot, an inhabitant of Sodom, showed hospitality and welcomed the two men into his home in Genesis 19:2-3. Also note that further down to verse 7, Lot begged the people of the Sodom “not to do such a wicked thing”, which, from the inhabitants’ demands, was to “bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them” (verse 5). Nowhere in the Bible is it recorded that God destroyed a city just because its residents did not show hospitality to His people, which presents the latter as the only other plausible option.
Also, if we read Leviticus 18, the act of homosexuality is one of the causes which defiled the nations and prompted the Lord drive of its inhabitants; this is also very telling about the sin of Sodom, as the past oft reflects God’s future actions.
I have been to sites which promote homosexuality and I have seen their “proves” that the Bible “allows” and “supports” this act. The very fact they wrench individual verses without even understanding the terms and meanings meant by the passages are so ridiculous it is not even funny.
For example, the man Phillip converted in Acts 8:26-39 was “gay” because he was an eunuch. But it cannot be that he was castrated because his specific duty given to him by the higher-ups, as was the custom those days (just go look up any definition of eunuch during the age of the Romans, and they will point out the same description).
Some quote Matthew 19:12 as Jesus consenting to homosexuals. But further back in the same passage Jesus was talking about divorcing your wife. And did he not quote, “that at the beginning 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 19:4-5)?” It cannot be that what Jesus was referring to was single life, as was practiced by several prophets in the in preparation for God’s holy ministry (eg: Elijah).
Then they quote David and Jonathan’s relationship as “gay” based on 1 Samuel 18:1 and 2 Samuel 1:26. But it cannot be that the love was a brotherly type – no, to them it must have been a sexual romantic type. So I guess when Jesus commanded, “Love your neighbour as yourself” (see also Leviticus 19:18), He must have meant we should all be polygamous bisexuals.
I apologise for the sarcasm of the last 3 paragraphs, but it aggravates me that some people twist God’s very sacred Scripture for their own benefit. Such blind pretexts were the catalyst for many atrocious events in the history of Christianity – the Crusades being one of them. Even the devil had used the Scriptures to tempt our Lord in the wilderness (Luke 4:10-11).
At least there some justification when they questioned John 13:23 – when the Apostle was leaning on Jesus’ breast –, as the verse may be a little disconcerting for a casual reader. But I implore readers to look into this deeper before making hasty conclusions. In ancient Rome, festal meals were eaten, not in a sitting position, but in a reclining position (Roller, 2006). Besides, the Gospel of John was written primarily for the Jews; why then, had such a controversial action gone unquestioned by the conservative Jews nor addressed by the Apostles, as was with circumcision (Acts 15)?
In fact, the council of Jerusalem states in Acts 15:20 that we are to keep away from unlawful marriages. To effect, I can quote Leviticus 20 as the basis of this statement. All Christians will agree that the practice of homosexuality was greatly condemned in the Old Testament. This law has been extended right up to the New Testament.
In response to the PhD holder in the second paragraph, I am honestly quite stunned that he actually wrote as such. Is he implying that it is permissible to act on conscious sin? More than that, is he encouraging these people to carry on living in perpetual sin? And by acknowledging the sin, is he also implying that one may enter God’s Kingdom living in perpetual conscious sin? The very same letter he based his justification on condemns him, “Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:32).
Do not get me wrong: with all is said, it does not mean that we are to reject, distance or despise homosexual people. After all, as Mr PhD noted, none of us are perfect beings. Thus, we have no right to cast the first stone (John 8:7,9). As the saying goes, hate the sin but love the sinner.
Rather, I say we are to befriend them and treat them no differently than how we treat others, following Jesus’ example when he mingled with the bunch of tax collectors and prostitutes. Do we distance ourselves from our best friends just because his/her character may be in contrast with ours?
Approach them and get to know them: their lives, aspirations, fears, etc. Through this, we may come to fathom the depth of their problems and what caused them to act in such a way. From their experience, those who had counselled homosexuals reported that all of their cases stemmed from a dark or disturbed event(s). Only by walking and empathising with them can we help them overcome their struggles.
RFG always.
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