Bible Question: Various translations of the Bible interchange the terms "homosexual" with "homosexual offender," "sodomite," and "pervert." Is this just semantics and the words are intended to be synonymous, or is there a real difference between the terms? Is homosexuality itself actually forbidden in the New Testament? |
Bible Answer: This is an extremely important topic to keep in context. As Dean said, homosexuality is a sin, but that is not a good stopping point. Looking at the context, homosexuality is one among a number of shameful sins. Notice that the homosexual desires were (verse 24) "lusts of their hearts." This suggests that all people have shameful lusts in their hearts, but the people here were given over to those lusts because of their hate of God and truth. Now look at Romans 2. The first passage is clear that we are not here to judge others, because in doing so we are condeming ourselves for our own sins. Now we should also keep in mind that God has called us to love everyone, just as he does. That doesn't mean only the opposite sex. We should love everyone, but we should only express love sexually with the one we marry, and marriage according to God is the union of a man and a woman. So never use homosexuality as an excuse for why you should not love people of your same sex. |