God condemns homosexuality
Overview
It is often claimed, especially by religious extremists, that God condemns homosexuality.
Specific Religions
Christianity
Christians who oppose homosexuality usually support this argument with various passages in the Bible:
- Leviticus 18:22: "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." (This of course says nothing regarding lesbianism.) All of Leviticus 18 seems to concern laws regarding sexual relationships. I have been told, however, that the Levitican laws are not to be taken as current law as they are "unfulfilled". Obviously not everyone agrees with that... --Woozle 16:08, 15 April 2007 (EDT)
- 1 Corinthians 6:9,10: "...Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men... will inherit God's kingdom."
- Romans 1:26 - For this reason, God delivered them to degrading passions as their females exchanged their natural sexual function for one that is unnatural. This can arguably be interpreted as condemning lesbianism, in much the same way that a cloud can be interpreted as a bunny-rabbit. To me, it sounds more like a condemnation of artificial insemination or uterine replicators (which, as of this writing, have not yet been developed -- but presumably God knew we would get around to it eventually, and wanted to make sure that we knew well in advance that it was wicked). Either way, it doesn't explain what the problem is; the equivalence of "unnatural=bad" is assumed, and opens up the question of whether the many other unnatural things we do (e.g. modern health care, driving cars, wearing clothes) are also bad (and if so, why aren't they condemned as well?).
- Westboro Baptist Church quotes "Romans 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have in them that do them." apparently as justification for killing homosexuals, presumably in reference to verse 27: "And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet."
Islam
Islam is particularly harsh against homosexuality, which carries the death penalty under Islamic law.
It is ironic that the religious right is so harsh on Islam, which shares their views on homosexuality much more than do other varieties of Christianity.
Counterpoints
Rational Counterpoints
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 why God advises this (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 God's negative opinion of homosexuality is in humanity's best interests (which is not necessarily the case if God is not omnipotent).
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.
Doctrinal Counterpoints
See Scripture:Bible/homosexuality.