I Don't Think Homosexuality Is A Sin
Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2022 10:50 am
Hi all
Firstly let me clarify, I am not homosexual. I became interested in figuring out if it is a sin or not because I find that gay people are smarter, kinder, and just really good and fun friends generally. I also know that a lot of them want to know God, but are afraid of being shunned by the church so they stay away. They also suffer from hate crimes and bullying, and it is this that make them kill themselves, not because they are 'spiritually dirty/disturbed', like a lot of Christians like to say.
I won't list down all the pro lgbtq theology, I'm sure we all are quite well versed in them, and if you aren't a quick google search can lead you to several articles and books that will inform you well enough. You can start with the infamous Matthew Vines, but there are also other authors whom I think are more convincing than him. I have to admit I've only read two books on this, and I'm sure I will be even more convinced if I took the time to read more, including non theology books about history and culture of the Greeks at the time the bible is set in.
But I will list down some points that I find particularly convincing.
1. What we know about gender through science, anthropology and sociology is that it is a very complicated thing. Our knowledge about the human body is very nascent, science has a long way to go. It is not just about what genitals you are born with, but also what goes on inside the brain. There may be infinitely more proofs that homosexual people are born the way they are, whether in chromosomes, genes, or otherwise.
1a. When Jesus said marriage was between a man and a woman, what if science discovers one day something new about why some women are more 'manly', others are more 'womanly', it is a spectrum, what if Jesus meant something more than what genitals we are born with?
2. The word, concept and understanding of Homosexuality was coined by the Germans, but they didn't use the term in the bible until recently, and it is only because this new version was sponsored by an American company.
3. The word arsenokoitai was a new word coined by A. Paul, and it was sandwiched between two other words which meant male prostitute and male pimp respectively, so most likely it meant men who bought male prostitutes, or men who indulged in homosexual sex outside of a loving and committed relationship. Heterosexuals are also not allowed to indulge in sex outside of a loving and committed relationship.
4. The bible never addressed issues about intersex people, does that mean that these people are sinful too because some of them have two reproductive organs and they can choose, in most cases, which gender they want to live as?
5. I don't believe Ruth and Naomi, or David and Jonathan were homosexuals, like many pro lgbtq proponents claim, but that doesn't mean a lot of their points aren't valid. the conservative church disagrees on many small things, but overall it agrees about the same values. Doesn't mean they are different religions or that they need to separate from one another, or that the whole religion of Christianity is fake.
The bible has been used to justify and even support slavery, racism, racial segregation, and the oppression of women and the poor. Isn't this history repeating itself, but this time to a different type of minority?
Extra points I would like to add are: A lot of people can detect a homosexual among heterosexuals, much like the way we can tell a man from a woman. Isn't this extra proof that they're to an extent born that way? It's like we know Christianity isn't a schizophrenic's fantasy because every Christian believes and experiences roughly the same thing.
Some people say, well, even homosexuals know they are sinful. To this I'd like to share an experience I had with a lesbian friend. She one day told me, "I know I am sinful because when I think of marrying a man I don't feel desperate and heartbroken, but when I think of marrying a woman I feel like I'm in a dark desperate place, I really really want it." For me, at that time, that was to me, solid proof, in fact, THE proof that homosexuality was sinful. For some background info, I've always told this friend every time we met that her sexual orientation was sinful and encouraged her to overcome it through prayer and fasting. But when I prayed for discernment, I immediately realised: Of course she wouldn't feel desperate for a marriage to a man. She wasn't attracted to them. Of course she would feel desperate when she thought about women, she was attracted to them. a LOT of people who are attracted to the opposite sex feel the same way my lesbian friend feels, desperate because they don't think they can attract a spouse, but it doesn't mean God is calling them to turn homosexual.
I prayed for wisdom and discernment for a very long time before I came to the conclusion that homosexuality isn't a sin. For a long time I believed strongly it was a sin, but the evidence against that belief is just too damning.
Firstly let me clarify, I am not homosexual. I became interested in figuring out if it is a sin or not because I find that gay people are smarter, kinder, and just really good and fun friends generally. I also know that a lot of them want to know God, but are afraid of being shunned by the church so they stay away. They also suffer from hate crimes and bullying, and it is this that make them kill themselves, not because they are 'spiritually dirty/disturbed', like a lot of Christians like to say.
I won't list down all the pro lgbtq theology, I'm sure we all are quite well versed in them, and if you aren't a quick google search can lead you to several articles and books that will inform you well enough. You can start with the infamous Matthew Vines, but there are also other authors whom I think are more convincing than him. I have to admit I've only read two books on this, and I'm sure I will be even more convinced if I took the time to read more, including non theology books about history and culture of the Greeks at the time the bible is set in.
But I will list down some points that I find particularly convincing.
1. What we know about gender through science, anthropology and sociology is that it is a very complicated thing. Our knowledge about the human body is very nascent, science has a long way to go. It is not just about what genitals you are born with, but also what goes on inside the brain. There may be infinitely more proofs that homosexual people are born the way they are, whether in chromosomes, genes, or otherwise.
1a. When Jesus said marriage was between a man and a woman, what if science discovers one day something new about why some women are more 'manly', others are more 'womanly', it is a spectrum, what if Jesus meant something more than what genitals we are born with?
2. The word, concept and understanding of Homosexuality was coined by the Germans, but they didn't use the term in the bible until recently, and it is only because this new version was sponsored by an American company.
3. The word arsenokoitai was a new word coined by A. Paul, and it was sandwiched between two other words which meant male prostitute and male pimp respectively, so most likely it meant men who bought male prostitutes, or men who indulged in homosexual sex outside of a loving and committed relationship. Heterosexuals are also not allowed to indulge in sex outside of a loving and committed relationship.
4. The bible never addressed issues about intersex people, does that mean that these people are sinful too because some of them have two reproductive organs and they can choose, in most cases, which gender they want to live as?
5. I don't believe Ruth and Naomi, or David and Jonathan were homosexuals, like many pro lgbtq proponents claim, but that doesn't mean a lot of their points aren't valid. the conservative church disagrees on many small things, but overall it agrees about the same values. Doesn't mean they are different religions or that they need to separate from one another, or that the whole religion of Christianity is fake.
The bible has been used to justify and even support slavery, racism, racial segregation, and the oppression of women and the poor. Isn't this history repeating itself, but this time to a different type of minority?
Extra points I would like to add are: A lot of people can detect a homosexual among heterosexuals, much like the way we can tell a man from a woman. Isn't this extra proof that they're to an extent born that way? It's like we know Christianity isn't a schizophrenic's fantasy because every Christian believes and experiences roughly the same thing.
Some people say, well, even homosexuals know they are sinful. To this I'd like to share an experience I had with a lesbian friend. She one day told me, "I know I am sinful because when I think of marrying a man I don't feel desperate and heartbroken, but when I think of marrying a woman I feel like I'm in a dark desperate place, I really really want it." For me, at that time, that was to me, solid proof, in fact, THE proof that homosexuality was sinful. For some background info, I've always told this friend every time we met that her sexual orientation was sinful and encouraged her to overcome it through prayer and fasting. But when I prayed for discernment, I immediately realised: Of course she wouldn't feel desperate for a marriage to a man. She wasn't attracted to them. Of course she would feel desperate when she thought about women, she was attracted to them. a LOT of people who are attracted to the opposite sex feel the same way my lesbian friend feels, desperate because they don't think they can attract a spouse, but it doesn't mean God is calling them to turn homosexual.
I prayed for wisdom and discernment for a very long time before I came to the conclusion that homosexuality isn't a sin. For a long time I believed strongly it was a sin, but the evidence against that belief is just too damning.