In 1969, fresh out of seminary and armed with a knowledge of Greek and a smattering of Hebrew, it occurred to me to get to the bottom of what the Bible really said, exactly, about homosexuality. I couldn’t find any books on the subject, so I wrote my own paper. How well I still remember my first reaction to that text in Leviticus that says a man shouldn’t lie with another man as he lies with a woman: but wait—I don’t lie with women! How does this apply to me?
I could not have remotely imagined that just a few years later, there would be countless books on the market covering the Bible and homosexuality. By chance, my personal interest in the topic coincided with a general explosion of interest in it, in the early 1970s. Even entire Christian denominations did studies like mine—and virtually all of them came to the same conclusion as I had. A small handful of biblical texts mention certain sexual acts, but nothing in the Bible indicates an awareness of sexual orientation. It was assumed, then, that everyone was the same—heterosexual. Anyone engaging in same-gender activity was assumed to be a fallen heterosexual, a pervert, a sinner given to hedonistic exploration and debauchery. To suggest that such persons might actually be in love, and not perverse at all, would have seemed absurd!
Now that we understand what homosexuality really is, how do those texts apply? Or do they at all? Could it be that the same principles that govern heterosexual behavior should apply to all people, regardless of sexual orientation? Or is it just not gay people’s lucky day, and they’re doomed to lives of God-required, self-enforced celibacy?
There are two ways to look at this handful of texts which seem to condemn certain sexual acts under certain circumstances, but don’t address sexual orientation, per se.
1. The more liberal approach is quite simple: we do with those texts the same as we do with all the many texts in the Bible that unequivocally endorse and support slavery, and the many texts that require a subservient, unequal place for women. Ignore them! Because we know better now.
2. The more conservative approach is to take the texts literally, for exactly what they say, and apply them not only to perverse, fallen heterosexuals who dabble beyond the line, but to homosexuals as well, no matter that they’re entirely two different things. No matter what. And never mind that the conservative approach already ignores certain other texts deemed inapplicable today, such as those on slavery and women.
The first approach requires no explanation. It is the second approach that has spawned the many scholarly studies. Must those texts be applied to persons with a homosexual orientation? It is not as easy an answer as one might think, which is why it takes entire books to discuss it. One could wish the answer to have little importance outside the realm of religion, but that is not the case. Given the far-reaching influence of religion, the consequences of how we answer this question are grave, at least for those who find themselves with a same-gender orientation—whether they are religious or not.
The real substance of this page will be found in the links below, following this brief introduction...
by Larry Hallock
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The vast hypocrisy of picking and choosing which biblical texts to ignore and which to latch onto for dear life.