Is homosexuality a sin?

Q1: I do not believe that God regards homosexuality as a sin. In the first place, of course, I do not believe in an anthropomorphic God who defines or delineates sinful behaviour. But even if I did, I cannot believe such a God would reject any of His/Her children on the basis of their affectional orientations. If He/She did, such a God would not be one to whom I would want to pay homage.

Q2: While the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) certainly condemns what it refers to as sodomy, it also condemns a whole host of other practices (e.g., sleeping with a menstruating woman) which have long been accepted as reputable. Most of the Old Testament is surely not an appropriate resource from which to obtain guidance regarding contemporary ethics! Turning to the New Testament, we discover that Jesus has nothing whatsoever to say regarding homosexuality. Inasmuch as he frequently condemned others of whose behaviour he disapproved (e.g., the money-changers in the temple), it is significant that he makes no reference to homosexuals or their practices.

Dr Karen Lebacqz, PhD (United Church of Christ -- professor of Christian ethics at Pacific School of Religion, holds bachelor degree in Biblical history from Wellesley College and masters and PhD in religion and society from Harvard University, phi beta kappa member and past president of the Society of Christian Ethics):

Q1: What God *does* regard as sin is oppression, injustice, persecution, disrespect for person. This sin, then, is homophobia, gay-bashing, discriminatory legislation toward lesbians and gays, refusal to include lesbian/gay/bisexual people into our churches and communities. To force *any* people, whether for reasons of race, age, or sexual orientation, into a "ghetto" -- this is a sin.

Q2: Yes and No. Yes, in the same sense that the Scriptures object to wearing clothes of different fabrics, eating pork or other kinds of meat, and women speaking in church. That is to say, the Scriptures are a human product which reflects the cultural limitations of their time. Thus, they speak negatively about a number of practices that are routinely accepted today, including certain sexual practices. Some of these sexual practices are engaged in by both heterosexually and homosexually oriented people.

No, in the same sense that the Scriptures do not speak clearly to the phenomenon that we today call "homosexuality". That is, Scripture speaks negatively about certain _behaviours_, most notably temple prostitution, not about basic _orientation_ or about loving and committed gay/lesbian _relationships_. (A possible exception here is the praise of the relationship between David and Jonathan.)

Rev Dr James B Nelson, PhD (United Church of Christ -- professor of Christian ethics at the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, holds bachelor degree from Macalester College and a bachelor and masters and PhD in divinity from Yale University, visiting scholar at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and visiting professor at numerous other institutions, consulting editor of "Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality", honorary doctor of Sacred Theology from Dickinson University and award-winning educator for the United Church of Christ):

Q1: I am convinced that our sexuality and our sexual orientations, whatever they may be, are a gift from God. Sexuals in does not reside in our orientations, but rather in expressing our sexuality in ways that harm, oppress, oruse others for our own selfish gratification. When we express ourselves sexually in ways that are loving and just, faithful and responsible, then I am convinced that God celebrates our sexuality, whatever our orientation may be.

Q2: The scriptures actually say nothing about homosexuality as a psychosexual orientation. Our understandings of sexual orientation are distinctly modern ones that were not present in the minds of Scripture writers. A few passages of Scripture (seven at the most) object to certain types of same-sex expressions or acts. The particular acts in question, however, are sexual sexual expressions which are exploitive, oppressive, commercialised, or offensive to ancient purity rituals. There is no Scriptural guidance for same-sex relationships which are loving and mutually respecting. Guidelines for these relationships should come from the same general Scriptural norms that apply to hetersoexual relationships.

Rev Dr Professor John B Cobb Jr, PhD (United Methodist -- recently retired from Ingraham Professor of Theology at the School of Theology at Claremont and an Avery Professor at Claremont Graduate School, holds masters and PhD from the University of Chicago Divinity school):

Q1: Surely being attracted to persons of the same sex is not, as such, a sin. But of course how we act in our attractions, towards whichever sex, is often sinful. The ideal is to be responsible and faithful rather than self-indulgent. Unfortunately, society does not encourage responsible and faithful relations with persons of the same sex. That makes the situation of the homosexual very difficult.

Q2: Certainly some of the Biblical writers objected to homosexual acts, but there is surprisingly little attention to this topic. The opposition of the church comes from other sources much more than from scripture. There are more scriptural reasons to oppose homophobia than to oppose homosexuality.

Bishop Melvin Wheatley Jr (United Methodist -- ordained elder of the United Methodist Church who retired in 1984 after 33 years as pastor and 12 years as bishop, honorary PFLAG director due to services to gay and lesbian people in the church):

Q1: Of course not! The preponderance of evidence now available identifies homosexuality to be as natural a sexual orientation for a significant percentage of persons as heterosexuality is the natural sexual orientation for the majority of persons. Homosexuality is an authentic condition of being with which some persons are endowed (a gift from God, if you please), not an optional sexual lifestyle which they have willfully, whimsically or sinfully chosen. Certainly one's sexuality -- heterosexual or homosexual -- may be acted out in behaviours that are sinful: brutal, exploitative, selfish, superficial. But just as surely, one's homosexual orientation as well as another's heterosexual orientation may be acted out in ways that are beautiful: tender, considerate, mutual, responsible, loyal, profound.

Q2: The Scriptures at no point deal with homosexuality as an authentic sexual orientation, a given condition of being. The remarkably few Scriptural references to "homosexuality" deal rather with homosexual acts, not with homosexual orientation. Those acts are labelled as wrong out of the context of the times in which the writers wrote and perceived those acts to be either nonmasculine, idolatrous, exploitative, or pagan. The kind of relationships between two consenting adults of the same sex demonstrably abounding among us -- relationships that are responsible and mutual, affirming and fulfilling -- are not dealt with in the Scriptures. Dealing with those relational realities is one of the tasks we are about in our time.

from the frames version of uniting sexuality and faith

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