Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Religion News
Is “Practicing Homosexuality” a Sin?

Is “Practicing Homosexuality” a Sin?

Last updated on: October 23, 2024 at 7:00 am by Matthew Distefano

0 Comments

Is “Practicing Homosexuality” a Sin? 2024-10-23T07:00:25-06:00 Matthew Distefano

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

homosexuality condemned

Short answer: No. A somewhat longer answer: No, because it can’t.

The question itself—”Does the Bible teach that practicing homosexuality is a sin?”—is laden with problems from the start. It’s not just the odd phrasing of “practicing homosexuality,” but the entire concept is steeped in misunderstandings about the Bible, sexuality, and the way ancient cultures approached relationships. To dive into this, we must first recognize that the Bible doesn’t “teach” anything in the way people often assume. What we have are a collection of letters, epistles, historical documents, poems, songs, prophecies, and more, written over millennia, by different authors, from different cultural contexts, with varying theological viewpoints. The Bible isn’t a monolithic text—it’s a library of evolving ideas. And when it comes to the topic of homosexuality, the Bible can’t speak on it in the way modern culture understands it.

Understanding the Context of Ancient Writings

In the Greco-Roman world, the concept of “homosexuality” as we know it today simply didn’t exist. There was no specific term for it, nor was it understood as a category of sexual identity. As the Oxford Classical Dictionary puts it:

No Greek or Latin word corresponds to the modern term homosexuality, and ancient Mediterranean societies did not in practice treat homosexuality as a socially operative category of personal or public life.

What this means is that while same-sex relationships certainly occurred in the ancient world, they weren’t thought of or organized in the way modern society does. The ancients didn’t conceptualize sexuality based on the gender of the participants, but rather on social roles, power dynamics, and issues of dominance and submission. It was about who had power over whom, not about “gay” versus “straight” identities.

This leads to a critical understanding: when people ask, “What does the Bible say about homosexuality?” they’re asking the wrong question. The Bible’s authors were not grappling with issues of sexual orientation or identity. Those are modern categories, which didn’t exist until the late 19th century when terms like “homosexuality” were coined—and unfortunately, pathologized.

In fact, the term “homosexuality” was introduced as a medical term in 1868 in Germany to describe what was then seen as a psychological disorder. It was only in 1973 that the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. So, we’re dealing with a concept that has both a historical and sociological context that the Bible’s authors wouldn’t have even conceived of.

The So-Called “Clobber” Passages

Despite the absence of any concept of sexual orientation in the Bible, some Christians like to focus on a handful of verses—often called “clobber passages”—to argue that the Bible condemns same-sex relationships. But it’s important to look at these verses critically and in context.

Leviticus 20:13 is often cited, which appears to condemn a man lying with another man as an abomination. But what does the text really say? The Hebrew used in this passage prohibits an ‘ish (man) from lying with a zachar (male), which some scholars, like Mark Stone, suggest is a reference to intergenerational or interfamilial relationships, such as between an uncle and nephew. This is not a blanket condemnation of same-sex relationships as we understand them today.

Moreover, the entire book of Leviticus, including this verse, contains laws meant specifically for ancient Israelites living in the land of Israel. These laws include prohibitions against eating shellfish and wearing mixed fabrics—laws that most Christians ignore today. To cherry-pick certain Levitical prohibitions while ignoring others—so-called cultural laws—is not only inconsistent but also a misunderstanding of how the Torah operates.

Romans 1:26-27 is another passage often weaponized in these debates. But here, we need to consider Paul’s use of prosopopoeia—a rhetorical device in which he seems to be voicing the opinion of a particular Jewish group, not necessarily his own views. The entire passage from Romans 1:18-32 is not a systematic theology of sin, but a rhetorical setup for the points Paul will make later in the letter. It’s not about sexual sin per se—it’s about idolatry and how certain behaviors were seen in a pagan, Greco-Roman context. This passage has much more to do with cultural taboos in first-century Rome than any eternal moral law.

1 Corinthians 6:9 introduces another layer of complexity. The word arsenokoitai, often translated as “homosexual offenders,” is a notoriously difficult term to interpret. It’s a compound of the Greek words for “male” (arsen) and “bed” (koitai), but what exactly it means is unclear. Some scholars think it could refer to male temple prostitution, not loving, committed same-sex relationships. The term malakoi in the same passage—translated as “effeminate”—is nearly equally ambiguous and likely refers to a cultural insult against men who didn’t conform to traditional gender roles.

Even conservative theologians like John MacArthur have acknowledged that the sexual behaviors condemned in Corinth were tied to the specific practices of temple prostitution, not consensual, loving relationships between same-sex partners. So, when people claim that Paul is condemning all forms of same-sex relationships, they are stretching the evidence far beyond what the text can support.

Hermeneutics and Interpretation

At the end of the day, everyone cherry-picks the Bible. Whether you’re affirming LGBTQ+ people or not, you’re choosing which passages to emphasize and which to deem culturally irrelevant. But what kind of hermeneutic—what kind of interpretative lens—do we want to use when reading the Bible?

For me, it’s about love, compassion, and inclusion. The Jesus I see in the Gospels didn’t exclude people based on identity. He didn’t create barriers to God’s love. If we’re following Jesus, we have to be open to a theology that includes the marginalized and oppressed.

Paul himself, in Galatians 3:28, wrote that in Christ, there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female. We are all one in Christ. If Paul condemns all same-sex relationships, does that not contradict his own theology of radical inclusion by adding current sociological categories to be the determining factor as to whether someone is in right relationship with God?

Moving Beyond the Bible

Even if—and this is a big if—the Bible did condemn same-sex relationships, what would that mean for us today? Just because something is in the Bible doesn’t mean we can’t evolve past it. We did so with slavery. In fact, the Bible was used to justify slavery for centuries, but we eventually recognized that slavery is incompatible with a God of love and justice. Why wouldn’t we do the same when it comes to condemning LGBTQ+ people?

To follow Jesus is to follow the path of love, inclusion, and justice. The Bible, while important, cannot be used as a weapon to harm or exclude. So, no, the Bible does not condemn LGBTQ+ people. It can’t. And even if it could, we’re called to move beyond it into a fuller understanding of God’s love for all people.

PICK UP MY NEW BOOK, HERETIC, TOO!, OUT NOW.

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Also, if you’ve been digging my work on here, and want to see me be able to continue writing as close to full-time as humanly possible, please take a look at my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/mjdistefano. Even $1 a month helps bigly!

Politics and Religion

About Matthew John Distefano

Matthew J. Distefano is an author, blogger, podcaster, and publisher. He lives in Northern California with his wife and daughter You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

October 22, 2024

Book Review: Honoring the Journey by Leslie Nease

Next Post

October 23, 2024 For Those Wondering About What Happened To The Debate

What are the names of the two witnesses in Revelation who prophesy for 1,260 days?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Moses and Elijah Peter and Paul They are not named Enoch and Elijah

Books by This Author Books by All Set Free

See All Titles »