Homosexuality
Homosexuality is a sexual attraction between members of the same sex.
Contents
Biblical Views on Homosexuality
Homosexuality has comparatively few references in the Bible; it is not a topic mentioned by Jesus in the four gospels, and the only reference in the New Testament is in the letters of Paul. Even so, the Bible is extremely clear in its stance on this topic.
All references in Amplified Version
Old Testament
- Leviticus 18:22 - You shall not lie with a man as with a woman; it is an abomination.
New Testament (Epistles)
- 1 Corinthians 6:9 - Do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived (misled): neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality
- Romans 1:26-27 - 26 For this reason God gave them over and abandoned them to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one, 27 and the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another--men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty of their wrong-doing and going astray, which was [their] fitting retribution.
Homosexuality and Marriage
The American Psychiatric Association de-listed homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973.[2] Since that time, homosexuals have advocated for recognition of their civil rights and for equal protection under the law.
Legal marriage between same-sex couples is now recognized in several European nations as well as in Canada, South Africa and Massachusetts. In some other states such as Connecticut a more limited recognition of same-sex relationships is available, called a "civil union". Many other states have passed constitutional amendments banning recognition of same-sex marriages performed anywhere and some groups have pushed for Constitutional amendment barring the legal recognition of same-sex marriages.
Supposed Homosexuality in Nature
It should be noted that just because animals, in rare cases, participate in homosexuality does not make it "natural." Humans follow much stricter moral codes, as outlined in the Bible, that do not apply to animals.
- Bonobos,[1]
- Dolphins[2] and other vertebrate species. See also [livescience]
- [National Geographic] link
References
[Biological Exhuberance], by Bruce Bagemihl
- ↑ Parker, Sue Taylor,Robert W. Mitchell, H. Lyn Miles (1999), The Mentalities of Gorillas and Orangutans: comparative perspectives. Cambridge University Press. p. 54
- ↑ Smith, Dinitia (2004), "Central Park Zoo's gay penguins ignite debate," The New York Times, Saturday, February 7, 2004, as published on the San Francisco Chronicle website[1]: "Bonobos are wildly energetic sexually. Studies show that whether observed in the wild or in captivity, nearly all are bisexual and nearly half their sexual interactions are with the same sex... 10 to 15 percent of female western gulls in some populations in the wild are homosexual... male and female bottlenose dolphins frequently engage in homosexual activity, both in captivity and in the wild"
