Homosexuality and the Christian Church Essay

The way people ultimately view homosexuality, whether in religion, politics or modern popular culture, is all determined by traditional or changing points of view. This essay will discuss mainly liberal and conservative Christian interpretations of the Bible, including many verses that may support or condemn homosexuality. It will also discuss the political views and laws against same-sex marriage and the social activism in the homosexual community. This is all about view points and it has many conflicting views and arguments.

This book Pray the Gay Away by Bernadetta C. Barton discusses about certain areas in the United States called Bible Belts were they have made absolutely no progress in securing rights for gay people. They lag behind the rest of nation were people are accepting homosexuality (Pray the Gay Away 15). Barton argues that in small towns were Christian institutions serve as a foundation for both passive and active homophobia in these areas (Pray the Gay Away 19). This article is related to the play because the two dominant religions discussed in the play was Judaism and Mormonism and both religions strongly oppose homosexuality and this lead to homophobic attitudes and themes within the play.

Homosexuality is one of the most debated issues among Christians today, regardless of the denomination of their church. Some churches view homosexuality as a sin and have no tolerance for it, while other denominations are more accepting and consider it a non-sin. Even though some denominations have taken a stand on homosexuality, there seems to much discord within the governing bodies of the churches regarding this issue. It has moved from a topic rarely discussed and considered very personal and private, to a mainstream topic of conversation.

In the past ten years, the nonstop discussion and stress has been over the question of homosexuality. Are homosexuals to be excluded from the community of faith? Article writers, Richard B. Hays and Walter Wink explain their perspective and answer the ongoing talk.

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.

I live near Montrose, Colorado, an inconsequential city of a mere twenty thousand inhabitants. Within this reasonably small town, a total of thirty-six distinct churches serve those who profess to know Christ. The astounding variety of denominations in the United States certainly evidences itself in Montrose. In stark contrast, these divisions did not even exist among the Christians of the first century A.D. Many denominational splits occur because Christians clash over authority or disagree on doctrine. I believe that churches should, first and foremost, recognize Christ as the sole head, avoid petty man-made divisions over slight discrepancies in man's interpretation of the Bible, and yet not hesitate to disassociate

Same-sex couples are becoming increasingly popular in our society and advocates have been pushing for social justice to abolish sexual discrimination. America has been misled by opponents of the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts who claim a business' right to religious freedom to turn away gay customers is discrimination and bigotry, and we need to return to the biblical view of homosexuality as what it really is: sin. This paper will cover religious freedom and the advancement of gay rights in society today as it pertains to the opposing arguments of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act passed recently in Indiana.

We have all at some point or another heard someone say that God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. This saying is an excellent example of how a large number of Christian fundamentalist feel about the homosexual community. Studies have shown that there are more Christian homophobes than there is homophobia in any other group or religion in the United States (Wolff, J. R., Himes, H. L., Kwon, E., & Bollinger, R. A., 2012). Homophobia is the irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals. In Christianity, homophobia represents misunderstanding and fear of the unknown.

Religiously, this is all very wrong, especially according to the laws they set originally. Many things have changed in the church since Jonathan Edwards preached this sermon. For one, the church has split into even more denominations; presbyterian, baptist, episcopalian, pentecostal, free will, etc. Due to the puritan influence, each church has interpreted the word of God in different ways. The denomination that is similar to the type of preacher Edwards was is Pentecostal. One of the few churches that have not accepted homosexuality. Recently, this has been a very serious subject among the churches, along with the support of abortions. In bible belt this is an even bigger topic because there are so many churches. It is almost like peer pressure, if one does it the others do as well. Edwards would preach against the change and

Now, when is talk about that there is ignorance in this type of situation, it is necessary to take into account that this ignorance came from the type of action that many usually takes when the they know about this issue in certain individuals who are facing this issue, and sadly the first action taken is to judge them, and discriminating against others. However, what is most unfortunately is when this comes directly from the church, which often does not give them any hope of restoration to their issue of same-sexual attraction.

Homosexuality has become accepted by many in our culture today. PBS estimates that there are 9 million members of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community (Greve, Joan. “LGBT America: By the Numbers.”). This makes up 3.8% of the US population. Some of these members identify as Christians. So this poses a couple of questions: does the Bible really condemn homosexuality, can you be a gay Christian, and can two people of the same sex be legitimately married? These are important questions for churches to have answers to as the LGBT movement is becoming very popular.

d) There is a time for division in the body of Christ. When a church group is denying scripture and, after being confronted, still continues their same practice, then it is time to break fellowship with that group. This has happened with the Metropolitan Community Church denomination which openly advocates the support of homosexuality. Also, there is an Evangelical Lutheran church that is thinking about accepting homosexual relationships into church. At this point it is ok to draw the line and say enough is enough.

“All men are created equal, No matter how hard you try, you can never erase those words,” Harvey Milk. A homosexual, as defined by the dictionary, is someone of, relating to, or characterized by a tendency to direct sexual desire toward another of the same sex. Homosexuality is ethical, and I will provide rational arguments for, and irrational arguments against the topic. A few objections are as follows: It is forbidden in the Bible and frowned upon by God; It is unnatural; Men and women are needed to reproduce; There are no known examples in nature; and the most common argument that concerns homosexuality is whether it is a choice or human biology.

There are several religions which condemns the notion of homosexuality. Growing up in a Christian household I was taught that being homosexual is a sin in the sight of God. For example, in Jamaica my family practiced Pentecostal religion where they are very passionate about their traditions. There were unspoken beliefs that homosexuals were to be punished for their sexual practices. This belief followed me to the United States. Even though we went to a Baptist Church, the teachings were the same. I held on to this religious belief for many years and lived my life in a way that was conducive to my religion.

According to a Pew Poll, most religious communities believe same-sex marriage and even homosexuality in general are morally wrong and do not follow their religious beliefs (Waldman, 2003). There is no major religion in the world that has ever altered the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples (Barlow, 2003). In general, it can be said that many religious people have strong views on same-sex marriage, declaring it wrong because of their religious beliefs.