God condemns homosexuality/counterpoints
Overview
These are the hurdles which any scriptural argument against homosexuality must clear. It must establish:
- That "God" is an actual being, rather than a mythical/fictional/metaphorical entity
- That God's opinions are accurately represented in one or more of the works in which those opinions appear
- ...and for which specific works this is true
- That those writings unambiguously show that God does in fact advise against practicing or tolerating homosexuality
- ...and what specific actions God advises taking
- ...and why God advises these actions (so we can determine how best to handle the situation)
- That those opinions have not changed since they were set down (e.g. prior to 722 BC, when the sources for the relevant books of the Bible were first distributed, or prior to the death of Mohammed in 632 AD if the Qur'an is found to be a reliable source), in spite of the lack of any new and unambiguous condemnations in the intervening time
- ...and why those opinions have not changed (since homosexuality has not been shown to be any more harmful than many other condoned activities)
- That it is in humanity's best interests to act on this negative opinion
As of this writing, none of these have been established with any credibility, so the claim that God condemns homosexuality is currently unsupportable.
A popular variant of the scriptural argument claims that we, as humans, are somehow obligated to follow God's instructions on the matter regardless of whether we understand them to be in our best interests. This claim supposes that offspring can be held liable for any contracts made by their ancestors, an idea rooted in feudalism and rejected by all enlightened societies.
Another way to look at the scriptural argument is basically this: although the Bible does clearly condemn homosexuality in a few places, this does not explain why we should also do so. Any scripturally-based argument against homosexuality must address this question with a specific chain of reasoning.