THE RELIGIOUS WAR ON LGBTQ IS PRODUCING COLLATERAL DAMAGE among a large percentage of those termed
gay men, of whom a 2019 study by the Yale School of Medicine indicates 83% are closeted. If 3% of males are
gay, then 2-3 in a hundred are closeted. Many of those are closeted because of religion, are in the pews. To those boys/men, these following scriptures may be of help.
Jesus said of the religious leaders of His day: "Yea, they bind
heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger." (Matt 23:4 ASV)
Jesus said to those burdened by the religious leaders: "
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light." (Matt 11:28-30 ASV) *
Jesus does not say, "unless you are gay"!
The sin of adultery is mentioned 56 times in the Bible, the sin of fornication is in the Bible 40 times. Yet the NT Greek word modern translations often translate as homosexuality (
arsenokoites) is found
only twice in the NT: 1 Cor. 6:9 and 1 Tim. 1:10. Two things to notice,
1st, the Greek translated "homosexuality" is distinguished from fornicators and adulterers;
2nd, the 2021 Updated Edition of the NRSV, by the Society of Biblical Literature states about the word arsenokoites: "Meaning of Gk uncertain".
If sex
between two males itself alone was major sin, why is it not in the Ten Commandments? Why did Jesus not mention it when he spoke of Sodom? Why, when Paul is listing some commandments and love of neighbor, why did he not list it as sin?
"For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: love therefore is the fulfilment of the law." (Rom 13:9-10 ASV) *
True biblical love is not emotions or sexual desire, it is about how you treat others, as you wish to be treated, 1 Cor. 13:4-7.
About the Sodom story; has a
gay forced himself on another, sodomizing? Breaking down the door? Gen. 19:9
The Leviticus reference, is for whom? "These are the commandments, which Jehovah commanded Moses
for the children of Israel in mount Sinai." (Lev 27:34 ASV)
*It was for the Israelite under the law of Moses; and Mosaic Law was "abolished" in Christ, Eph. 2:15 by nailing it to the cross, Col. 2:14.
The Rom. 1:27 reference clearly speaks of those so much "consumed with lust"(RSV), or "burned in their lust"(ASV), therefore they "gave up"(RSV) sex with women, or "leaving" sex with women. Has a gay been in a relationship with a woman from which he left or gave up? We supposedly use the "Historical-grammatical" approach to biblical interpretation.
Why then do many ignore the historical and read into a passage their ideas from our culture of today? What was it like when Paul wrote this? A Greek philosopher living in Paul's day describes it just as Paul has, but in much greater detail -
From the Greek philosopher Dio Chrysostom (40-110 AD) in The Seventh or Euboean Discourse
Phrasing lifted from text numbered 133 through 152
"In dealing with brothel-keepers and their trade we must certainly betray no weakness as though something were to be said on both sides, but must sternly forbid them...Such men bring individuals together in union without love and intercourse without affection, and all for the sake of filthy lucre...For evils are never wont to remain as they are; they are ever active and advancing to greater wantonness if they meet no compelling check...Indeed, beginning with practices and habits that seem trivial and allowable, it acquires a strength and force that are uncontrollable, and no longer stops at anything...Now at this point we must assuredly remember that this adultery committed with outcasts, so evident in our midst and becoming so brazen and unchecked, is to a very great extent paving the way to hidden and secret assaults upon the chastity of women and boys of good family...The man whose appetite is insatiate in such things, when he finds there is no scarcity, no resistance, in this field, will have contempt for the easy conquest and scorn for a woman's love, as a thing too readily given — in fact, too utterly feminine — and will turn his assault against the male quarters, eager to befoul the youth who will very soon be magistrates and judges and generals, believing that in them he will find a kind of pleasure difficult and hard to procure. His state is like that of men who are addicted to drinking and wine-bibbing, who after long and steady drinking of unmixed wine, often lose their taste for it and create an artificial thirst by the stimulus of sweatings, salted foods, and condiments."
demonax.info
That does not seem to be describing simple sex between two males; but it is heterosexuals who are so eaten up with lust they eagerly rush into such depravity.
Demanding that a
gay man/boy act contrary to his sexual nature for salvation, is to force him to rely on his own righteousness, and ignoring saved by grace through faith. But scripture reads -
"For they ignore God’s way of righteousness, and try to set up their own, and therefore they have not submitted themselves to God’s righteousness; for Christ is the end of the law and brings righteousness for everyone who has faith...If the confession ‘Jesus is Lord’ is on your lips, and the faith that God raised him from the dead is in your heart, you will find salvation. For faith in the heart leads to righteousness, and confession on the lips leads to salvation." (Rom 10:3-4, 9-10 REB)
"Christ was innocent of sin, and yet for our sake God made him one with human sinfulness, so that
in him we might be made one with the righteousness of God." (2Cor 5:21 REB)
"There is no salvation through anyone else; in all the world no other name has been granted to mankind by which we can be saved." (Acts 4:12 REB)
There are definitely a couple of verses in Romans 14 that need to be considered:
"Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And
they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand." (Rom 14:4 NRSV)
* It is the Holy Spirit who will convict the regenerate of sin if he is mistaken and in error. John 16:7ff
"
it is right not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God; happy is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves. But he who has doubts is condemned, if he eats, because he does not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." (Rom 14:21-23 RSV)
I neither endorse nor promote homosexuality, but it exists, and with the extremes seen in religious circles that come across as homophobic, I present here a scholarly counter-balance.
