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Rebecca SE Tan
23 August 2022
* Disclaimer: While this article isn't really political science, I am categorising it as such due to the nature of the first and third installation of this series!
In part 1 of this series, I explored the possibility of being a “morality-based” conservative while being “politically” liberal – that regardless of your personal conviction of sin, defined in relation to God, the attitude towards the others in our community could be one of love, equal rights, and respect.
In this second part of the series, I delve into something even more fundamental – is homosexuality even a sin? Over the years, I’ve come across many different arguments for and against, and this was a personal struggle for me back in Secondary School. Today, though, I feel more affirmed than ever that the Bible is clear on this issue. Still, I’d like to explore the different perspectives and invite readers to point out anything I may have missed.
Dispute 1: The Fall of Sodom and Gomorrah
“Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” (Jude 1:7 ESV)
One of the arguments against homosexuality is that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because they practised homosexuality (Genesis 19: 1-25). In the passage, the people of the cities surround Lot’s house to demand the release of his two male guests, presumably for sexual intercourse.
“But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” (Genesis 19:4-5 ESV)
As the story goes, Lot offered his daughters instead, but the men refused (Genesis 19: 8-9). The visitors, thankfully, turn out to be angels, who turned the people blind and warned Lot of the impending doom to the cities. After which, Sodom and Gomorrah were turned into ruins.
In this case, I take the argument that the more significant issue here may not be homosexuality but attempted gang rape – which is definitely not how you welcome guests. Still, I find it peculiar that they did not take Lot’s daughters. On further inspection, I refer to Ezekiel 16:49-50, which delineates the other sins Sodom committed:
“Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So, I removed them when I saw it.” (Ezekiel 16:49-50)
Was the abomination the gang rape of visitors? Was it homosexuality? Neither? Either way, the Ezekiel passage is by no means an exhaustive list of their sins – it is not meant to declare that these were their only sins. Still, I hold that this story alone is unsatisfactory in defining homosexuality as a sin – regardless of whether it is or is not, the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah is improbably due to it alone. Instead, the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah are reminders for me to revere God, for He is Holy.
* Note: A similar account is recorded in Judges 19:16-24.
“As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.” And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing.” (Judges 19: 22-23)
Dispute 2: The Words by Paul: A Translation Error?
“Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.” (1 Timothy 1:8-11 ESV)
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV)
Paul writes about homosexuality in both 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy. One of the arguments against this passage is that it is a translation error. It is believed that the word used for “homosexuality”, “Arsenokotai”, was coined by Paul himself, and is derived from two Greek words which mean “males” and “beds”. Hence, it is argued that Paul may have been referring to other sins, such as male prostitution, pederasty or having sex with one’s father. In this case, I begrudgingly accept this argument as I can't quite go up to heaven now to ask him.
Note: This same argument could be used for some of the other 1 Kings passages, which may refer more to male prostitution than homosexuality.
Dispute 3: What is “Unnatural”?
Here is where I find it hard to dispute the Bible’s stance on homosexuality. In other passages, Paul refers to homosexuality and does not use the same coined word as before. In Romans 1:26-27, he makes his stance clear:
“For this reason, God gave them up to dishonourable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and 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.” (Romans 1:26-27 ESV)
The argument against this passage is that “unnatural” (“para physin”) may not necessarily be a bad thing – the way God acts “unnaturally” ("para physin") to accept Gentiles. I can’t quite accept this in this context, especially since the passage goes on to say that they receive “due penalty for their error”. ("antimisthian" meaning "repercussion"/ "penalty"/ "punishment".) When reviewing the context of this passage, Paul is writing about the “uncleanness” of all of these acts, and the wrath of God on unrighteousness.
Dispute 4: Old Testament Laws?
In Leviticus 18 and 20, the writer lists unlawful sexual relations and the punishments for such sexual immorality. Some of them include committing adultery and having sexual relations with your father’s wife or an animal. Of the list, Leviticus writes:
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” (Leviticus 18:22 ESV)
“If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.” (Leviticus 20:13 ESV)
I find these passages exceedingly clear on their stance on homosexuality - here, "mishkav zakur" (lie with a male) means "penetrated by a male" as it also used in Numbers 31:17-18 and Judges 21:11-12 to distinguish virgins from those who are not. "Abomination" ("toevah") is also a strong word used to refer to what disgusts God. Still, some have argued that these passages are no longer relevant, for by faith we live in Jesus Christ, not in the rules of the past. Indeed, it is true that Jesus does later declare many things permissible. In one passage, Jesus declares all food clean, overturning previous rules such as not eating seafood or food for burnt offerings.
“And he said to them, “… Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus, he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.” (Mark 7:18-20 ESV)
That said, this stance on homosexuality is not in the Old Testament alone. Along with the Romans passage from Dispute 3, there is a multitude of other texts where God mentions marriage in the context of one man and one woman. (See: Matthew 19:4-6; 1 Corinthians 7:2; Proverbs 18:22; Mark 10:6-9). Indeed, the Bible even makes the metaphor that Christ is the bridegroom, and the church is his bride. (See: Ephesians 5:22-24, Revelation 19:7-8).
Even disregarding the other mentions in the New Testament, I would gravely caution not to simply dismiss the Old Testament – indeed, Jesus never specifically overturned the sin of homosexuality. Even as we strive to be flexible and adaptable to the context and time of today, we also need to maintain some amount of “rigidity”/“integrity” – for God calls us to be “in the World, but not of the World”.
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24 ESV)
Dispute 5: Jesus is Love
Beyond disputing the passages themselves, there is cause to dispute the claim based on what the “spirit of the law” is – in other words, if it fits the character of God revealed throughout the entire Bible. Jesus Christ speaks a great deal about love, justice, and mercy. How can this same Jesus, who loves us all dearly, be adamant against homosexuality?
“For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)
Yet I find this a false dichotomy between sin and love. As I’ve outlined in the first part of this series, regardless of whether homosexuality is a sin or not, we should still love and respect the LGBT community.
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” (Romans 5:8-9 ESV)
Indeed, it is exactly because we are sinners that we need the mercy and love of God. God loves us in spite of our sins, not because we are free from sin. Regardless of the Bible’s take on homosexuality, we are in no place to judge others, for we are all equally undeserving and sinful and are called to love others in His name.
In addition, putting His foot down on matters of sin is perfectly in line with the Holy character of God. He says, "For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy." (Leviticus 11: 44a). Even God's wrath is out of love - like that of a father, He rebukes us because He cares and wants the best for us.
"Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent." (Revelation 3:19)
Dispute 6: But what’s wrong with homosexuality?
Another argument against homosexuality as a sin is that there are no “explicit reasons” for it to be a sin. Surely, we know why murdering is bad, and we can accept why lying is a sin – but what about homosexuality? Surely, the LGBT community are not doing anything wrong to human society?
Fair enough – they aren’t – or at least not in our limited human understanding. When it comes to religion, I find that we cannot simply pick and choose what we want to believe. As long as it is what God has ordained, I choose to believe He has His reason for it. While it may be a hard pill to swallow, I think it would be hubris to assume we know better than Him. Just as Adam and Eve could not fully comprehend why God commanded them not to eat from that fruit in the garden, their failure to obey caused sin to take root.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)
Another point I’d like to make is to reiterate the meaning of sin. Sin is defined in this essay to be a transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4) and a rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7). The definition of sin is in its very nature, “God-centred”. Hence, just the very fact that God says you shouldn’t do it, by its very definition, makes it a sin. In other words, sin is a sin, regardless of what we, in our finite understanding, believe its effects on other humans are.
Discussion
While I believe the stance of the Bible is clear that homosexuality is a sin, I feel that it has to be understood in a larger context of the Bible. To me, it’s a little pointless to “create” an exhaustive list of sins – does it matter, in the grand scheme of things, whether I’ve committed three million sins, or four? Either way, I am still doomed, if not for God’s mercy.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
What matters, instead, is having integrity in what we stand for - to pay due attention and listen to God, and repent where He reveals in our hearts to do so. And if we do find Him knocking on our hearts, then we cannot drown out these calls by trying to convince ourselves otherwise. This is of course, something I still struggle deeply with. While I may not personally experience same-sex attraction, I imagine it is similar to my experience of falling for a non christian. Someone so wonderful and who understands me in every way - but one. While I eventually understood why it would not be wise to date the person, it doesn't make the pain any easier. Sometimes the hardest and yet most peaceful thing to do, is to simply trust God to lead the way.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)
I’ll close this essay with something I hold dear to my heart – integrity is not simply the ability to act on what feels right – that’s the easier part. Integrity is the ability to do what you know is right, in spite of what you may want to feel.
“Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.” (Isaiah 55:3 ESV)
Edit: Do read some of my reflections in the comments below!
Author's Note: For a continuation of this series, click on the tag "LGBT" below! In the third and probably final installation of this series, I'll likely be co-writing with a friend on how Singapore can move forward from here, touching more on policy & game theory. Stay tuned for more!