Gay Christianity Research Paper

Many Christians have picked out “clobber” passages or verses in the Bible that are supposed to undoubtedly condemn homosexuality. However, these fool-proof “clobber” passages have been contested, such as Leviticus 20:13, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be put upon them.” Many conservative Christians interpret this as damning homosexuality indefinitely; many liberal Christians claim it condemns gay ritual sex in a temple and males having sex in a womans bed. Another verse, Leviticus 18:22, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” Again, conservative Christians take this is as condemning evidence but progressive Christians take it as, again, a verse condemning gay ritual sex in a Pagan temple or men having sex in a woman's bed.

In today’s Christian churches there has come about a very controversial subject, one that has been developing for many years, and is now at the fore front of controversial issues dealing with the church. The issue at hand is homosexuality and the Christian church. This controversy has caused there to be a split between the church into two different beliefs, liberal and evangelical, which one is right and which and which one is wrong? Issues such as should homosexuals be aloud in the church? If so how involved should they be? And most importantly what does God have to say about homosexuality? These are tough question brought about by a tough issue and the only way these questions can be

The topic of homosexuality in religion has many sides. There are those who believe that it is a sin in God’s eyes and according to the Bible, and there are those who believe the God and the Bible are not specific to homosexuals. It is a tough debate based on whether you are a religious person, how you were raised, and where your morals and ethics stand. You cannot truly believe one way without taking into account the other side and have valid proof to back it up.

Many homophobes have used Christianity as an excuse for hate crimes against homosexuals. They believe that homosexuality is a terrible sin and publicly announce it as so. An example would be the recent incident with Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty being taken off of A&E for homophobic statements like “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Beastiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men.” Many employees of Fox News immediately came to his defense. These people claimed that Robertson was only expressing his religious beliefs. Other employees, such as Peter Johnson Jr., believe that it did not quote the bible at all and there needs to be lines drawn between expressing religious beliefs and spewing hate (Maza, 2013). That is only one of many cases of people trying to excuse homophobia with the bible. While there are many who claim the bible excuses these acts many others do not think so. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, “I can’t for the life of me imagine that God will say ‘I will

I am very proud to say that I have helped to reintroduce our school's Gay Straight Alliance club. My freshman year our club shut down due to lack of interest and most LGBT students at Evansville High were uncomfortable coming out since there was not a lot of them. By my sophomore year, I thought it would be appreciable to reintroduce this club. I wanted to create a fun safe place where students to join as one. I worked hard finding information so I could relate to all, since we had all types of people. A large challenge at my school, which is awful, is students making fun of other people for simply being different.

In our modern era, the conversation about gender equality, marriage equality, and identity cannot be ignored. Even with current events relating to which public restroom one can use is a staunch reminder of the social inequities which exist in the United States of America. Beyond the social dialogue is the spiritual conversation. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer community fight not only an uphill battle with the pressure of society but also how to reconcile a relationship with God and a place within Christianity. It is through the thoughtful exploration of Queer Liberation Theology that a dialogue and public and spiritual discourse can flourish.

I'm sure that all of you know what I'm talking about when I refer to the new law that has been made within this past two weeks. And I have been holding off on writing lately, because I wanted to be sure that I said all the right things, as this is a very sensitive subject. But I want to start out by saying that I do not hate homosexuals. I do not agree with their life choices, but I most certainly do not hate anyone. Homosexuality is a sin just like any other (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Having said that, I don't think that that means that we should accept homosexuality, but hate those other sins just as much. If we viewed all these other sins the way that we view homosexuality, and we couldn't even fathom the thought of committing them, then how much easier would our Christian walk be?

The development of sexuality begins right after birth and continues to develop throughout our lifespan. According to Chapter 9 it states that ¨Sexuality is a normative part of adolescent development and it plays an important positive role in growth and development¨ (Hyde, pg. 228). Understanding that sexuality influence physical, mental and social well-being of an individual it is will be my responsibility to create a positive conversations around this topic with my future son. As a Hispanic women I will discuss with my son at the age thirteen about sexuality and healthy sexual behaviors. In addition, I will provide him with a clear understanding of what sexuality is and how it will develop further as an adolescence. Furthermore, these conversations will discussion body awareness, physiological changes that occur and information on sexual orientation and safe sex practice.

When looking at the biblical data, the text needs to speak for itself. This isn't straight forward. It's too easy for the student of the Bible to "read himself into the text" (Flatt 1987: 61). The heterosexual exegete may have a natural revulsion to the gay's lifestyle. This revulsion could cause him to prove too much from texts that don't speak directly to the issue. This could be further aggravated if heterosexual theologians and teachers are believed to have imported cultural preferences to their understanding of sexuality, "the very axioms on which biblical hermeneutics and theology rest" (Stuart 1997: 184). The homosexual exegete has his personal happiness invested in the issue. The temptation for the gay reader of Scripture is to actively seek explanations that support a happy outcome, and to reject interpretations that might lead to a frustrated and unhappy

The more strict-to-text christians lead a sermon that describes being gay as a sin and something that should be fixed (the same thought process as the early 1900’s), while the more modern christians have shifted to become accepting of these choices while still maintaining biblical accuracy. Rob Rees, a Pastor at Friendship Church says,”the word gay brings a sense of discomfort fueled with emotion and experiences. The original context of the word gay was to express happy not a lifestyle”. The church tries to be accepting in all of their attendees life choices but the line is hard to navigate when the Bible is very straightforward about same sex relations. Romans 1:27 says, “In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error”. With the complexity of the Bible and it’s thousands of scriptures, many are led astray as some preach the sinfulness and hatred of gays, while others preach acceptance and love for everyone. Although many people are conflicted, Rob Rees sends out the message that, “the church is a hospital for sinners and not a hotel for saints”. Rob Rees wants the message to be heard that the church can be seen as the enemy for some but it is also a place to worship and pray no matter who you are. The Pastor does not

After long hours of no sleep I have concluded that one of the most debated and divisive issues within the Christian community today is the issue of homosexuality! What’s amusing is that homosexuality has been practiced for thousands of years. Since the concept of homosexuality as orientation was unknown until about a hundred years ago, on the basis alone, we know that the “clobber verses” used against homosexuals could not refer to homosexuality as an orientation. They refer to same-sex acts, which were understood to be perpetrated by heterosexuals, and therefore were “lustful” and “unnatural”. There is no word in biblical Greek or even in ancient Hebrew that is the equivalent to the English word “homosexual”.

There are many misconceptions of Christianity. It is said that all Christians go to church every week on sunday, but you can still have beliefs and morals that you apply to your life that came from Christianity without always going to church. God loves you whether you love him or not, or if you go to church, or read the bible every night. Christians don't have to be super strict either, some Christians are strict and they believe that there life revolves around God, but not everyone. Families can pray before meals and pray at night without disrupting their daily life. Another misconception of Christains believe that Homosexualtiy is a sin. In christianity they believe in sins, sins are immoral acts that counteract divine law. It is commonly

Every person will possess flawed doctrine at some point in their lives. Homosexuality and the churches response to it is one issue that brings out the heresy out of all of us. I am going to be wrong no matter what side I choose, so I will be wrong on the side of

Many argue that this is because the bible said so. The old testament also says it is sinful to eat shell-fish and pork. The original language of the new testament refers to male prostitution, molestation and promiscuity, not committed by same-sex relationships. Paul may have spoke against homosexuality, but he also said that women should be silent and never assume authority over a man, so is it correct of the modern-day churches to pick and choose which of Paul’s values they preach? Another overused argument against homosexuals is that the bible clearly defines marriage as one-man-one-woman, this is to an extent incorrect. As the bible also defines marriage as one-man-many-women, one man many wives and concubines, a soldier and a female prisoner of war and a rapist and his victim. So it is wrong to preach against gays while wearing robes of many fabrics, with a fringe full of

The catholic religion is in fact the biggest Christian Church, and counts with more than 1.25 billion members worldwide (Glatz, Carol). It is no secret to anyone that the Roman Catholic Church is very powerful and have a tremendous influence in many countries. It teaches us that it is the true church founded by Jesus Christ. The foundation of this Church are unconditional love and forgiveness. If you are truly sorry for your sins, you will always be welcome in the reign of God. But superficially there is always an exception. Based on biblical readings and passages, God is merciful and loves you no matter what. In the first letter of Peter it says “above all, keep loving keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). Apparently everyone regardless of their situation, color, or sexual orientation, shall receive the same love from the Church.