Answer to Question #271623 in Philosophy for sz100

Question

According to the Bible, why is heterosexual sex natural and moral while homosexual sex is unnatural and immoral?

Answer 1

Many people are surprised to learn that there are just a few chapters in the Bible that explicitly describe same-sex partnerships. Nonetheless, despite its uncommon mention, the Bible has some very important things to say about it when it does. We must comprehend them if we are to avoid the twin errors of homophobia and believing that God is unconcerned about how we utilize our sexuality.

The first two texts that explicitly address homosexuality are from the Old Testament, while the other three are from the New Testament.

1. Genesis 19

Sodom has been so synonymous with gay behavior that its name has become a byword for it for many years. Is'sodomy' really what Sodom is all about?

The narrative portrays the city's males seeking to force sex with two celestial visitors who had arrived in the appearance of men. Later in the Old Testament, Sodom is accused of a variety of faults, including tyranny, adultery, lying, abetting criminals, hubris, complacency, and indifference to the poor. Some have wondered if we have inserted homosexuality into the Genesis tale when the underlying issue was societal tyranny and injustice. However, a detailed examination of the text reveals that homosexuality was really involved.

Although the Hebrew word for 'know' (yada) might simply mean 'get to know' someone (rather than 'know' them sexually), the crowd's hostility (and Lot's awful attempt to give them his daughters as an option) indicates that they are searching for much more than social acquaintance.

In the New Testament, Jude adds an important insight:

‘...just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire’

Jude 7

What occurred in Sodom is definitely intended to be a cautionary story. Their ungodliness, according to Jude, included sexual immorality. They were punished for sexual immorality in addition to the other crimes for which they were found to be responsible.

Jude also emphasizes the nature of their sexual appetites, stating that they desired 'unnatural desire' (literally, unnatural 'flesh'). Some have speculated that this is related to the fact that the city's guests were heavenly—Jude mentions angelic guilt earlier in his letter. However, these angels seemed like mortals, and the baying multitude outside Lot's home gave no indication that they were angelic. Their ambition was to have sex with the guys who were still staying with Lot. In other words, the New Testament emphasizes the gay character of their impulses rather than merely the violent expression of them.

2. Leviticus 18 & 20

Leviticus contains two well-known statements about homosexual activity:

‘You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination

Leviticus 18:22

‘If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them’

Leviticus 20:13

‘For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error’

Romans 1:26-27

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God

1 Corinthians 6:9-10