Gay Marriage is Morally Acceptable Even Within Christianity

You bring up good points. First, as to your point about divorce. I agree with you that it IS a sin, and I believe that the Church as a whole does not treat it as a sin, like they may treat other sins. I would say that this is hypocrisy on the part of many Christians. Now, our topic is whether homosexuality is moral within the bounds of Christianity. I believe that Christians base right and wrong off of the Bible. Therefore, we are debating whether or not homosexuality is acceptable according to the Bible. According to 2 Timothy 3:16, all Scripture is God breathed, some translations may say inspired, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. This verse basically is saying that anything within Scripture is directly inspired by God. The question then becomes whether Paul is valid within the context of Scriptural canon. Do the letters written by the apostle Paul belong in Scripture? Athanasius is believed to have been the first to compile a list of the New Testament books as we know them today. At multiple councils, such as the Council of Laodicea, books were judged as to whether they were canonical. For any letter or Gospel to be accepted into the New Testament it had to meet certain criteria. The first was whether it seemed inspired. They asked if it provided edification to the Church. It was judged as to whether or not it presented the same doctrine as the rest of the canon. The book had to represent high moral or spiritual values that were equal with that of other books in the canon. Another requirement was that it was either written by an apostle, or it had the approval of an apostle. We do know that Paul was an apostle because he met apostolic requirements. An apostle had to have experienced Jesus' earthly ministry. As a zealous religious leader, Paul would have followed his ministry, and he most likely would have seen most, if not all, of Christ's miracles. An apostle also was required to have met the resurrected Jesus, which happened to Paul on the road to Damascus. The final requirement for a book to be accepted as canon was acceptance. The early church had to quote portions of the book and accept its message. From this long process, multiple councils found that the letters of Paul were inspired by the Holy Spirit and inerrant. God obviously endorsed what Paul taught because he chose him to be an apostle to the Gentiles. https://bible.org... Romans 5:20 says that the law, which includes Leviticus, was given so that sin might increase. By this it means that the law was meant to show us our imperfection and inability to live up to God's perfect standards. The same verse goes on to say that where sin increased, grace increased more. Basically, the law shows us how desperately in need of grace we are, and God provides us that grace. Jesus did not abolish the law; he fulfilled the law. As a result, he was able to take on our punishment and we were forgiven for our sins. Those living in the Old Testament were redeemed because of their anticipation of a Messiah. Their past sins and transgressions were no longer taken into account. This does not make those right, but it does give hope even in the midst of sin. Hebrews 8:13 says that the New Covenant makes the old one obsolete. Because Christ took on all sins, there is no need for traditional Old Testament punishment. Again, this does not make any sin, whether it be lying or homosexuality, acceptable. It just means we do not have to suffer physical or eternal consequences for it. I personally disagree with the commenter that you mention. The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that we have ALL sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We are incapable of living up to his perfect standards. There is no sin that is worse than another. All sins doom us to eternal separation from God. The Bible says in Romans 10:9 that if we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouth Jesus as Lord we will be saved. Therefore, anyone who has committed a homosexual act, or any other sin, can enter God's presence in eternity. I do not believe that a Christian will stay homosexual . 2 Corinthians 5:17 says if anyone is in Christ he is made new. All old things have passed away. Romans 6:11 says that Christians should count themselves as dead to sin, but alive to God. That means we repent and pray for God's mercy to stop our sins, and he will help us to become more perfect in Christ. 1 Peter 5:10 says that after we have struggled a little while, with our sin, God will make us perfect and more like Christ. I believe a homosexual can become a Christian, and that if he or she died ten minutes later they would enter heaven. I also believe that John 16:8 is correct in saying that the Holy Spirit will convict of sin, righteousness, and judgment. If one accepts Christ, they will still struggle with sin, but they will see their error, repent, and eventually be made perfect in Christ. In Matthew 19, the disciples say that is must be best not to marry. Paul also addresses this in 1 Corinthians 7. He says it is best not to marry, because then one can focus on pleasing God rather than pleasing their spouse, but if one cannot resist temptation of the flesh, it is better to marry than to sin by having sex or having lustful thoughts outside of marriage. When Jesus says eunuchs, he is simply referring to those who do not experience sexual lust. He says if one can avoid marrying and stay within the will of God, they should.