So, my friend Danny asked a question on my wall about resources for learning about a certain perspective of homosexuality and sin, which prompted a discussion. If you'd like to see it in it's original context, you can go to my wall and read it. The discussion is still going, after all. Anyways, I've been talking about writing a blog post about homosexuality for about the last five years, but I haven't done it because my argument gets deeper and more nuanced every year, and I never feel it is complete. But it seemed to find me this time, so I went with it, and this is what I've got so far.

I'll start by setting up how the discussion started. My friend Adam commented and said:

"Lev. 18:22, "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination."
Lev. 20:13, "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their blood will be on their own heads."
1 Cor. 6:9-10, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

Seems pretty straight forward from a sin/non-sin perspective. Although I don't have a problem with a gay civil union. Just because you are gay doesn't mean you should be governed differently."


So I responded with...

"@ Adam - Very few things are straightforward, especially when it comes to interpreting scripture. That's why we have a bazillion different mainline denominations, with those biblical scholars all thinking they are doing it correctly. I think these verses, along with others on this topic, require further exploration, or at least the same treatment we give to the rest of the verses that seem out of step with the Great Commandment."


Then he responded with...

"I'm open to differing opinions I just can't see how "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." can be interpreted in any other way then homosexuality is a sin. I would be very interested in seeing some scripture that says otherwise. It doesn't say anything about loving them less, just that it is wrong. I am curious as to how you see that being outside of the Great Commandment."


So then I wrote a novel.

The Great Commandment sums up the law. It is even said several times throughout the Torah, for that exact purpose. So every law can, and is supposed to be, filtered through that idea. So if you were to take one of the laws, like "Do not lie", that implies that somehow lying is either not loving God and/or not loving your neighbor. I feel it is easy... Read More for us to understand why lying would not be a way to express love to God or our neighbore. Therefore, lying is against the Great Commandment, and therefore a sin.

So if we take the law, "Man shall not lie with another man" it is assumed that a person that does this is somehow not loving God or loving their neighbor. This is where I feel we run into trouble, because if one were a Christian who loves God, and who happens to love someone of the same sex, and thus wants to express that love in a physical way, I have a lot of trouble figuring out how that act contradicts the Great Commandment; thus, how it could be considered sinful.

So, we have two options: we simply throw that particular scripture out, chalking it up to a mistake, or we try and take a closer look at it and figure out what it really meant to the people it was written to and what it means for us today. I personally believe that all scripture is indeed "God-breathed" so I am naturally inclined to do the second.

So I next ask the question, how could a man lie with another man in a way that does not love God or a neighbor? Knowing what I know about Hebrew culture, there could be several ways. First, marriages were arranged as business agreements, often requiring men to provide payment for their wife, the property of the family. Once that was taken care of, the man and the woman marry and become one flesh. No dating is involved, and no attraction is needed...especially in the woman's case. Once you are married, you have children immediately, and you raise your children up to know Yahweh and live according to the Law, properly acting as husband or wife. The perpetuation of the Jewish faith and culture depended on this structure.

So, if a man were to lie with another man, several things in this very important structure could go wrong. One, it probably happens out of wedlock, since marriages are typically arranged not long after puberty occurs. It's hard to love your wife when you cheat on ... Read Moreher, and it's hard to teach your children about Yahweh (thus loving Yahweh) when your family resultingly breaks up literally or emotionally.

Two, if a man happened to not be married, either because he is a widow or something else, lying with another man would not bear children. Since the whole purpose of marrying was to bare children and perpetuate the Jewish religion and culture, this would fail to do that. It's hard to love God when you are not in a position to teach others about Him.

Three, oftentimes men lying with other "men" implied men lying with little boys...in other words, child molestation and rape. I don't think I need to go into how this particular act fails to love your neighbor.

So, as I have pointed out, there is a lot behind this law, just as there is a lot behind every law. I do not believe God lays out ... Read Morearbitrary rules for us to follow, and the process of figuring out what the laws really mean and what God is trying to teach us, as individuals and as a church, can be wonderfully fulfilling and exciting. How awesome it is that God loves us so much that he shares with us what is best for us so we don't have to learn the hard way.

So, what does this mean for us today? Let's look at each of the three examples. One, don't have sex outside of marriage. Two, if you have children, raise them up to know Christ and walk in His ways. (I don't think God calls everyone to have children anymore. Our world is more than populated, we have plenty of other ways to spread the Good News, and hundreds of thousands of children need to be adopted.) Three, don't rape anybody, including children.

So, that's why I have presently come to the conclusion that homosexuality as a general rule, does not defy the Great Commandment, and is thus, not a sin. I have not closed the conversation though. If you can think... Read More of a way that two Godly men or women in a monogamous relationship somehow inherently causes them or other people to not love God or love their neighbor, I am all ears.