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my view on the Bible and homosexuality
(Copy-pasting this here just so it's not lost in internet comment oblivion.)
Homosexuality in the Bible is more complicated than "don't".
1) Peter's rooftop vision is important when considering this issue.
2) Cultural context of the discussion is also important.
3) An understanding of Ancient Greek vocabulary and translation trends is also important.
4) Romans 13:8–10 is worthy of consideration concerning this issue.
Peter's vision on the rooftop was used by God to say directly that unclean food could now be considered clean, and indirectly that unclean people (e.g. Gentiles) could now be considered clean. The general trend following this in the New Testament is that Old Testament laws do not need to be followed blindly, but can be applicable sometimes and not applicable on other occasions.
I consider that this perspective extends to the prohibition of homosexuality in Leviticus.
Culturally, the main way that homosexuality happened in New Testament times was adulterously and usually by raping male slaves. I have NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER with Paul looking askance at people (a) cheating on their wives, or (b) raping young boys.
The Greek words translated as "homosexual" in the NIV and similar versions are very unusual Greek words. They are difficult to translate. (There are many websites discussing this, by people with more linguistic training than me. I encourage you to google "arsenokoitai translation" to find them.)
As it is, the translation to "homosexual" only started in the last couple of hundred years. Earlier translations (in many, many languages) usually translate these as "child molester". (Again – I have absolutely no problem with the Bible being against child molestation.)
Romans 13:8–10 says that the correct way to interpret which commandments are needed and good is by assessing whether they are increasing love (specifically "agape" love). It says "love is the fulfillment of the law" – meaning that if you are being truly loving in every way, in the agape sense, then you are doing what God wishes. Commandments that must be followed (from a New Testament, Gentile perspective) are those that are inherently loving.
If a gay person were to go out and sleep with every guy he met at a nightclub, and be promiscuous, and be selfish, this would not be loving and therefore would be ungodly and sinful. If a gay person were to marry a man he loved, with the intention of cherishing and caring for that man in sickness/health/riches/poverty/etc for the rest of his life, seeking to put that man's wellbeing above his own, this would be loving, and therefore, I believe, would be godly.
Homosexuality in the Bible is more complicated than "don't".
1) Peter's rooftop vision is important when considering this issue.
2) Cultural context of the discussion is also important.
3) An understanding of Ancient Greek vocabulary and translation trends is also important.
4) Romans 13:8–10 is worthy of consideration concerning this issue.
Peter's vision on the rooftop was used by God to say directly that unclean food could now be considered clean, and indirectly that unclean people (e.g. Gentiles) could now be considered clean. The general trend following this in the New Testament is that Old Testament laws do not need to be followed blindly, but can be applicable sometimes and not applicable on other occasions.
I consider that this perspective extends to the prohibition of homosexuality in Leviticus.
Culturally, the main way that homosexuality happened in New Testament times was adulterously and usually by raping male slaves. I have NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER with Paul looking askance at people (a) cheating on their wives, or (b) raping young boys.
The Greek words translated as "homosexual" in the NIV and similar versions are very unusual Greek words. They are difficult to translate. (There are many websites discussing this, by people with more linguistic training than me. I encourage you to google "arsenokoitai translation" to find them.)
As it is, the translation to "homosexual" only started in the last couple of hundred years. Earlier translations (in many, many languages) usually translate these as "child molester". (Again – I have absolutely no problem with the Bible being against child molestation.)
Romans 13:8–10 says that the correct way to interpret which commandments are needed and good is by assessing whether they are increasing love (specifically "agape" love). It says "love is the fulfillment of the law" – meaning that if you are being truly loving in every way, in the agape sense, then you are doing what God wishes. Commandments that must be followed (from a New Testament, Gentile perspective) are those that are inherently loving.
If a gay person were to go out and sleep with every guy he met at a nightclub, and be promiscuous, and be selfish, this would not be loving and therefore would be ungodly and sinful. If a gay person were to marry a man he loved, with the intention of cherishing and caring for that man in sickness/health/riches/poverty/etc for the rest of his life, seeking to put that man's wellbeing above his own, this would be loving, and therefore, I believe, would be godly.
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