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| Factor | Typical conservative view | Typical liberal view |
| The Bible | The Bible was written by authors who were directly inspired by God. Thus their writings are seen as inerrant -- completely free of error as originally written. | The Bible was written by authors who were intent on promoting their own religious and spiritual beliefs. The writers lived in a pre-scientific age, which treated slavery, genocide, mass murder, and the oppression of women as acceptable behaviors. |
| Bible's authority | The Bible as the actual Word of God and is the prime source of all religious, spiritual and moral truth. Whenever the Bible and science disagree, the former must be right. | Since meaningful scientific study of sexual orientation did not begin until circa 1950 CE, biblical authors had little or no awareness of the topic. When the Bible and science disagree, we have to give major weighting to the findings of human sexuality researchers. |
| Creation stories | They interpret the Garden of Eden story in the book of Genesis as indicating the fall of humanity into sin. They view homosexual behavior as one manifestation of that sin. | Most interpret the creation story in Genesis as composed of myths derived from earlier Middle Eastern pagan writings. Some do not accept that the story implies the fall of humanity. |
| Basis of study | Conservative theologians typically look for proof texts -- passages that clearly and directly deal with the topic. These are commonly referred to as the "clobber" passages described here. | Religious theologians generally look for applicable biblical themes, like those advocating justice, love, monogamy, caring, commitment, etc. |
| Basis of truth | "Sola Scriptura" -- solely the Bible. | What the authors of the Bible meant + what church tradition says + what reason and science tell us + what personal experience informs us. |
| God's expectations | Christians should follow the Bible, God's word. It is the source of absolute truth, is fixed and unchangeable. | Christians should be open to the Holy Spirit teaching the need for change. This has happened in the past over matters like slavery and the role of women. It is happening now over equal rights for those with a homosexual orientation. |
Rigidity of beliefs:
We have exchanged Emails with hundreds of visitors to this web site about the Bible and homosexuality. Most fall into one of two groups:
 | Religious liberals promote homosexual ordinations, same-sex marriage, civil union ceremonies in the church, equal protection under hate-crime legislation, protection against discrimination in employment, etc. as fundamental human rights issues. |
| Religious conservatives feel that the Bible teaches that homosexual behavior is always a serious sin. Allowing sexually active gays and lesbians to be ordained, or to have their committed relationships recognized by the church would involve a drastic and unacceptable lowering of church standards. The church would be condoning sin. They also oppose including sexual orientation in hate-crime and anti-discrimination legislation. |
We have been unable to change the beliefs or actions of any of these hundreds of people on even one point related to homosexuality. Their views appear to be fixed. It is doubtful that much progress towards compromise on homosexual rights can be made by means of dialogue. We don't expect that the attached essays will change the beliefs of many visitors to this web site. However, the essays may help people understand opinions that are not their own.
Topics covered in this section are:
| Introduction: Quotations, Overview, Basic approach, A caution, Biblical
references to same-sex Activity, People's beliefs about the Bible. [Please
read this first; otherwise the rest may not make much sense]: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Analysis of key passages from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament):
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| Analysis of key passages from the Christian Scriptures (New
Testament):
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| Three same-sex relationships described in the Bible | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Meanings of the Greek words
"Pornea" and "Akatharsia" (fornication and
uncleanness) in the Christian Scriptures (New
Testament) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Different conclusions reached about
homosexuality: by conservative, mainline, and liberal Christians | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Books and other web sites that deal with
homosexuality and the Bible |
Related material in this web site:
| We have a series of essays on what various Christian denominations, Jewish traditions, and other religions think about homosexuality. |
| What the Bible says about same-sex marriage (actually, nothing) |
| Can we assess the will of God: a pilot study on same-sex marriage |
| Islam, the Qur'an and homosexuality |
Sponsored links:
|
Home page > Christianity > Bible themes & topics > here |
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or Home page > "Hot" topics > Homosexuality > Religious impact > here |
Copyright © 1996 to 2007 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2007-DEC-13
Author: B.A. Robinson
Go to the previous page, or return to the "Bible themes & topics menu," or go to the "Religious impact on homosexuality" menu, or choose:
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