A Discussion On The Morality Of Homosexuality

• A General Survey Of Biblical Teaching: 

          -The Levitical Law expressly forbade homosexuality and prescribed the sentence of death to those who partook in such actions (Leviticus 18:22-25). In fact, God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of sexual immorality, which included homosexuality (Genesis 19:4-13). Interestingly, Jude describes this instance of divine judgment happening as a result of men going after "strange flesh" (Jude 5-8). The Apostle Peter described those same people as "lawless" (2 Peter 2:7-10). Thus, sexual sin is associated with apostasy in the New Testament. Paul warns that any person who practices homosexuality will be excluded from the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:9-11). Homosexuality involves the reversal of a creation ordinance, and so degrades that which is sacred. It a form of idolatry that prioritizes personal desires above divine design, aligning with the worship of 'me, myself, and I' over God’s intended order for marriage.

• Homosexual Behavior Is Plagued With Problems:

          -Homosexuality is unnatural for us in that all are born heterosexual by bodily design. It is, therefore, not a matter of when we choose to have an orientation, but something fundamental to who we are. Further, homosexual unions do not result in the production of human life, which at least remains a possibility for heterosexual couples who utilize contraception. If homosexual behavior were to be practiced on a wide enough scale and for a long enough time, then a populace would be guaranteed to face self-extinction. Homosexuality, therefore, can be said to be, in a very real sense, destructive to life. Finally, such behavior carries with it risks of getting HIV, Syphilis, AIDS, and even abnormal personality changes. Even if methods of prevention or cure were successfully discovered for these conditions, that would only reinforce the notion that homosexuality is harmful. The ethical thing for Christians to do in that scenario would be to remain opposed to that way of living and continue in reaching out to such people with the gospel.

• What About Equal Rights?:

          -If the legalization of same-sex marriage means equal rights for members of the LGBTQ community, then why cannot there be equal rights for people who want more than one partner in marriage? If we redefine the concept of marriage to include two homosexual people, then why would it be wrong for us to also redefine marriage to include more than one person? The move to officially change the definition of marriage as being something other than a male and female union is unprecedented in history. Even societies like ancient Greece did not take matters this far, judging by available historical records. It would be incorrect to say they were opposed to homosexual practice. 

• Sex And Gender Are Different Things?:

          -Sex and gender have always been interchangeable terms. The only reason that they have been separated in our culture is to enable people to identify as something other than what they were at birth. The terms "male" and "female" were basic categories that were not intended to represent our views of reality, how one's brain is wired, or hormone levels. Those are determined by our chromosomes and genitalia.

• Interaction With The "Born Gay" Argument:

          -Homosexual desire is acted on, just as heterosexual desire is. It is in that way distinguished from our skin color, height, and gender, which are genetic traits. Those things are not behaviors. They exist independently of our thoughts and cannot be acted on.

          -Possible causes of homosexuality are environment, culture, and free will (i.e. genetic identity disorder, women getting abused by men, children getting abused by homosexuals, etc.). It involves a complex combination of factors. 

          -There is no credible evidence to rule out the claim that homosexuality can be caused by social issues: "LGBTs report childhood sexual abuse at 3x-8x the rate of heterosexuals. LGBTs have similar order of magnitude higher rates of substance abuse, suicide, mental illness and obesity (among lesbians). The failure to consider this possible causal relationship has lead to a widespread assumption that homosexuality is an inborn and immutable characteristic." Cramer, Clayton E., An Open Secret: Child Sexual Abuse as One Possible Cause of Homosexuality (July 10, 2015). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2629445 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2629445

          -"Of 327 homosexual and bisexual men participating in an ongoing cohort study pertaining to risk factors for HIV infection who completed a survey regarding history of sexual abuse, 116 (35.5%) reported being sexually abused as children. Those abused were more likely to have more lifetime male partners, to report more childhood stress, to have lied in the past in order to have sex, and to have had unprotected receptive anal intercourse in the past 6 months (odds ratio 2.13; 95% confidence interval 1.15-3.95). Sexual abuse remained a significant predictor of unprotected receptive anal intercourse in a logistic model adjusting for potential confounding variables." Lenderking WR, Wold C, Mayer KH, Goldstein R, Losina E, Seage GR 3rd. Childhood sexual abuse among homosexual men. Prevalence and association with unsafe sex. J Gen Intern Med. 1997 Apr;12(4):250-3. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.1997.012004250.x. PMID: 9127231; PMCID: PMC1497098.
          -Even assuming that genetics can influence homosexual behavior, being born with the potential to act in a certain manner in no way provides justification for any behavioral patterns. There is no genetic excuse for homosexuality, anymore than there is a genetic excuse for theft or lying. Note that the Apostle Paul himself placed all these acts in the category of sin (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). The moral standard reflected here is that of the Old and New Testaments, not public opinion, which is not reliable because it is always changing.

          -These tendencies, whether they are genetic or not, cannot simply be justified on the grounds of being born with proclivities for them. Human nature is the breeding ground for all sorts of atrocities. The presence of temptation in our hearts is not sin, but acting on such is. God forgives those who repent of their homosexual sin, just as He would forgive repentant thieves, adulterers, murderers, or anyone else (1 Corinthians 6:11). People who struggle with homosexuality are not without hope of redemption, but they may need ongoing counseling assistance.

• Refuting Attempts To Justify Homosexuality By Appeals To Nature: 

          -Just because animals do senseless things to each other, does not mean that human beings ought to follow suit. We should actually be able to rise above that of the life of beasts. The following behaviors have also been observed among various animal species: 1.) Raping other animals, 2.) Eating their young when threatened, 3.) Eating their sex partner, 4.) Injuring sex partners, and 5.) Having intercourse with their own offspring. If this means anything at all, then it would only be that homosexuality is brutish behavior. It represents the absence of culture. Christians, like the Jews of old, are called by God to reject pagan notions that are not pleasing to Him.