Concerned Women for America - Q&A: What Does the Bible Say about Homosexuality?

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Q&A: What Does the Bible Say about Homosexuality? 3/5/2003
By Al Dobras

Does Modern Science Contradict Scripture?

Question: Does modern science contradict anything that the Bible says on homosexuality?

Answer: It is important to understand that “homosexuality” and “homosexual” are terms of relatively recent origin. According to the (pro-homosexual) Completely Queer: The Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia, the word homosexual -- an odd mix of Greek (homo, or same) and Latin (sexual) -- was coined in 1868 by Hungarian writer and "homosexual" advocate Karoly Maria Kertbeny. It was first used widely in Germany in the early 1900s. According to the pro-pro-"gay" website gayhistory.com, Kertbeny invented the term "homosexual" to help legitimize and decriminalize same-sex sexual behavior:

[Kertbeny coined "homosexual"] as a replacement for the pejorative term "pederast" that was used in the German and French speaking world of his time. Though he claimed not to be homosexual himself, Kertbeny said that his sense of justice made him cry out against sodomy prosecutions. Kertbeny argued that homosexuality is an inborn disposition, so laws like [Germany's] Paragraph 175 that punish it are unjust.

Prior to that time, “homosexual” and “homosexuality” were considered to be behavior traits and typically referred to in the English-speaking world in Biblical terms: “sodomite” and “sodomy.”

With that understanding in mind, the Bible speaks to homosexuality both on a moral level and in areas relevant to the scientific aspects of the practice. (All Biblical references are from the New International Version; emphasis added).

The Bible says that:

1. Homosexual behavior is wicked: Speaking to the men of Sodom who wanted to have sex with his guests, Lot tells them, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing.” (Genesis 19:5-8)

2. Homosexual behavior is detestable: “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.” (Leviticus 18:22)

3. Homosexual behavior is dishonorable: “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading [dishonoring] of their bodies with one another.” (Romans 1:24)

4. Homosexual behavior is unnatural: “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men. …” (Romans 1:26-27)

5. Homosexuality is unhealthy: “... And received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion…." (Romans 1:27)

6. Homosexuality is not a state of being (inborn), but a behavior that can be conquered:

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers not male prostitutes not homosexual offenders … will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were [past tense]. But you have been washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Homosexual behavior is wicked because, like rape, it dehumanizes the person caught up in the practice. It also constitutes a great rebellion against God's revealed purpose for mankind.

Homosexual behavior is detestable because, unfettered, it marginalizes the importance of the basic family unit. The fact that most people still are naturally repulsed by homosexual acts testifies to the truth of Leviticus 18:22.

Homosexual behavior is dishonorable because it destroys the fundamental masculinity or femininity of those who are trapped in the lifestyle. Sex and conduct that is forbidden by a holy God cannot honor Him.

Homosexual behavior is unnatural because the act uses the body in a manner never intended in the design nor can the act ever serve any biological purpose.

Homosexual behavior is unhealthy because the behavior itself spreads disease and leads to an overall risky lifestyle. Note the Bible’s wording: “received in themselves the due penalty.” This is not imposed from outside, but is the body’s own sad harvest reaped by medically unsound practices. A brief summary of the risks, particularly for male homosexuals, can be found in Dr. Jeffrey Satinover’s book Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996: click here for the Amazon.com link):

1. A 25- to 35-year decrease in life expectancy.
2. Chronic, potentially fatal, liver disease – infectious hepatitis, which increases the risk of liver cancer.
3. Inevitably fatal immune disease, including associated cancers.
4. Frequently fatal rectal cancer.
5. Multiple bowel and other infectious diseases.
6. A much higher than usual incidence of suicide.

Change is possible

Homosexual behavior can be conquered as evidenced by the thousands of people who have completely given up the lifestyle.

Not only does the Bible say that homosexual behavior is grievously sinful and ultimately hurts the practitioner, but, from a scientific perspective, Scripture tells us that the behavior is neither innate (inborn) nor immutable (unchangeable):

If homosexual behavior were thought to be inborn, Scripture would not have said, “Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. …” (Romans 1:26-27). The clear implication is that the homosexual acts were deliberate choices.

If homosexual behavior were thought to be unchangeable, Scripture would not have said, “And that is what some of you were [past tense]. But you have been washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11)

'Scientific' claims lack credibility

Scientists who are sympathetic to the cause of homosexual affirmation have been trying for some time to disprove the Biblical view, which says that homosexual activity is a changeable, sinful behavior. However, these researchers — many of whom are homosexuals themselves — have found no genetic markers, hormones, or biological or physiological characteristics that distinguish those who participate in homosexual behavior from those who do not. Research projects that seemed to indicate homosexuality was inborn were all proven to be either outright frauds or woefully lacking in scientific credibility, including widely publicized research into: a “gay gene" (by homosexual activist Dean Hamer, who could not replicate his original study); the hypothalamus (by homosexual activist Simon LeVay); and identical twins.

In contrast, there is ample evidence that homosexual behavior is not inborn: many men and women testify to having been seduced into the lifestyle, and many people have permanently left the lifestyle, so homosexual behavior is not unchangeable. It has also been shown that there are a number of personal traumas and psychological wounds (e.g., distant or hostile fathers for "gay"-identifying men) that are predictive factors for entering into the behavior.

Conclusion: The teaching of Scripture on the subject of homosexuality is accurate not only from a moral perspective, but from a scientific perspective as well.

Peter LaBarbera contributed to this article.