Gay People Cannot Be Christian

Each argument is distinct from the other - all that needs is a person to believe one. 1. Interpretation of the meaning of homosexual related verses means those so inclined can justify being Christian. (i) Deuteronomy 23:17-18 These verses have often applied to homosexual behaviour due to mistranslation of root words. Hebrew uses the same noun in its masculine and feminine forms, the words are best translated as temple prostitute and not to do with homosexuality. Cult prostitution was prevalent at the time. Often fertility cult rituals involved the use of temple prostitues. This is what is being damned. Genesis 19:4-11 The sin of those of Sodom is explained further in Ezekiel 16:49-50. It relates not to homosexuality but the common behaviour of the men where they planned sexual abuse of the visitors. Leviticus 18:22; 20:13-14 These verses are part of the laws set for Jews of the time designed to emphasise that they were God's chosen. The context of the verse is the prohibition of practices found in the nearby fertility cult of Molech. The term 'abomination' is a translation of the Hebrew word relates to idolatrous practices, not sexual specific ones. The comdemnation refers to the practices the Jewish race were to avoid. Romans 1:26-27 In context, Paul is writing about idolatrous people - those whose practices they place before duty to God. The homosexual activity to which he refers is cult idolatry. He implies that all of the cult worshipers engaged in it - the alternative, if he was writing specifically about homosexual behaviour, is that that would imply all idolatrous people will become homosexual - clearly idiotic. The final part references punishment - the types of sexual diseases that were apparent in those who engaged in these cult practices. 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10 'Malakoi' (only used 1 Corinthians) and 'arsenokoites,' which is in both. Malakoi translates as soft. Arsenokoites again references cult prostitution. Verses again relate to cult prostitutes who engaged in both forms of sexual behaviour. Justifying the context of verses can lead easily to the belief that condemnation of same sex acts was very specific - cult practice - and did not relate to behaviour at large. == 2. Debate over biblical interpretation means opinion over homosexual behaviour can be seen as a product of its time. There are Christians who follow personal meaning over strict biblical innerancy. Discussion of pedastry was not uncommon at the time of biblical authors. Writers of the time both criticised and valued e.g. Plato, Philo, Tacitus, Rufus. In the context of the first century then, Biblical authors were merely repeating current wider discourse on the nature of this relationship and not detailing a divinely inspired commandment. == 3. There are those that argue that the only valid path is a personal relationship with God. Ultimately that leaves internal discourse between the individual and their believed saviour, pertinent only to the individual concerned - including discussion of ones sexuality. Many look at trends in certain derived meaning from Jesus' teachings to justify this approach, and to justify the belief that it homosexuality is ultimately acceptable, given the person as a whole. == That will do for now. :)