Homosexuality, The Bible, and Soulforce #2
Homosexuality and same sex marriage has become a very hot topic and those who believe the Bible says it is a sin or that the government should not recognize same sex marriage have become reluctant to speak out. There are several reasons for this, but one of them is not being able to deal with the personal attacks, faulty arguments, and accusations of those who believe homosexuality is natural and the government should recognize same sex marriage. Too many have also been convinced that they were wrong in believing that homosexuality is wrong. That is why I am taking the time to write a series of blogs dealing with some of the more common arguments used by the pro-homosexual crowd, specifically those proposed by Soulforce. This being the second post in the series, you can read the first post here.
Premise #2
“Historically, people’s misinterpretation of the Bible has left a trail of suffering, bloodshed, and death.”
This premise has a grain of truth to it. Certainly there are times when people have misinterpreted the Bible and then proceeded to do terrible things. The list of examples given, in some cases, lacks historical context. Even if all of the examples given are true that does not mean the Bible is being misinterpreted in this case. Correct interpretation has lead to great good being done throughout history. Think of the work Samaratans Purse, International Justice Mission, Compassion International, and many, many more. Women being freed to vote, the end to slavery, churches that run to the aide of whatever community has been harmed by hurricane, tornado, or other natural disaster are all done in the name of Jesus, Christianity, and the Bible.
I’m not sure how the fact that misinterpretation of the Bible has lead to harm and bloodshed matters in this case. In order for this to matter the author needs to show that the Bible has been misinterpreted in this case. So far this person has not done this. Fortunately the author admits, “Most of the people I know who say “the Bible condemns homosexuality” would never condone these acts. Most Christians have no idea that the people killing gay and lesbian persons go around quoting those few verses of Scripture as justification.” So let me be clear this kind of action or any kind of hate expressed towards gay people should be condemned by all Christians.
Premise #3
“We must be open to new truth from Scripture.”
This premise is based on the idea that some have misinterpreted the Bible and should be open to correcting their belief. This of course goes both ways. In other words the author of this article could be the one who is wrong and no belief is without consequences. We should not be open to new truths, but we should be open to changing our minds if our beliefs are mistaken. Still the author has not given any valid reason for believing the Bible does not teach that homosexuality is a sin and given what appear to be pretty strait forward passages on this issue the burden of proof would be on those who are pro-homosexual.
I do agree with the author when they say, “I believe with all my heart that the Holy Spirit is still teaching us. When we reconsider the texts that are used by some people to condemn God’s gay children, we must fervently seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance, or we risk being misled by our own prejudices.” What I don’t believe is that the Holy Spirit is teaching something different from what the original text intended. There is nothing in Scripture that suggests the Holy Spirit would ever do that.
Premise #4
“The Bible is a book about God — not a book about human sexuality.”
Certainly sex is not the purpose of the Bible, but that does not mean the Bible doesn’t have anything legitimate to say about sex. The Bible isn’t about war, but it does address the issue of war and gives us good principles by which we can judge whether a war is just or not. The bible isn’t about parenting, but it does have a lot of valuable things to say about parenting in the book of Proverbs for instance.
No the Bible isn’t about sex, but it does say a lot of things about sex. What is interesting is that right after saying the Bible isn’t about sex the author then lists several verses dealing with sex. The Bible talks about incest, rape, fornication, procreation, beastiality, adultery, purity, and homosexuality. Song of Songs is a book in the Bible that talks a lot about sex. There are more than 70 verses in the NIV that use the word “sexual.” There are countless more passages that deal with sexual topics. It makes sense that if God created people he would have a lot to say about how they would relate to each other and since sex is the means by which procreation takes place it would also make sense for him to have something to say about that.
Next week we will begin to deal with some of those passages that talk specifically about homosexuality.
Leave a Comment