Why does god allow homosexuals

Lev You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination. Lev If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death.

Their blood-guiltiness is upon them. Rom For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another; men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. How could we truly act in love toward our homosexual friends and not warn them, not try to help them out of that lifestyle? First, if the Body of Christ is to effectively address moral issues in the culture, it seems she must first address whatever moral problems she has within her own ranks.

We cannot, with any integrity, speak to the culture about sexual immorality if we are just as guilty of some form of sexual immorality ourselves. It is important that we repent of our hostility toward homosexual people and recommit to bold love. Too often the message from the church to the homosexual community has been poisoned with elements of wrath and hostility.

To hear some Christians talk, you would think that it is more important to politically defeat gays and lesbians than it is to see them won into the Kingdom. Bold love seeks to serve without compromising. The church must repent of being intimidated by the gay rights movement and recommit to her prophetic role. Within the gay rights movement, there is a militant and influential faction that has an agenda.

What is frightening about their agenda is that it is committed not only to the normalization of homosexuality, but to the silencing of anyone who opposes that normalization. Now, the first part of that agenda has largely been accomplished. Even the President of the United States argues their cause. And over the past 40 years, most of the institutions that influence American thinking have shifted to a pro-gay position: the psychiatric institution, the institution of education, the news media, and the entertainment industry.

The primary institution that still opposes the normalization of homosexuality is the church. We didn't go out into the culture to instigate a battle. Enter then phase two of the agenda: Silence those who oppose the normalization of homosexuality. And we are already seeing that silencing promoted and enforced by the gay rights movement.

Even the Bible itself is being considered a homophobic book by more and more of our society. And in different parts of the world it is becoming increasingly illegal to speak the truth of the Bible as it speaks to the subject of homosexuality. We must remember that the heart of the gospel is not a compliment. To tell people that they are lost in their sin is offensive. For the last two decades, Pew Research Center has reported that one of the most enduring ethical issues across Christian traditions is sexual diversity.

Although its unlikely that the biblical authors had any notion of sexual orientation for example, the term homosexual wasn't even coined until the late 19th century for many people of faith, the Bible is looked to for timeless guidance on what it means to honor God with our lives; and this most certainly includes our sexuality.

Before we can jump into how it is that Christians can maintain the authority of the Bible and also affirm sexual diversity, it might be helpful if we started with a brief but clear overview of some of the assumptions informing many Christian approaches to understanding the Bible.

In this light, the Bible is often seen as the primary source that helps us figure out how the people of God should live. Rather, most Christians make these difficult determinations by studying what the whole of Scripture says regarding a specific topic, exploring the linguistic, historical and cultural context within which the words were written, and then putting these discoveries in conversation with what we know to be true of the character of God more broadly.

Whenever any person opens the Bible, they begin a process of interpretation. But, the question is begged, is this a fair and accurate assessment? Are there such things as neutral interpretations?

Is there one true or correct way to interpret the Bible, and if so, who determines that? The study of biblical interpretation is called hermeneutics, and helps us to address these kinds of questions.

More specifically, we are seeking to determine if the biblical writers were condemning specific practices related to sexuality in the ancient world, or were they indeed condemning all same-sex relationships of any kind for the rest of time?

From the beginning of Genesis, human beings are described as having a need for relationship, just as God himself is relational.

Mainstream denominations like Presbyterians and Episcopalians now ordain openly gay clergy, and there are seeds of change in evangelical churches as well.

Matthew Vines is the author of God and the Gay Christian and is the founder of The Reformation Project, a Bible-based non-profit organization that seeks to reform church teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity. Matthew lives in Wichita, Kansas. Contact us at letters time. By Matthew Vines. There are several characters in the Bible who were non-gender-conforming, meaning that they did not behave according to traditional gender roles, or that they were not physically typical of men or women.

Jacob preferred to be with his mother at home, enjoyed cooking and was smooth-skinned, in contrast to his brother, who was hairy and preferred to hunt and be outdoors. Genesis Deborah Judges was a judge of Israel, acting as a prophet and military leader at a time when women were treated like property and valued by the number of children they could bear.

Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the palace women in the story of Esther, helped Esther to become queen. Ebed-Melech also was a eunuch, who saved the life of the prophet Jeremiah Jeremiah Many references to God describe actions associated with women: nurturing life in the womb Psalm , giving birth John , and protecting children Matthew When seeking to understand any Bible verse, it is important to know the context of the verse, as well as how the verse has been translated from the original language.

The following are points to consider when thinking about the verses that have been used to justify prohibitions on same-sex marriage and full participation in church community for LGBTQ people.

Nowhere in the Bible, taken in its original language and context, is there a prohibition against loving, consensual same-sex relationships, nor against people living as their authentic genders. The lack of hospitality and the desire to do violence to the visitors were considered grave transgressions, regardless of the gender of the visitors.

In Leviticus, this verse comes in a list of prohibitions against having sex with family members, so it is reasonable to conclude that it is a prohibition against incest. Romans Here, Paul is condemning the sinful and harmful acts he perceives in Roman culture at the time.

Since same-gender and non-heterosexual attractions are natural, this condemnation is not directed at LGBTQ people.