The document discusses different biblical perspectives on homosexuality and explores how Christians have interpreted passages related to this topic. It acknowledges that reasonable Christians disagree on this issue and examines three key biblical references often used in the debate - Sodom and Gomorrah, prohibitions in Leviticus, and passages from Paul's letters. Alternative interpretations of these passages are presented that view them as condemning rape or pederasty rather than committed same-sex relationships. The document encourages understanding different views and judging not others' faith.

1. Hot Topics “ How can a person be a Christian and believe opposite from me? I’m a Christian. I believe Side A, how could someone else believe in Side B and still be a Christian?”

2. Our Goal It is not to convince you of what I believe. It is to help us understand why Christians who believe the Bible come to different conclusions. It is to have respect for different biblical and Christian views. It is to gain insight and understanding so that you can make decisions about what you believe.

3. This Week’s Homosexuality and the Bible

4. When does the Bible first mention homosexuality?

5. When does the Bible first mention homosexuality? A. Old Testament? B. Leviticus? C. Sermon on the Mount?

6. When does the Bible first mention homosexuality? The answer: D. 1946

7. The word “Homosexual/Homosexuality”… Does not appear in the King James Version of the Bible, which came out in 1611. Does not appear in any English Bible until 1946, with the Revised Standard Version. When that translation was revised 43 years later as the NRSV, the word no longer appears.

8. There are three main places in the Bible that are used as sources for taking a position against homosexuality as an acceptable Christian practice.

9. There are three main places in the Bible that are used as sources for taking a position against homosexuality as an acceptable Christian practice. Sodom and Gomorrah The Old Testament “Holiness Code” St. Paul’s New Testament Letters

10. First… Sodom and Gomorrah Genesis 18:20-21 20 Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

11. Sodom and Gomorrah Genesis 19:-13 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. "My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning." "No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square." But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them." Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof." "Get out of our way," they replied. And they said, "This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you worse than them." They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door. The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."

12. Sodom and Gomorrah One view – this story tells us that homosexuality is a sin. Another view – this is not about homosexuality, but about violence and rape. Which view is right? – What was the sin of Sodom?

13. Sodom and Gomorrah Turn to Ezekiel 16:49-50 “Now this was the sin of Sodom : She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.”

14. Second… The Holiness Code The Holiness Code refers to the Old Testament book of Leviticus 17-26, and is so-called because of the frequent use of the word “holy.”

15. Holiness Code Leviticus 18:22 says, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” Leviticus 20:13 reads, “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them shall be put to death.” Even without the use of the specific word “homosexual,” this seems clear, however…

16. Holiness Code The purpose was to instruct Israel how to be a separate and different people when they entered the Promised Land. How much of this still applies today?

17. Holiness Code Leviticus 19:27 “Do not clip the edges of your beard.”

18. Holiness Code Leviticus 19:28 “Do not put tattoo marks on yourselves.”

19. Holiness Code Leviticus 11 Forbidden foods – pork, shrimp, lobster, catfish, and more!

20. Holiness Code Leviticus 11:7-8 “And the pig … it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.”

21. Holiness Code Leviticus 25:44 states that we may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations.

22. Holiness Code Leviticus 19:19 “Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.”

23. Holiness Code Soooo…. What about these passages? Leviticus 18:22 says, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” Leviticus 20:13 reads, “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them shall be put to death.”

24. Third… Paul’s New Testament Teachings Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders. (I Corinthians 6:9)

25. Paul’s New Testament Teachings “ Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders .” Take a look at the phrase, "homosexual offenders." In Greek, the word is  , or "arsenokoitai”

27. Paul’s New Testament Teachings Sooooo…. Does this refer to homosexuality or child sexual abuse? Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor (homosexuals or pedophiles). (I Corinthians 6:9)

28. Paul’s New Testament Teachings Romans 1:24-27 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another … Women exchanged natural relations with unnatural ones… Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

29. Paul’s New Testament Teachings There are those who look at this passage and say, “It’s clear. Homosexuality is wrong.” Others come to this text and say, “No, Paul talks about abandoning NATURAL sexual relations and is referring to the heterosexual committing homosexual acts, or Paul is talking about the homosexual who tries to live life as a heterosexual.

30. So where are we?

31. The homosexual in the society. The homosexual in the church. In 1978: ". . . there is no legal, social, or moral justification for denying homosexual persons access to the basic requirements of human social existence . . ." In 1987” The General Assembly called “for the elimination . . . of laws governing the private sexual behavior between consenting adults [and the passage] of laws forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, and public accommodations . . ."

33. Questions? Comments? Words of Wisdom?

34. 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Leviticus 19:18 Matthew 5:43 Matthew 19:19 Matthew 22:39 Mark 12:31 Mark 12:33 Luke 10:27 Romans 13:9 Galatians 5:14 James 2:8 And remember… No matter what you believe…