Begin Your Free Ordination

The Bible and Homosexuality

Posted on by Reverend Thomas

Sodom & Gomorrah

Throughout the modern world and the history of man, few social questions have been quite so divisive as those concerning the morality surrounding homosexuality. Much like similar social topics, views on homosexuality cut to the core of what we consider a human being to be and what his or her role in life and society is. The varying views on the morality of homosexuality have fueled social movements and government crackdowns that have led to unprecedented social rights for gays, lesbians and transgenders in some parts of the world and the government mandated imprisonment and execution of homosexuals in others.

While the majority of the debate over the morality of homosexuality occurs in the secular arena, many individuals and organizations refer to religious texts to attempt to make a claim to moral authority on the issue. Although every society refers to their own religious traditions to attempt to sort out this issue in their own culture, the most frequent religious text thumped upon by conservatives and liberals alike in Western society is the Christian Bible. While religious conservatives used certain key biblical texts as their primary evidence of the inherent immorality of homosexuality for many centuries, the late 20th and early 21st century has seen rise to a growing number of religious progressives who point exactly the same biblical verses as evidence that the creators stance on homosexuality is not written in stone.

As we take a look at the six primary biblical verses that are under fire by both the religious left and right, it should become abundantly clear that two different perspectives inform how each of these groups are approaching biblical dogma. On the one hand, religious progressives tend to approach the Bible in textual terms that take into consideration various translations that the text has gone through, the time frame that different books of the Bible were written and the total rewrites that the Bible has undergone through out the millennium. Religious conservatives, on the other hand, approach the Bible as religious text that was handed down from the creator and believe that every word in the current translation of the text is meant to be taken literally.

Genesis 19:4-9


Genesis 18 and 19 concern the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by God. Religious conservatives point to this passage as evidence that the reason God destroyed these cities was due to homosexual acts, as the crowd seemed to be clamoring for the male angels. Religious progressives and most Jewish traditions interpret this passage and the story of Sodom and Gomorrah of indicating that the cities were destroyed due to the desire for both rape and copulation with something that was not human.

Leviticus 18:22


Religious conservatives point to this biblical verse as an unmistakable indication of God’s views on homosexuality and his condemnation of the behavior. Religious progressives point out that word translated into “abomination” is only used in other passages to describe suggested dietary constrictions or habits of personal cleanliness. When the original text refers to specific sins such as idolatry and how to behave in society, a completely different word is used, suggesting to progressives that Leviticus 18:22 is more of a direction concerning personal health and cleanliness.

Romans 1:26-27



When religious conservatives read these verses, it seems very clear that the passage is once again condemning homosexuality, and it is the only biblical passage that seems to clearly condemn lesbianism. Religious progressives argue that the verse is often taken out of context and that key words seem to have been intentionally translated in order to conflate the meaning of these verse.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10


Again, religious conservatives read the modern translation of these verses very literally and interpret the passage as being quite clear. Similarly, religious progressives point out that the word “homosexual” is a relatively new one. The word used in the original text is Greek word that combines the word for “man” with another word indicating a bed that is used for sexual purposes. Progressives explain that there was a common word for gays when this text was written, and the use of this word instead implies that the verse is condemning loose sexual practices in general.

1 Timothy 1:9-10


Once again, religious conservatives find it difficult to see how one could read this passage as something other than a condemnation of homosexuality. However, religious progressives argue as they have before that we are not reading the original text. The original Greek term here is “arsenokoitai,” which was frequently used in the ancient society to describe a variety of people, including pimps, male sex slaves and prostitutes and people who masturbate.

Jude 1:7


While religious conservatives interpret “strange flesh” as referring only to homosexuality, religious progressives argue that this reference the same disturbing passages concerning the angels visiting Sodom and Gomorrha in Genesis as discussed above. They also point out that the original word translated here as “strange flesh” was also used to describe a variety of perversions and has been interpreted over the years as “unnatura

l desire,” “sexual sin” and similar terms indicating sexual perversion in general.

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