Gay & Married

The controversy over what is being called "gay marriage" has gained steam as one of the hot issues in media, academia, and politics nationwide and globally. Yet it wasn't too long ago in America that homosexuality itself was almost universally recognized as deviant behavior and evidence of mental illness and not even a topic for debate. Today, however, those who support homosexuality and the homosexual community's relatively recent demand to be recognized in marriage carry themselves with self-righteous disdain for anyone who questions the legitimacy of the homosexual agenda. They see themselves a civil rights activists and regard Bible-believing Christians to be public enemy number one. They recognize that honest Christians cannot endorse homosexuality because the Scriptures condemn it. Yet they persist in forcing their values down society's collective throat. Some of these activists will deny that the Bible prohibits homosexuality, while others simply dismiss the book as outdated, primitive, and irrelevant. Nevertheless, for those of us who base our views on the authority of the Scriptures, it behooves us to know what they say about this issue. The following discussion will therefore use the Bible to assess the matter of homosexuality.

What the Bible Says about Homosexuality

The word gay has been used as a euphemism for homosexuality, yet the word is a misnomer at least in American society. The primary definition of the word gay meant "happy" or "cheerful" long before it became the default descriptor for homosexuals. But currently in our culture, gay is not a very accurate characterization for the homosexual community, which in fact has shown itself to be very unhappy. The prevailing current reason for homosexual discontent is being advertised as their inability in most US states to legally marry as heterosexuals traditionally have had the freedom to do.

A little historical perspective may come in handy at this point. In this nation there were laws against sodomy in every state (a default sexual behavior for male homosexuals) right up until 1961 when Illinois repealed its legislation against the behavior. Since then, the longstanding statutes against sodomy have been repealed in every state but 14 as of 2003. That's when the Supreme Court ruling in the Lawrence vs. Texas case struck down the remaining anti-sodomy laws.

Of course, even when these ordinances were on the books, they were hard to enforce because the sexual activity of most people is normally conducted in private. In addition, by the time the 2003 court decision was finalized, anti-sodomy laws were already rarely if ever imposed. And now with sodomy being legal in every state, no one can legally stop homosexuals from entering into private, monogamous relationships (even though monogamy has never been very characteristic of homosexuals). In reality, this supposed ideal of homosexual relationships is being celebrated in movies, television, academia, and other sectors of the public square.

So the next hurdle on the agenda has become state-sanctioned marriage and all the tax and insurance benefits that come with it. Homosexuals also have the legitimacy issue in view. If they can force all states to recognize them in marriage, it would "validate" their lifestyle as they would be gaining the government's approval. Such legislation is designed to make homosexual behavior seem normal even though it is not normal statistically, biologically, and certainly not biblically as we shall see.

Yes, that old, enduring book called the Bible is a major obstacle to legitimizing homosexual marriage in the public mind. More particularly, it is those who adhere to this book unswervingly, those stubborn neanderthals and intellectual rednecks called Bible-believing Christians. I say "Bible-believing" because there are many who profess adherence to Christianity but don't regard the Scriptures much at all even though the Bible defines our faith and what we are supposed to believe. Those are the nice "Christians" who aren't so intolerant and have evolved in their understanding of the Scripture and and its teachings. We aren't talking about those types. We are talking about those religious fanatics and conservatives (also called "fundamentalists") who take the Bible seriously as God's Word.

So the question obviously arises, "What does the Bible say about this issue?" Rather than making this into a verse-by-verse exposition of the subject, I will respond to an Internet propaganda piece I recently read. The posting promotes some recently popular arguments against those who use Bible to criticize homosexuality. Not surprisingly, every objection to homosexuality but one was attributed to a Biblical reference even though the statements are simplistic, misleading, uninformed, and erroneous. I will record those statements verbatim and then respond to them.

The posting I am responding to is titled, "So You Still Think Homosexuality Is Sinful? And Therefore Gays Shouldn't Be Allowed to Marry?" There are mostly biblically-based objections listed and then short blurbs underneath that supposedly refute the objections. However, one-sentence answers laden with logical errors actually could never do a complicated subject like this one justice. Let's see if a more thoughtful approach would enlighten the argument a bit.

Argument #1

Objection: Homosexuality is sinful "Because Jesus said so!"

Response: "Not true. Jesus never uttered a word about same-sex relationships."

Argument #2

Objection: Homosexuality is sinful "Because the Old Testament said so!"

Response: "The O.T. also says it's sinful to eat shellfish, to wear clothes woven with different fabrics, and to eat pork. Should we still live by O.T. laws?"

Argument #3

Objection: Homosexuality is sinful "Because the New Testament says so!"

Response: "The original language of the N.T. actually refers to male prostitution, molestation, or promiscuity, not committed same-sex relationships. Paul may have spoken against homosexuality but he also said that women should be silent and never assume authority over a man. Shall modern-day churches live by all of Paul's values?"

Argument #4

Objection: Homosexuality is sinful "Because God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!"

Response: "That was written when the earth wasn't populated. There are now 6.79 billion people. Breeding clearly isn't an issue anymore."

Argument #5

Objection: Homosexuality is sinful "Because the Bible clearly defines marriage as one-man-one-woman!"

Response: "Wrong. The Bible also defines marriage as one-man-many-women, one man many wives, and many concubines, a rapist & his victim, and conquering soldier & female prisoner of war."

Argument #6

Objection: Homosexuality is sinful "Because it just disgusts me dangit!"

Response: "Props for being honest. However, a whole population of people shouldn't have their families discriminated against just because you think gay sex is icky. Grow up!"

Conclusion #1

(For those who agree with any of the objections listed above)

Response: "Have fun living your sexist, chauvinistic, judgemental, xenophobic, lifestyle choice. The rest of culture will advance forward without you."

Conclusion #2

(For those who reject all of the objections listed above)

Response: "Congratulations on being part of civilized society!"

Conclusion