By Robert A. J. Gagnon, Special to CNN

CNN Editor’s Note: Robert A. J. Gagnon, Ph.D., is associate professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and author of The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics and (with Dan Via) Homosexuality and the Bible: Two Views.

In her recent CNN Belief Blog post “The Bible’s surprisingly mixed messages on sexuality,” Jennifer Wright Knust claims that Christians can’t appeal to the Bible to justify opposition to homosexual practice because the Bible provides no clear witness on the subject and is too flawed to serve as a moral guide.

As a scholar who has written books and articles on the Bible and homosexual practice, I can say that the reality is the opposite of her claim. It’s shocking that in her editorial and even her book, “Unprotected Texts,” Knust ignores a mountain of evidence against her positions.

Read the rest of the article at CNN.com

People tell me that in Social Media such as Facebook, being gay is cool. If this is the case, my guess is that many people who register as either gay or bi are just doing it as a stunt and do not realize the implications of putting themselves into a box. Could it be a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Just for discussion’s sake, let’s say that about half the population is straight, A low percentage is gay and the rest cover a wide spectrum between. For the latter group, would sexual encounters skew their thinking? Because it felt good, could a person identify himself/herself incorrectly? Could incorrect labeling be a self-fulfilling prophecy?

What are your thoughts?

For the sake of completeness, I have done a digital search of the Bible for all references to Sodom. I haven’t copied them all in this post because many references were simply a means of warning Israel regarding the kind of destruction that they themselves deserved because of their sins. (Unless indicated otherwise, all quoted texts are from the KJV.)

What happened in Sodom?

Sodom is first mentioned in connection with Lot’s choosing a pleasant place to live. But the warning is given that “the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.” (Genesis 13.13 )

A few chapters later we discover that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were so wicked that God thought it best to destroy them. Abraham intervened, and the Lord said he would save the cities if even ten righteous were found in them. Of course, we know the result − not even ten righteous could be found in those prosperous cities of the beautiful plains. Note that judgment was determined on Sodom before the record of the angels visiting Lot’s house.

Genesis 18:20, 21: “And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.”

And so two angels are sent to escort Lot and his family out of Sodom before destroying the cities:

Genesis 19:1,2 “And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.”

Ancient records show that travelers often spent night in the open (see Gen. 28:11). However, Lot seems to have made it his duty to seek out strangers and invite them to the shelter of his home − probably because he knew of the inhospitable nature of the men of the city.

The subsequent riot and demand to “know” the visitors is probably accurately interpreted as a wish to abuse them sexually.

Being same-sex attracted, Tim felt that he was “gay.” So when a Andrew asked him, “Are you gay,” he got that deer-caught-in-the-headlights look, which was a give-away even without the “yes” that followed.

But was it necessary for Tim to admit to being “gay”?

Let’s consider what most Christians think of being “gay.”

They are thinking of someone being sexually active with the same sex – or, at the very least, having regular gay fantasies, being “turned on” by every member of the same sex, etc.

So when Tim answered “yes,” that’s the picture Andrew got. In his mind, Tim was “turned on” by just being around him, and he saw this sexual turn-on as the reason for the relationship.

But that wasn’t the reality. While Tim was same-sex attracted, he was also married and faithful to his wife. He disciplined his thought life and he would never think of approaching Andrew sexually.

So did Tim communicate the truth by admitting he was “gay”?

I think not.

Language is fluid and flexible. Words mean different things to different people. Thus, to communicate accurately, we need to keep in mind what the other person means by the words used.

So, if you are attracted to the same sex but have committed your sexuality to God, here are some suggestions for dealing with the question, “Are you gay?”

First of all, you have to remember that no one has any business asking you about your inner thought life and your sexual attraction. You have every right to the privacy of your thoughts and feelings. Tell yourself that out loud, in front of the mirror,  if you must: “I have the right to the privacy of my thoughts and feelings!”

So now someone asks, “Are you gay?”

You may reply:

“What makes you ask?” or something similar. This immediately turns the tables and puts the other person on the spot.

Someone bold enough to ask the question in the first place is unlikely to be intimidated by such a question and may explain. This opens up the conversation to deal with specific issues. You can then decide how much to tell. You may choose to tell very little, saying, “You know, I’m disappointed you would think that of me,” or something similar. Or, if you trust the person as a good friend, you may tell them that you struggle with being attracted to the same sex but that you are not letting the attraction rule your life.

I suggest that to avoid “outing” yourself at the wrong time/place, you mentally practice dealing with the “Are you gay?” question. Then, if it comes up, the mental practice turns to reality.

Perhaps you have better suggestions?

Or perhaps you have stories to share?

But when conservative Christians say “homosexuality,” they usually think of gay sex, rather than sexual orientation. And that creates a lot of misunderstanding.

So back to the question, Is homosexuality a sin? And the straightforward answer is No.

Homosexuality (i.e. a homosexual orientation) is no more a sin than a heterosexual orientation. Both gay and straight person may sin sexually by engaging in sex outside of marriage, since God designed sex exclusively for life-long marriage between a man and a woman, as the Bible makes clear.

The Bible defines sin in terms of what we do or think, not in terms of who we are or how we are tempted to sin:

1 John 3:4 “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.”James 4:17 The JKV says that is is the “transgression of the law.” That has the sense of stepping across a line that is drawn, or breaking the law, as in breaking a speed limit.

Romans 14:23 “.. everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (NIV)

James 4:17 “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”(NIV)

So don’t let anyone tell you that is is a sin to be gay/homosexually oriented. Sin is something you do or think, not something you are.

That said, we are all sinners in need of saving – both gay and straight people. And that’s why Jesus came to this earth to walk among us and die for us – that all who choose to accept His saving grace and power will be saved to be eternally with Him.

I asked her, “Do you feel that you have financial problems because you were abused?  Do you think that your child is crying because you were abused?”

I explained that what she was experiencing emotionally was like putting a great big spike in the wall and hanging all the black pictures on it.  I suggested that she consider putting the different problems on different hooks on her emotional wall, and then we could deal with them one at a time.

I wonder if some people use homosexuality as the spike in the wall? Is sexual orientation being blamed for anything and everything that goes wrong?

What if they knew? Would they accept me? Would I still have friends? I’m tired of hiding this part of who I really am.  Wearing this mask is driving me crazy.

Almost everyone wears a mask of some kind; those that don’t can be a real pain.

A few months ago another two couples joined us for dinner. The older couple were definitely old school. They appeared stern and unbending. The younger couple seemed to accept both the good and the bad that life had offered them over the years.

Since gay marriages was such a hotly debated topic at the time it was no surprise that it entered the dinner conversation. I asked the guests, “If someone from the church told you that they were gay, would it make any difference to your feelings about them?”

The replies surprised me. The older dyed-in-the wool guy spoke first. No, it wouldn’t make any difference to him. His wife agreed. The younger lady and her husband both said that it would make a difference in their relationship and they would not want to be told.

Would it be fair to this couple for a person to out himself?  I think not.  There are things that even the best of friends don’t discuss.  And you can’t unring a bell.

The late Pierre Trudeau, when Prime Minister of Canada, commented to reporters, “there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.”

When we close the bathroom door, or bedroom door, or our lips, we are not hiding behind a mask; we are just being sensitive to the feelings of others.

Some things are personal, and are no one’s business, so we can put the “What if they knew?” speculations to rest. Most people are far more concerned about their ingrown toe nail than about your aching  back—or your sexual orientation.

Ralph

Does the Bible really justify this conclusion? Do we know what abomination really means? Let’s see if the rest of the Bible sheds light on the matter by checking out a few other “abomination” texts. I have used the King James Version of the Bible for this purpose .  (Other versions do not use the word abomination as much. For instance, the NIV does not use the word abomination for sexual sins.)

Sexual sins of any kind are considered “abominations” to the Lord in the King James Version. (See Leviticus 18: 18 – 30, paying particular attention to verses 27 – 30, which refer to “all these abominations” after various kinds of sexual activities apart from marriage have been mentioned.) A similar list is repeated in Leviticus 20, concluding that God’s people ought not to do these things “after the manner of the nations which I cast out before you.” We find that the levitical laws also forbade remarriages of divorced couples, after the wife had been married to another man,  even if the second husband died, calling such an act an “abomination.” (Deuteronomy 24: 1 – 4)

When we consider that Christ amplified these laws to include the lustful thought, who is without sin to cast the first stone?

Dishonest business practices are named as an “abomination” in Deuteronomy 25: 13 – 16, Proverbs 11: 1 and  Proverbs 20: 10. It seems that scrupulously honest business practices are required of any professing to be the Lord’s people.

Do our practices pass the careful scrutiny of the Omniscient One?

Oppressive treatment of others and a  haughty attitude are considered as “abomination” in Proverbs 3: 31 – 32, and a “froward heart” (KJV, the Amplified Bible translates this as “willfully contrary in heart”) is again mentioned in Proverbs 11:20. I wonder if some of the attitudes of conservative Christians towards gay people might not fall into these categories of “abominations.”

I have trouble with these labels, for I am not sure whether a person is talking about orientation or actions. Instead of representing human sexuality as three separate boxes, I believe that sexual orientation can be represented best as a color bar which gradates from yellow (heterosexuality) on one end to red (homosexuality) at the other.

Some men who say that they are straight probably could have a little erotic attraction for men under the right conditions. With the exception of people who are at the gay end of the spectrum, most have had varying degrees of attraction towards the opposite gender some time in their lives.

Just as surely as the color bar has two ends, it also has a middle. I believe that a high percentage of people occupy this middle ground. And most of them don’t even give it a second thought. A few years ago, even men who were quite gay-oriented would marry because that was what a man was expected to do. Orientation wasn’t even discussed.

But with the present awareness of the gay population, these same men will at least experiment with gay sex. And gay sex is addictive. That swells the number of people that are counted in any gay census.

Ministries under the umbrella of Exodus International probably have their best success with people whose orientation is toward the yellow end of the spectrum. There are some people who feel so poorly about themselves that they will go into an unhealthy relationship because they need a friend who will meet their emotional needs. Unfortunately predators, gay or straight, take advantage of such people and lure them into relationships which are more than emotional. This adds guilt and lowers a man’s self-esteem still further.

Bi-straight Marriage

Can a marriage between a bi and a straight work?

Most certainly!

True, some men who are gay have married to prove that they were straight. This is not a valid reason to marry. Such a marriage starts out on the wrong foot and has a high risk of failure.

Of the straight population, over half of the marriages end in divorce. (What excuse do they use for the breakup?) And of the other half, only a few are truly happy. I know of no evidence that gay-straight marriages cannot have at least as high a success rate as straight-straight marriages.

The person who finds himself on the middle ground has to make an intellectual decision to make the marriage work. Without his veins throbbing with hormones, he has a better chance of building the relationship on a more solid footing than the shifting sand of sexual desire. And building on a foundation of unselfish Christian love and mutual commitment will result in a better marriage than the average.

A woman who marries such a man will not have to concern herself about her husband chasing skirts. He just isn’t interested.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First published on the GLOW site by Ralph Seland in 1999. Permission to copy, provided credit is given to author, with a link to this blog entry.