"Homosexuality is a sin" is just another of the churches history of heresies

History tells us that the Christian church, by upholding certain ‘beliefs’, have been the instrument of oppression of certain people and groups. Until enlightenment came Christians did not see what they were doing as oppression as they believed (based on the current worldview) that they were upholding God’s word. Unchangeable traits such as race, gender and currently sexual orientation, have been the criteria for treating others like second-class citizens, inferior and even evil. By not treating others as equals, a hierarchy created that can never liberate only oppress.

Initially, when the church was birthed, Jewish males were at the top of the hierarchy, with Gentiles, women and others seen as lesser in value. From what I can see, if God is trying to do anything in this world, He is trying to get through our thick skulls that all people are of equal value and worth and should be treated with dignity and respect. That kind of theology will create a better world for all.

History has a sober warning to us all when we feel so convinced we are defending the 'truth'. The statement ‘the bible says homosexuality is a sin’ is not unlike other ‘truths’ the Christian Church has upheld over the centuries.

Four centuries ago church leaders refused to believe scientists such as Copernicus and Galileo, who said that the world revolved around the sun. The current worldview, based on several verses, including Joshua 10:13 where Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, implied that the earth was already standing still and therefore the sun moved. Galileo was placed under house arrest in 1633 as a heretic for stating a scientific fact that was in opposition to what the church leaders taught. Eventually the scientific evidence could no longer be denied but it wasn’t till 1992 that Pope John Paul II expressed regret for how the Galileo affair was handled—that’s an embarrassingly long time to wait for an apology.

The Catholic leaders were not the only ones to see the scientists as heretics. Martin Luther said, ‘This fool Copernicus wishes to reverse the entire science of astronomy; but sacred Scripture in Joshua 10:13 tells us that Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, and not the earth.’ John Calvin quoted Psalm 93 in his attack on Copernicus. ‘The earth also is established. It cannot be moved.’ Calvin added, ‘Who will venture to place the authority of Copernicus above that of the Holy Spirit?’ To all Protestants, these men are the founders of their faith but today we must acknowledge that their ‘biblical’ beliefs were in error. Or it would be better to say their interpretations were in error. The worldview was based on limited understanding which created wrong interpretation as they were not open to new understanding.

The last states in the US to remove the law that banned interracial marriage were in the ‘bible belt’ (the area in which conservative Christian Evangelical Protestantism is a pervasive or dominant part of the culture). As late as 1959, a couple from Virginia, the bride black, her husband white, were sentenced to one year's gaol for getting married. In a land settled by the pilgrims that boldly proclaimed ‘liberty and justice for all’, the law stated: ‘Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with His arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages.’ In 1967 the US Supreme Court, against opposition from Virginia and North Carolina (both ‘bible belt’ states), unanimously ruled the inter-racial marriage restrictions unconstitutional. The freedom to marry, the court said, was a basic human right. It’s hard to imagine today legislation like that even existed in a civilised society but similar laws were in existence in Australia till 1967. Finally when two people of different races fell in love they were allowed to marry. The oppressed were set free.

Up until the middle of the 19th century, most Christians had a pretty clear understanding of the role of women. It was all there in the bible. To be a good Christian woman you had to dress and behave in a certain way, your chief roles being that of keeping house, raising children, and submitting to the will of your husband. She promised in her marriage vows to always obey. Being given such basic privileges as the right to vote, hold office, preach or pastor a church - God forbid, that was men’s work and too much responsibility for the less intelligent, weaker female sex. Again, there were specific passages in the Bible that justified this kind of inequality and oppression. Whilst some denominations still treat women as second-class citizens, most have realised ‘hey what’s the issue?’ and embrace their contribution on every level.

The statement ‘the Bible says homosexuality is a sin’ is actually a false statement. It’s impossible for homosexuality to be a sin. We know from science today that homosexuality is a sexual orientation like heterosexuality and therefore it’s amoral. As I find myself saying repeatedly to people who have been taught to believe the equation that homosexuality = promiscuity—‘my morality is a choice, my sexual orientation, however, isn’t’.

Many are surprised to find there is no chapter or verse for that quote we hear so often ‘the Bible says homosexuality is a sin’ in either the Old or New Testaments; it is a belief or assumption based on an interpretation of several verses—six passages out of 31,240 verses.

The majority of Christians have never really looked at this topic in depth but only come to conclusions through reading an English translation that says something like man shall not lie with man as a woman this is an abomination. Context is everything.......and that is what an in-depth study reveals. That is the meaning of the passage written to the people at that time.

Labels: bible and homosexuality