Board index ‹ LGBT: Gays, Lesbians, Bisexual, Transgender, and Homosexuality

[jimwalton]

1. The Bible tells us that homosexuality is wrong, but it never explains why. The complementarian argument (that men and women are made for each other and fit together), the idolatry argument (that homosexuality is essentially a focus on self and others rather than the Creator), the procreation argument (that the purpose of marriage relationships are to have children), and the one-flesh argument (that a man and a woman become one-flesh in marriage) are all biblically inadequate to explain to us why it’s wrong. But that doesn’t change that the Bible unequivocally and without exception says that homosexuality is wrong.

2. I believe that we all have an inner knowledge that homosexuality is not just another choice equal to the others. I believe that we all have an inner knowledge that homosexuality is different (incompatible, mismatched, disparate, conflicting, divergent) and that the fight to see it as equal is an effort against conscience.

3. I believe that a way to evaluate the merit of an idea or behavior is to ask, “What if we were all like that?” That certainly works with love, forgiveness, justice, kindness, and a multitude of other traits. That doesn’t work with homosexuality. If we are all homosexuals, society fails. Society does not fail with monogamy, heterosexuality, sexual morality, and a multitude of other social mores.

4. “Love” is often given as a reason for the validity of homosexuality. “What’s wrong with people loving each other?” In the Bible, love isn’t a moral value by itself. It is a moral value when it is properly placed and has an appropriate focus. In the Bible, the moral placement and focus of love is found in monogamous heterosexual relationships. Why? See #1: because the Bible unequivocally and without exception says that homosexuality is wrong.

5. “I was born this way” is never, in the Bible, a justification for behavior. If anything, it’s exactly the opposite—if it’s natural to us, it’s in contradiction to life in the Spirit. We are all born into sin, and so to justify our behavior on the basis of “born this way” doesn’t speak to its possible acceptability. “I was born this way” and “I can’t help it,” as common mantras of the homosexual justification, clearly fail as biblical arguments.

As W. David O. Taylor said, Despite the work of GLAAD's commitment to lead the Conversation, shape the media narrative, and change the culture, the church must "keep offering a brave, clearheaded articulation of sexuality and marriage. ... As always, we should seek every opportunity to lay down our lives to serve our neighbors, gay or straight or otherwise, offering them the hospitality of Christ in witness to the fatherly love of God. Nothing good will come of holding onto stereotypes. Our neighbors are not our enemies. They are men and women made in the image of God and beloved by him. To them we owe the same kind of humble love that Christ has shown us."