A recent comment from a fellow churchgoer, regarding homosexuality, bothered me.
Saying that homosexual behavior is a sin implies one of two things:
1. Homosexuality is a choice that people make, as in you can choose whether or not to be physically and emotionally attracted to a particular gender.
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2. Just the homosexual act is sinful, not necessarily the thought, as in as long as you don't act on your homosexual urges, you're ok.
On the first point, I am heterosexual. I never CHOSE to be this way. I just never have been physically or emotionally attracted to members of my own gender. Homosexuals represent the reverse side of this coin. They did not CHOSE to have these feelings towards members of their own gender.
Regarding the second, just choosing not to act
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on a “sinful” thought doesn't negate its sinfulness. Matthew 5:21-22 tells us that just an attitude of anger towards another is as sinful as an act of murder. Verses 28 and 29 says that a lustful thought is equal to adultery. Granted, some homosexuals have chosen to live a life in hiding, bowing to the pressure of the prevailing social norms.
Some get married to a person of the opposite gender, and even have children. Some of those eventually choose to "come out" at some point...but it's rarely a big surprise to the people close to them. Not one of these people would tell you that they CHOSE homosexuality.
In regards to morality, biblically speaking, the subject of homosexuality is still hotly debated, and that's not a can of worms that I am going to directly address here. For the sake of argument, however, let's assume that is IS sinful.
As far as sinful acts go, it's not even in the biblical top ten. Not one of the Ten Commandments forbids homosexuality. As far a Leviticus goes, the Bible bans all sorts of behavior, such as physical contact with an "unclean (menstruating) woman", eating shellfish, mixing natural and artificial fabrics, and working on the Sabbath. Unless you are a strict Orthodox Jew, no one sees these things as sinful today. We have moved past these things and realize that they are not requirements of being morally upright. But being homosexual still seems to make many of the self-righteous
balk. For the Catholics, it's not even one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Remember, this is not a lustful desire, rather a loving, emotional connection between two consenting adults. To provide a more compelling biblical argument, In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” It seems that Jesus taught that LOVE is to be put before EVERYTHING ELSE. Barring people from religious service, access to products and services in the public sector, and denying the civil rights of homosexuals as fellow human beings, certainly isn't putting love first. That's the opposite of love - hate. Jesus never taught us to hate anyone. He did, however, teach us not to judge. In Matthew 7:1-5, and in Luke 6:37-38 we are warned that we will be judged with the same harshness that we judge others. In John 8:3-7, we are given the example of the adulteress. When she is brought before the religious authorities for judgement, Jesus tells them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” We are all imperfect. We all fall into “sin”. Some more often than others, but it's all the same to God. We are told to seek forgiveness, not judgement. We are told to show love, not hate. True followers of Christ structure their lives and actions based of His life and actions. Jesus wasn't a legalist. In fact, he caught against legalism, and it got him killed. Jesus showed us that following the SPIRIT of the law was vastly superior to following the LETTER of the law, which could be twisted to mean almost anything when stripped from context. We were given the commission, which tells us to go and spread His teachings to the world. Many “Christians” today, unfortunately, have corrupted those teachings in order to serve their own aspirations of control over others’ behavior. I pray that someday the Christian Church in America realizes this. I am sure that Jesus feels the same way.
In the debate over homosexuality, Christian ethicists have many authorities to draw from. From the mixture of biblical sources, traditional authorities, empirical and descriptive accounts, and cultural norms, Cahill chooses general biblical themes and modern culture as the primary authorities for her ethic. This departure from traditional Roman Catholic teaching implies some flaw in the connection between the Holy Spirit, the church, and common believers. Cahill’s decision is her method of fixing this disconnect and reuniting Christ’s message with all believers.
People’s different values and morals play a role in defining what they believe. Many people find homosexuality to be not natural, and it goes against many people’s views. However, there is also a lot of people who argue in favor of homosexuality and find nothing about it unnatural. For those people who do think it is not natural they normally use the argument that this kind of sex can not reproduce, therefore it is not right because the point of sex is to reproduce. Many times the Bible will also be used to refer to verses that condemn acts of homosexual sex. People who favor the morality of homosexuality find many things wrong with these arguments. To say that the only purpose of sex is to reproduce would be wrong because there are many examples of heterosexual couples who have sex without the intention of conception. Medical problems, protected sex, and just sex for fun are all reasons why
For years homosexuality in the United States of America has been looked down upon by citizens, religions, and even politicians. The homosexual culture, or the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender), has been demoralized and stuck out and lashed against by the Heterosexual community time and time again. To better understand the LGBT community we must first grasp the concept of Sexual Orientation.
Homosexuality has always played a huge role in society. Views on this topic have changed immensely from the beginning of the greece era to now in modern society. People have become more appalled with this topic because now in society there are stereotypical views on “normal” ways of living. Religious views have also impacted people's decisions and thoughts about it.
The Holy Bible and its various renditions is the most common religious book that many religions have founded from. The first collection of writings of the bible can be dated back as far as 1500 years, which is 3500 years after homosexuality existed. The bible looks at homosexuality as an abomination and sinful, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22), “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 . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:26-28). There are nearly eighty bible verses about homosexuality being sinful and sacrilegious (Open Bible). Not all religions had the same view on homosexuals,
Homosexuality according to Kantian ethics is wrong, and if it were to be applied in the categorical imperative, there would not be an engagement of the hypothetical imperative. The hypothetical imperatives are only focused on doing things so that a person can be successful in a particular activity. The only good practice according to Kant is the one that will keep the human race moving and homosexuality is therefore not a good practice because if the entire world turned to gay and lesbian marriages, It would mean that the human race would come to an end and this is not what God intends for his
"[I]t seems appropriate to understand sexual orientation (heterosexual or homosexual) as a deep-seated dimension of one's personality and to recognize its relative stability in a person. Generally, homosexual orientation is experienced as a given, not as something freely chosen. By itself, therefore, a homosexual orientation cannot be considered sinful, for morality presumes the freedom to choose. The teachings of the Church make it clear that the fundamental human rights of homosexual persons must be defended and that all of us must strive to eliminate any forms of injustice, oppression, or violence against them"(Pastoral).
In a recent survey of women, 57% stated that heterosexuality was not something that was considered and then chosen. For these women, there was no decision to be made regarding their sexual preference (Marrow, 1997). This is an interesting figure when you consider of those above women, some admitted to having sexual encounters with other women. I believe the choice is heavily tied to our culture, family values, and surroundings. If all of the fish are swimming upstream, why would you want to go against your group and swim downstream?
Within the recent years, the transgender movement has become more apparent than ever. With television shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, “Keeping It Up With Cait” and “I Am Jazz”, the voices of transgender people are more public than ever. Celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner and Laverene Cox are changing the face of the movement by showing people that it is never too late to be their true selves. American laws are acknowledging the rights of transgender people, but not in a positive way. These are just people trying to be their best selves. Transgender people deserve to have all the rights that a non transgender person has.
Though many researchers will agree that homosexuality is not genetic, still, others beg to differ. HRC.org published an article entitled “Guide to Coming Out,” the article states ‘sexuality and gender identity are not choices any more than being left-handed or having brown eyes or being heterosexual are choices…The choice is in deciding how to live your life.’ With society always shoving their view into the minds of Americans second of everyday, it is not that hard to see where the confusion arises.
To begin with, sexual orientation can be determined by more than one factor and is not the same for everybody. According to the American Psychological Association:
Marriage equality rights have come a long way over the last several year, however there is still more progress to be made. Achieving gay marriage rights across the nation has been a long fight and has caused quite a great deal of controversy. While more and more people, churches, organizations, businesses, etc. are all starting to support the movement, thousands of them still do not. While achieving the goal of marriage rights in the LGBT community may seem never ending, it’s important to recognize the small wins along the way.
As humans, it is natural to shy away from things that are different than the norm; we discriminate. It is very important to rid oneself of discrimination to better clarify the decision at hand. To make a valid conclusion on homosexuality, it is essential for one to forget what they were taught when socialization occurred, mainly birth to adulthood. As an example: You were told as a young child to hate and not associate yourself with African Americans because of the color of their skin, because they are different. When you grow older, you obtain a six-figure job, but y...
Many feel that such a lifestyle is acceptable so long as it is kept in the privacy of one's own home, while others find it a sin wherever it is.... ... middle of paper ... ... This I all agree with, but to what degree do we know that homosexuals fit into all this?
Homosexuality is unnatural. Romans 1:27 mentions man “leaving the natural” (one man and one woman) and therefore taking part in acts of immorality. When the world was created, God made a man and a woman. He later tells them that part of their job is to replenish the earth. A common argument to this statement is the question, “what if they were born that way?” This question is easily answered. When a baby is born, he is either a boy or she is a girl. There are no if’s, but’s or maybe’s. The homosexual lifestyle is a choice. Also, there is no scientific proof that shows how an individual might be born as a homosexual. There is, however, proof that homosexuality can be dangerous and even deadly. From depression to breast cancer to AIDS, the homosexual lifestyle brings sickness and suffering to the individual. Although roughly 3.3% of Americans are homosexual, over 50% of this small group is accountable for HIV infection. Homosexuality is harmful not only mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, but it is also the cause of much disease and