A/N: Much of the information in this essay is thanks to The United Church of Canada and their program Of Love and Justice. Thank you. Other sources include (obviously) The Bible and

So you know where this information is coming from, here is a little bit of relevant information about me. I am a 14 year old Canadian, a Christian and a supporter of gay rights. I am heterosexual, and many of my friends are homosexual or bisexual. Because of my friends I am very close to this issue, hence my strong feelings. I would also like to praise my church for their support of my beliefs, I have never been prouder to be a Christian.

Misunderstanding God

Many people in the Christian religion believe there is a Bible passage Jesus and the Homosexual. There is no such passage; in fact, Jesus never even spoke of homosexuality. Only with that fact clearly understood can a person move on to the subtleties of Christian doctrine and the Bible. To interpret Bible passages with any accuracy, a person must understand the true meaning in context with the language, translation, traditions, and lingo of the time it was written.

The Christian church has always taught that it is the Lord’s place to judge, not man’s. If that is so, why do people condemn homosexuality, not accept it, based on their religion? The Bible had no notion of a loving Homosexual relationship, because of how the society functioned. Therefore, passages referring to same-sex activity either involves rape or prostitution, both sins are forbidden in many other parts of the Bible. In truth, Christianity is not inherently opposed to homosexuality.

There are two Old Testament passages commonly referred to when discussing homosexuality. The passages are Leviticus 18:22 and Genesis 19 (a similar story exists in Judges 19-21). The Leviticus passage is arguably the most referred to when discussing homosexuality. The passage states ‘if a man lies with a man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination’. Some versions of the Bible translate and interpret it to mean ‘If a man has sexual relations with another man they have both committed an abomination’, this is an incorrect. The true meaning of the passage is far simpler. In the days of the Old Testament, to treat a man like a woman was to treat her like an animal, because women were not considered persons. Anal rape was used by Near Eastern nations, at the time, to show superiority over captured prisoners. In reality, the passage speaks against rape and degrading a person’s worth.

The second passage in the Old Testament used to condemn homosexuality is Genesis 19; commonly know as the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. The story is f two cities that engage in all manner of sins. The specific case they focus on is of two angels who come to the town to destroy it. The townspeople wish to rape them but the character, Lot, won’t allow it. They are offered instead two young women to ‘do with as they please’. Many believe that the ‘Sin of Sodom’ refers to homosexuality or homosexual activity, it does not. In fact it refers to many sins, including: arrogance, adultery, lies, insincere religious practices, political corruption, oppressions of the poor, neglect of orphans ad widows, and inhospitality. These are the acts commited by the Sodomites (inhabitants of the city of Sodom) that caused the Lord to be angry. Homosexuality is not condemned, just as Heterosexuality is not condemned because some heterosexuals disobey god.

The New Testament also has misread Bible passages used to fight homosexuality. Once again, Jesus never refers to homosexuality in the Bible. Corinthians 6:9 states that ‘wrongdoers who will not inherit the kingdom of god includes male prostitutes’, male prostitutes is often translated to mean Sodomites or homosexuals. The translation to mean homosexual is inaccurate and a gross misinterpretation of the facts. The Bible is not saying that homosexuality is a sin, it is reaffirming what is said throughout the Bible; prostitution is a sin because it is defiling your body which is a temple of the Lord. It is not saying that a loving homosexual relationship is in anyway against god.

In Roman’s Paul writes of women and men who exchange natural intercourse for unnatural. This is accepted to mean people, who give up heterosexual relations for homosexual ones, this, once again, is not the case. At the time no one knew about homosexuality as a sexual orientation, so it was assumed because it was against their nature that it was against everyone’s. In other words, because the heterosexual people weren’t attracted to the same sex, no one was. It really is against the nature of a heterosexual person, but completely within the nature of a homosexual person. Paul used these statements in a debate with Jewish leaders; he used these statements to denounce judgmental and self-righteous behavior. Ironically, the same passages are now used by self-righteous people to be judgmental. It is therefore hypocritical, no matter what your interpretation of this passage, to use it to put people down or degrade them in any way.

There is no such thing as a Bible passage condemning homosexuality, Jesus never spoke on the subject. There are many references to rape, violence, the degrading of other people and arrogance, but these are not statements against Homosexuality as a sexual orientation. Therefore, any person who tries to hide behind Christianity to defend his/her views on homosexuality is simply a coward.

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