Does the Bible Condemn Homosexuality?
So really, does the Bible condemn Homosexuality?
The short answer, or those who like the cliff notes version, No. Ultimately the Bible does not condemn homosexuality. Wait, you want an explanation, don’t you? In that case, here we go! The LGBTQ+ community has been demonized by greater American society for a long time. From the Hays Code enacted in 1934 (which prohibited any sort of same-gender acts in cinema) to the response to the AIDS pandemic in the 1980s and 1990s, the LGBTQ+ community has always been on the marginalized side of things.
While we have come farther in terms of greater societal acceptance (same gender marriage has been legal in all fifty states for six years after all- our little law can now start primary school!), the LGBTQ+ community is still routinely vilified in conservative circles, especially in the lucrative evangelical Christian voting block.
It's incredibly painful but many of us have heard pastors of all church sizes- from the rural one room church in the middle of nowhere to behemoths like Bethel- speak from the pulpit, that queer people are unfortunate sinners at best all the way to terrible to the core (abominations seems to be the word likely used). It's especially degrading to hear some of them blame horrific tragedies that have happened in the world on having given “the gays” an inch, and God is angry.
It's traumatic to hear another human blame my love for another woman on hurricanes that have ruined entire communities, earthquakes that have crushed families, and fires that have burned towns to the ground. Heck, even Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson blamed 9/11 on, “the pagans, the abortionists, the feminists, the gays, and the lesbians.”
Which like, come on, if we had that sort of power, don’t you think we would’ve had used that to get the right to legally marry years ago? That and government mandated karaoke night (though that could be just a me thing)?
What makes this rhetoric so scary and harmful is that it doesn’t just live on TBN or The 700 Club- it exists in many facets of evangelicalism. Anti-LGBTQ beliefs aren’t just people picketing funerals and proselytizing with yellow signs at tourist traps. This is spoken at way too many churches- if the condemnation isn’t loudly spoken, it is at the very least implied through whom churches will marry, who is allowed in leadership, permitted to be baptized, become members of and especially where in the church they are allowed to serve if at all (children are a big no-no as in many circles we are a-likened to pedophiles even if not directly said).
So for those who may be worshipping in spaces where they cannot be fully known, let’s look at Christianity’s number one guy, Jesus Christ- and let’s see what he has to say about homosexuality
As much as I’d like to give a definitive answer on what Jesus’ views on homosexuality were, I can’t. I can’t because he doesn’t say a word on the subject. He never condemns it in the Bible- he condemns a lot of other things (greed, hypocrisy, divorce) but never homosexuality, let alone consensual, same gender relationships.
Here’s what we know about Jesus, what he preached on, the words he said. There’s a valid argument that suggests his views on homosexuality don’t even matter as much as his much bigger message, simply put, love.
Love, the thing that Jesus talked a lot about.
In Mark 12, when asked by a Pharisee what the most important commandment was, Jesus replied “….you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
Talk about radical love and inclusivity- when the world and our ways of life can be weighed down by laws, regulations, and the general hustle that is living- all we must do is love God and love each other as we’d love ourselves. That means we start with our own hearts and go from there. If we don’t experience self compassion, love and self acceptance, we don’t be able to offer it to the other. Likewise, these are both equally important- in a way, Jesus calls us to love others as we would love God- seeing the Divine in each person we encounter. There are no addendums or loopholes, just the command to love.
He also says later in John 13, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Let’s look further at this verse too- wanna know how to differentiate between Jesus followers and (for lack of a better word) the muggles? Those who follow Jesus are called to love unconditionally with that same agape love that can only be mustered from the Divine. Agape is unconditional love and charity, the love originating from Christ for humans. This is not the same as saying you love someone while hating their sin.
Love that doesn’t have any “buts” at the end. Love that can’t be limited by our limited thinking.
We can look even at other communities of which Jesus called us to take extra care.
One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Matthew 25:35-40, which reads:
“35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,[a] you were doing it to me!’”
Jesus is saying we are to clothe the poor, feed the hungry, take care of the sick- treat everyone as people with intrinsic value. Love and care for those people as you love God, because in loving others, you are loving God. Any many times it’s obvious who the hungry and sick are and in other ways they might just be folks who don’t look so poor but who have been othered and pushed out by the church.
1 John 4:7-8 reads: “7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
I’d say this is some pretty clear language.
You might be saying to yourself, “Anna, this is saying to love and take care of the poor and the hungry. The LGBTQ community doesn’t fall into this.”
To that I say, I believe you may have missed the metaphor.
But, I have a statistic I can give you- and it was a heartbreaking one to read. According to Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, LGBTQ+ youth have a 120% higher risk for homelessness. Likewise, while 7% of those unhoused are youth, 40% of that population is LGBTQ+ youth.
“‘When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” Who are the least of these in your community?
LGBTQ+ people are at a greater risk of suicidal thoughts, mood disorders, eating disorders, and substance abuse because of the lack of support they get from their families, churches and communities.
“‘When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”
People within the LGBTQ + community are less likely to have health insurance, and are therefore less likely to seek preventative medical care.
“‘When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”
Suffice it to say, we must take care of each other. We wouldn’t let our cisgender, heterosexual siblings become a part of these harrowing statistics. It’s a lot to change, but a lot of this can be helped through love and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community.
To love us, as you love God- because without God, love doesn’t exist and without love God is not present.
Now I know many a pastor will argue that we can love the queer community, we just can’t accept the “lifestyle.”
That’s gatekeeping the love of God which is, as we’ve established, is unconditional.
Jesus spent a good majority of his time with the downtrodden of society- the sex-workers, the fishermen, the disabled, the sick. Likewise (in an act of unconditional love that I still struggle with), he extended that love to former tax collectors, those who held gross amounts of power in ancient society. He didn’t tell these people that they had to change in order to be welcomed to the table- their places had always been reserved. There were even places available for those who may not have answered the call right away.
Jesus has always saved our spot at the table. Our spot was saved before the rest of the world could catch on. This does seem to be a recurring theme in the Jesus story, and history does tend to repeat itself.
I could go into the radical message of love that is prevalent to Christianity through other verses, but I will save that for another day. I wanted this to focus on the words of Jesus. The rules are so straightforward after all- love God, love others. Likewise, love God and others with equal importance- we are made in the image of God, and They live in all of us. Therefore we must treat each other as such.
Christians, in their most simple form, are those who follow the teachings of Christ. Jesus preached radical love and implored his followers (the “Christians”) to do the same. And that radical love must extend to the LGBTQ+ community.
I am thankful to my queer ancestors who fought before me so I could live openly as a queer Christian. I wouldn’t be able to be as vocal as I am without them. We still have a long way to go, but I am grateful that we have come to where we are at.
One last verse before we end is one in which many queer Christians find solace:
“I praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, this I know full well” - Psalm 139:14.
We have been made fearfully and wonderfully in the image of Divine. And the more we can love each other that way, the closer we can truly get to becoming heaven on earth.
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ARTICLES ACCESSED
Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2015.
“Https://assets2.Hrc.org/Files/Assets/Resources/COVID19-IssueBrief-032020-FINAL.pdf?_ga=2.118421642.2074842406.1628288325-1886504355.1628288325.” Human Rights Campaign, www.hrc.org/resources/the-lives-and-livelihoods-of-many-in-the-lgbtq-community-are-at-risk-amidst-covid-19-crisis.
“Our Issue.” True Colors United, 1 Mar. 2019, truecolorsunited.org/our-issue/.
Wilson, Clare, and Laura A. Cariola. “LGBTQI+ Youth and Mental Health: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research.” Springer Link, 21 May 2019, doi.org/10.1007/s40894-019-00118-w.
SOME RESOURCES FOR YOU!
Bible Gender Sexuality by James V. Brownson
This book is an absolute BRICK, but it does an excellent job in breaking down the clobber passages regarding the history and context in which they were written.
Unclobber: Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality by Colby Martin
Walking the Bridgeless Canyon: Repairing the breach between the Church and the LGBT community by Kathy Baldock
Torn: Rescuing the Gospel From the Gays-Vs.-Christians Debate by Justin Lee
Does Jesus Really Love Me? By Jeff Chu