Being gay is not a sin
Pope Francis was recently asked about his views on homosexuality. He reportedly replied:
This (laws around the earth criminalising LGBTI people) is not right. Persons with homosexual tendencies are children of God. God loves them. God accompanies them … condemning a person like this is a sin. Criminalising people with homosexual tendencies is an injustice.
This isn’t the first time Pope Francis has shown himself to be a progressive leader when it comes to, among other things, gay Catholics.
It’s a stance that has drawn the ire of some high-ranking bishops and ordinary Catholics, both on the African continent and elsewhere in the world.
Read more: Pope Francis' visit to Africa comes at a defining moment for the Catholic church
Some of these Catholics may argue that Pope Francis’s approach to LGBTI matters is a misinterpretation of Scripture (or the Bible). But is it?
Scripture is particularly essential for Christians. When church leaders refer to “the Bible” or “the Scriptures”, they usually mean “the Bible as we realize it through our theological doctrines”. Th
What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?
What Does The Bible Speak About Homosexuality?
Introduction
For the last two decades, Pew Research Center has reported that one of the most enduring ethical issues across Christian traditions is sexual diversity. For many Christians, one of the most frequently first-asked questions on this topic is, “What does the Bible say about attraction to someone of the alike sex?”
Although its unlikely that the biblical authors had any notion of sexual orientation (for example, the term homosexual wasn't even coined until the slow 19th century) for many people of faith, the Bible is looked to for timeless guidance on what it means to honor God with our lives; and this most certainly includes our sexuality.
Before we can leap into how it is that Christians can maintain the authority of the Bible and also affirm sexual diversity, it might be helpful if we started with a concise but clear overview of some of the assumptions informing many Christian approaches to understanding the Bible.
What is the Bible?
For Christians to whom the Bible
God loves LGBTQ people
Nothing can separate us from the adore of God. (Rom ) This communication is for all people, including LGBTQ individuals.
God did not make a mistake in creating LGBTQ people.“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I perceive that full well.” (Psalm ) Sexual identity and gender identity are components of a person’s personality, and as such are part of who God made each of us to be.
Every person is precious to God. “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I acquire called you by name, you are mine.” (Isaiah )
The over-arching themes of the Christian Bible are that God loves everyone and has reconciled everyone through Jesus Christ; this includes LGBTQ individuals. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John ) “The world” means everyone, including LGBTQ people.
The Bible and same sex relationships: A review article
Tim Keller,
Vines, Matthew, God and the Same-sex attracted Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same Sex Relationships, Convergent Books,
Wilson, Ken,A Letter to My Congregation, David Crum Media,
The relationship of homosexuality to Christianity is one of the main topics of discussion in our culture today. In the fall of last year I wrote a review of books by Wesley Hill and Sam Allberry that take the historic Christian view, in Hill’s words: “that homosexuality was not God’s original creative intention for humanity and therefore that lesbian practice goes against God’s articulate will for all human beings, especially those who trust in Christ.”
There are a number of other books that seize the opposite view, namely that the Bible either allows for or supports same sex relationships. Over the last year or so I (and other pastors at Redeemer) have been regularly asked for responses to their arguments. The two most study volumes taking this position appear to be those by Matthew Vines and Ken Wilson. The review of these