God

I truly will never understand the insistence on adherence to the Old Testament Law among modern Christians. Have you read the letter of Paul to the Galatians? If you have, then there should be no doubt about the place of the Law in the lives of modern Christians. Paul says: "Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you." This is a direct contradiction of the Jewish Law, which mandates circumcision. He then goes on to say: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love."

According to the Law, you must be circumcised. Paul comes along and says that circumcision doesn't mean anything anymore--this is proof of the new covenant as opposed to the old one. Paul is saying that the Jewish ceremonial customs do not apply to Christians. He also says: "And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law." This right here indicates that you cannot follow just part of the Law--if you are going to follow part of it, such as circumcision or the condemnation of homosexuality, you must follow all of it. The Old Testament Law says, in Leviticus 20:13: "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death." Then you must, as modern Christians, put homosexuals to death as it says in the Old Testament.

I'm not actually arguing that homosexuality isn't a sin, but I'm arguing that reliance on Leviticus to prove this is tenuous at best. If you follow one part of the Law, you must follow all of it, and as Paul says, insistence on following every part of the Law will make Christ of no benefit to you.

On the inverse side, insisting that homosexuality is a sin, but "it's okay, because we all sin" is also a flimsy argument. For one, there are sins that are worse than others/ In Mark 3:29 we read: "But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin." Not all sins are eternal--not all of them can't be forgiven, but this one can't. Clearly some sins are worse than others. Additionally, Jesus says in John 8:11 "From now on sin no more." The idea that we all sin is a pardon for occasional slip-ups, it is not license to go on sinning when you have full knowledge that something is a sin. If you believe homosexuality to be a sin, then you are not to engage in it. It is not okay to simply continue being homosexual because "everyone sins". We are called to sin no more.

Again, not actually saying homosexuality is a sin--simply stating the ramifications of believing that it is.

 

I hope you find that one unpopular quote in the bible that rules out all the other quotes against homosexuality. Youre obviously looking for it. I'm not. The bible is great and all for a bunch of things, but it's not the ultimate answer for everything. God gave us a brain to use it and add a personal touch to morals.