Difference between revisions of "God condemns homosexuality"

Revision as of 15:17, 23 October 2008

Overview

It is often claimed, especially by religious extremists, that God condemns homosexuality.

Reference

Wikipedia: The Bible and homosexuality
information on homosexuality and the Bible

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."

Counterpoints

Rational Counterpoints

These are the hurdles which any scriptural argument against homosexuality must clear. It must establish:

That "God" is real, rather than a mythical/fictional 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.

Doctrinal Counterpoints

It is widely believed that "The Sin of Sodom" was homosexuality; this is not the case. Sodom's sin was actually being "arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy." (Ezekiel 16:49, NIV translation)

See The Bible and homosexuality for many more points to consider.

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 ==Counterpoints==
 ===[[Rational]] Counterpoints===
-* There is no real evidence that a being such as [[God]] exists, much less that this being's opinions on ''anything'' are known, and still less that such opinions are accurately reflected by any of the various monotheistic religious [[scripture]]s, much less those condemning homosexuality in particular.
+These are the hurdles which any scriptural argument against homosexuality must clear. It must establish:
-* However: assuming (1) that there is an entity who is arguably God as described in various scriptural works, and (2) that the condemnations of homosexuality in those works are accurate reflections of that entity's opinion at the time of writing:
+* That "[[God]]" is real, rather than a mythical/fictional entity
-** Even if God condemned homosexuality in the past (722 BC or earlier, when the [[wikipedia:Priestly source|sources for the relevant books of the Bible]] were first distributed), there is no reason to assume that he has not changed his mind:
+* That God's opinions are accurately represented in one or more of the works in which those opinions appear
-*** Homosexuality does not seem especially harmful, so why would God continue to believe that it was sinful?
+** ...and for which specific works this is true
-*** In view of the growing acceptance of homosexuality worldwide, one would expect a God entity as described in the Bible to have issued some new condemnations of homosexuality or perhaps even punishments for tolerating it, if that being truly continued to condemn it.
+* That those writings unambiguously show that God does in fact advise against practicing or tolerating homosexuality
-** Assuming God continues to condemn homosexuality, regardless of whether this continuance has been made known to us:
+** ...and ''why'' God advises this (so we can determine how best to handle the situation)
-*** Why has God not bothered to explain ''why'' homosexuality really is bad, so that we can understand why all the contrary evidence should be ignored? The fact that God has not offered such an explanation casts severe doubt on either (a) the idea that God really does condemn it, or (b) that he has the best interests of humanity at heart.
+* That those opinions have not changed since they were set down (e.g. prior to 722 BC, when the [[wikipedia:Priestly source|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
-*** In the absence of any such explanation, claiming that we humans must ''also'' condemn it because of this is purely an [[argument from authority]].
+** ...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 [[enlighten]]ed societies.
 ===Doctrinal Counterpoints===