What Are The Arguments Against The Bible

In addition to the Story of Adam and Eve, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is also routinely utilized to detest homosexual relationships. However, most biblical scholars employ proof-texting, “when a biblical text is cited to justify a doctrinal or ethical conclusion that is already held and reached on the basis of some reason other than the accurate interpretation of the biblical text” (Salzman, xvi) which often is not reliable because it is not the actual intent of the biblical story. Some religious followers will condemn homosexuality and sodomy due to Genesis’ alluding to where the men of Sodom said, “Where are the men who came tonight? Bring them out to us, so that we may know them.”(Genesis 19:5) These individuals will justify their claim

Homosexuality in the Bible is a difficult topic to address especially in modern day time. Now a day there is more debate than ever before about certain passages in the Bible that address homosexuality. The interpretation of specific passages and the true meanings of these passages has caused a stir amongst religious folks worldwide.

On Expressions website they do address the controversial topic of being gay and a Christian with two different viewpoints. First, they use the Bible verse John 3:16 “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only

In each of those circumstances, we can understand the negativity drawn to homosexuality. However, another passage in scripture states “Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (RSV Romans 13:8-10). If love is the true fulfillment of the law, then why would it not be the determinant for which laws we are to abide? Even as this passage encourages its religious followers to accept and love everyone, the firm believers of heteronormativity isolate the LGBT population and remove them from mainstream society.

One large example is the legality of homosexuality, or sodomy laws. Even the name, “sodomy” is Biblical in itself referring to the story in Genesis of the two towns, Sodom and Gomorrah. While the term sodomy is colloquially used to refer to homosexual acts, sodomy refers to non-procreative sexual acts, regardless of one’s orientation. Sex used solely for procreation is seen in the Bible and emphasized especially in Catholicism and Mormonism. The first instance is in Genesis. God’s first command to Adam and Eve is to “Be fruitful and multiply”. The same biblical often used for the argument against same-sex marriage before it was legalised, that God made man and woman, not man and man.

The bible describes my faith and it is a holy book that is treated with respect however analyzing and reading the terrible texts also made me realize that there is some texts in the bible that are horrible and have a lot of violence. In church the priests do not talk about this acts rather they want to show the positive side of their faith and religion. However I feel that the bible was written in an earlier time frame and many of the ideas through many time periods have changed. Many people now think differently about certain situations and many perspectives and opinions have

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

Churches should focus on love, and accept any - even homosexuals - with open arms. The Bible speaks of “..., That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another,...” (Interlinear, John 7:34) After reading this do we still just pick and choose who we love or hate on as a congregation? To preface this scripture, Jesus said this was a new commandment to be given unto us, and earlier in John he says that hate is along the same lines as murder when it comes to ranking of sin. With this being said, how can we or any congregation that says they believe in the Bible say “No” to anyone who is homosexual walk through the church's doors?

It would be irresponsible and untrue to claim that all churches have denied ministry to those with same gender attraction, but it does seem that many churches have abstained or rejected ministering to the LGBT community for different reasons. One reason is the approach by way of judgment or condemnation from those within the Church. In her book, Boynes explains, “in general, there are two wrong approaches the Church has taken toward those living a homosexual lifestyle. Some have judged and condemned the homosexual, usually in a spirit not motivated by love. Others have openly accepted the lifestyle and welcomed homosexuals into the pulpit. Both responses are ditches on the road to truth and will diminish the Church’s fulfillment of its calling.” An online article entitled, “What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?” attempts to explain some of the reasons for the Church’s condemnation: “Prejudices, fears and misconceptions about homosexuality are deeply rooted in our culture. The subject evokes strong emotions, which may hinder understanding it from a Biblical perspective. Many common beliefs and attitudes about homosexuality actually have their origins in our cultural traditions rather than in the Bible.”

Sexual relations are a powerful and essential part of God’s intentions for defining humanity. God intended sexual relationships to be ideal for His creation. Therefore, Paul emphasizes the destruction sin distorts from the illegitimate use of the gifts from God. “Even their women exchanged natural sexual relation for unnatural ones…men also abandoned natural relations with women with lust for one another…men committed shameful acts with other men…” (Romans 1:26-27). They are of such importance that the Bible gives them special attention and counsels more restraint and self-control than with any other desire. Paul indicates one of clearest ways of society or a person in rebellion against God is the rejection of God’s guidelines for the use of sex. In Paul’s day, many pagan practices encouraged homosexuality, “men committed shameful acts with other men,” (Romans 3:27). Homosexuality is strictly forbidden in God’s Word (Leviticus 18:22). God does not obligate or encourage the degradation of this act in humanities relationships. Paul even states that the people were aware of their wrongdoings. “Although they know God’s righteous decree…they not only continue to do these very things but

It is evident that the scripture condemns homosexuality. We can find it in Rom 1:18-32. As Montoya (2000) stated, “The true biblical teaching on the subject requires the church to condemn the sin of homosexuality, convert the homosexual, confront erroneous teaching, and cleanse itself. The church must be careful not to adopt the customs of the world” (p. 155). However, this writer feels that we need to show love to all and sundry. We are the light of the world. When light shows up in a dark room, darkness disappears. The people that believe in same sex marriage can change the notion of non-believers when they come in contact with the flow of the river of God in our lives. What are the believers doing about immorality in our society? Are we praying for the salvation of the lost souls? This writer supervised gay at his workplace for months without knowing he was gay. A colleague at work came to meet this writer and said” Do you know that Mr. X is gay? I replied and said, No! This writer did not feel comfortable in the first instance, but the thought that came to this writer’s mind was that what would Jesus do. Jesus loves the sinners. This writer used to share his testimony about Jesus with this colleague without knowing his belief. No wonder, this writer used to ask him about his girlfriend, but he used to tell

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.

Throughout the history of America, from the 1800 to 2017. The Bible/Christianity has always been used to address both sides of an issue on Gender. I choice Abortion and homosexuality because it has been in the news for a while now since 1988. People have been debating on the issue that women should not have an abortion because it is considered a crime, while using the Bible as a reference. While others believe that women have the right to whether or not to have an abortion. Also, using the Bible to give their reasons. Homosexuality is also a big issue in America history because some people think that people who are homosexual have a right to marry their same gender or whosoever they feel like because it is their rights to freedom and Liberty. While others opposed homosexuality as an act of the devil referencing from the Bible that God did not put men and women on earth to be homosexual, but to be heterosexual like Adam and Eve.

Biblical writing tends to have strict laws about sex and sexuality and how it was expressed and universally accepted. The Pauline Epistles, or Paul’s views, had unique views on sex because he completely distrusted gender as a whole and because he believed that there would be an apocalypse. Many of Paul’s ideas were widely accepted back than because they explained may things that people could not, for instance it explains homosexuality. Today, the laws are seen differently and in some cases interpreted much more literally than they were back then. It is likely that ideas have changed either because people have become more understanding and accepting of others or because we no longer view sex and sexuality as a thing to be ashamed of. This new age of interpretation is seen in the way homosexuality is accepted today, submission of the wife to the husband in some religious dominations, and the ideal of marriage and its sexual implications.

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.