• On the Defense
  Here is a brief description of key verses used to condemn LGBTQ people and an interpretation of them:
  Leviticus 18:22 – “Thou shall not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”
  This reference probably applies to temple prostitution and idolatry. It is a part of the law before Jesus established the new covenant. If this particular law were still in effect, all the other laws described in Leviticus would also be in effect, including the requirement of circumcision and the prohibitions against certain types of meat. Leviticus is the only explicit reference to homosexuality in the Old Testament.
  Genesis 19:4-9 – The story of Sodom's sin and destruction resulted in the belief that Sodom's sin was homosexuality.
  The offense described in this passage is not homosexual behavior; rather, it is the mistreatment of strangers and rape. Eziekel 16:49-50 says, “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me.”
  What Jesus had to say about homosexuals: nothing.
  What Paul had to say about homosexuals: The word translated as “homosexuals” in modern versions of the Bible is much disputed and probably means male temple prostitutes. Many argue that Paul appears to be homophobic and cite Romans 1:26-27 as evidence: “Because of this [practice of idolatry], God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”  Paul continues describing this same group of people as being “filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanders, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful…” This description includes all people, including Christians. These verses culminate in Paul's statement: “There is no one righteous, not even one.” He follows with an explanation that salvation does not come by one's own efforts but by God's grace.
• On the Offense
  Many biblical passages suggest that God loves LGBTQ people as much as he loves anyone else.
  A constant theme is that God is on the side of the oppressed.
  Psalm 103:6 - “The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.” Psalm 82:3 - “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.” 
  Another theme is God’s unconditional love.
  Romans 5:8 - “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
  Romans 8:36 - “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
  I John 3:1 – “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”
  I John 4:7-12 – “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love each other, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

Last Modified: May 11, 2007