Passages from the Old Testament book of Leviticus (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13 and similar passages in Deuteronomy) are also not germane to a discussion of homosexuality. The various laws contained in these books are not moral laws, but ceremonial and were given to keep Israel separate from the pagan Canaanites around them. Many of these laws appear silly to us today. Lev. 15:19-24 strictly forbids sexual intercourse during a woman’s menstrual cycle. Lev. 21:18-23 tells us that no one with disabilities is allowed to make an offering to God. Lev 19:19 says that we are not allowed to wear clothing made of two kinds of fibers. Deut. 23:2 says that if a child is born out of wedlock then he and his descendants for ten generations are not allowed to enter the congregation of the Lord. Yet our churches today are full of people who engage in sexual intercourse during the menstrual cycle, full of descendants of the illegitimate, full of people with all kinds of disabilities, and full of people who wear clothing made of two different fibers.  If we insist on placing ourselves under the old law, then we are obligated to keep every commandment of the law and we cannot pick and choose which ones we will obey and which ones we will not (Gal. 5:3).

I Corinthians 6:9, I Timothy 1:10

Two passages from the New Testament, I Corinthians 6:9 and I Timothy 1:10, that seem to refer to homosexual activities are ambiguous. It is unclear exactly to what the original Greek words translated as homosexual activities here refer, but it appears that these acts involve some sort of prostitution or pederasty (the homosexual domination of one person over another, specifically, that of an older man over a younger boy). In I Cor. 6 the Greek word translated "effeminate" in the KJV can mean “male prostitute” or “call-boy”, i.e., an adolescent boy kept by an older man for the purposes of prostitution. This was a common practice in the Roman and Greek society of the time. The Greek word translated “abusers of themselves with mankind” in I Cor. 6:9 and I Tim. 1:10 (KJV) is an ambiguous term that is not found in other Greek literature of the time and seems to be a word made up by Paul himself. It has been described by various sources as referring to male temple prostitutes (either with male or female customers), men living off of prostitution, or the older men who engage in relations with the “call-boys” of I Cor. 6:9. In any case, the Greek words that Paul chooses to use in these two passages indicate that he is describing a very specific kind of perversion prevalent in the Roman/Greek society of his day and not homosexuality in general.

Romans 1:26-27

The passage in Romans 1:26-27 has probably done more to form Christians' negative opinion of homosexuality than any other single passage in the Bible.

It is important to remember that Paul was writing a letter to a specific group of people who lived in a specific culture and that he was addressing very specific issues. This was not a letter that Paul composed primarily for posterity’s sake for a general audience down through the ages.  We have to understand this passage of scripture in the context of the society and times in which Paul was writing, and we also must take into account the context of chapter 1. The people to whom Paul was writing were Christians living in and would be submerged in Roman culture. The context of chapter 1 is idolatry, which was widespread and accepted in the Roman culture in which these Christians were surrounded. It is in this context that we must understand what Paul is referring to in verses 26-27.

Verses 21-23 could indicate that the people to whom Paul refers in verses 26-27 had once been Christians who had now fallen away from the faith and returned to paganism. They were now caught up in the making of idols in the form of men, birds, and reptiles for their religious rituals. They were engaging in ritual sex orgies, with some of that involving same-sex activities.

The phrase translated as “vile affections” in the KJV of verse 26 probably does not mean "passions" or "lust" as people experienced in normal, day-to-day living. Instead, the passage could be referring here to pagan fertility cult worship or ritual sexual orgies prevalent in Rome at the time. At these rites, worshipers would be induced into a frenzied state of mind by means of wine, drugs and music. It is interesting to note that in verse 27, the Greek word used to describe the act of having sex with another man is an emphatic form that means “to work out by toil” and indicates that extreme energy is required to accomplish the deed referred to. This fits well with an understanding of these verses referring to specific ritual sexual acts performed in connection with pagan religious rites. And a Roman audience of Paul’s time would certainly understand and be familiar with such practices.

A close look at the text shows that Paul is writing about women and men with an innate heterosexual orientation, who had previously engaged only in heterosexual relations, who had now exchanged or abandoned their natural heterosexual desires for same-sex behavior. This is quite unusual behavior, as typically there is a strong aversion on the part of heterosexuals for engaging in sexual activities with the same sex. It is likewise contrary to the nature of a person with a homosexual orientation to have sexual relations with a person of the opposite gender. These people of verses 26-27 are not people with a homosexual orientation by nature. They are by nature heterosexual but have abandoned their typical feelings of abhorrence and engaged in same-sex behavior because of the idolatrous religious worship and rites to which they had returned.

The acts described in this passage are heavy with lust and depravity. Nothing in the passage is referring to the acts of consenting adults in a faithful, loving, and committed relationship who are by nature of a homosexual orientation.

Romans 1:26-27 simply cannot be said unambiguously to address the issue of homosexual behavior. It addresses specific acts committed by a specific group of people in a specific culture, people who once were possibly a part of the church but had returned to their old pagan ways out of which God had called them.

The Silence of Scripture

I have heard the position taken by some that because we can find no passage in scripture that approves of a homosexual relationship then there must therefore be something wrong with it. This is simply bad logic. We cannot take the Bible’s silence on an issue as an implicit proof of any one particular position – if the Bible is silent on an issue, it is simply silent and no further conclusion can be drawn. An example of the Bible’s silence would be on the issue of slavery. The Old Testament is full of laws regulating and condoning slavery, and in the New Testament slavery is an accepted part of life (Col. 3:22). Jesus is silent on the issue, although slavery was a common practice in his time. One hundred and fifty years ago when the debate over slavery was raging in this country, the Bible seemed to be clearly on the side of the slave holders. Those opposed to slavery were hard-pressed to justify their opposition based on scripture. Because we can find no passage of scripture that specifically condemns slavery, does that then mean that we should believe that there is nothing wrong with it? Such a jump in logic would be ludicrous.

Another example of the Bible’s silence about a practice which we teach and condone today in the Presbyterian denomination is infant baptism. Baptism in the New Testament is always – always – commanded for adults after a conscious decision involving repentance and faith, and is always by complete immersion in water. We have no teaching or example that it was ever performed on infants or done by sprinkling. Yet it is an integral part of Presbyterian practice, and rightly so, for it carries great meaning for us and is in accord with the spirit of God’s law.

If we wanted to use the Bible’s silence on homosexual behavior as a guide of truth, then I could easily point to Jesus’ example. Jesus never addressed the issue of homosexuality, yet if it is as important an issue as it seems to be to so many people in today’s society, you would think that he would have, especially in view of the Roman society in which he lived. Homosexual behavior was common in Roman culture, and pederasty (see the paragraph on I Cor. 6:9 above) was an accepted practice. No doubt Jesus would have come into contact with such practices many times throughout his ministry, and he would have had ample opportunities to condemn homosexual behavior, if it was such a critical issue as it seems to be to some of us today. Yet Jesus never addresses it. When we examine Jesus’ responses to the critical issues of his day – Roman rule over Judea, taxation, slavery, for example – Jesus seems not to want to get involved in these matters. We cannot derive any understanding regarding Jesus’ teaching surrounding such issues one way or another. Jesus simply does not address them, and we cannot say why that is. His focus was on proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God.   We in the Church also have that same mission, and that should be our focus.

Let Us Keep Silent and Listen

If the scriptures can be interpreted as supporting either side of the issue, and since there is clearly no unequivocal guidance in this area, where DO we look for guidance? We look to the Holy Spirit. There is an example in the New Testament of this very principle which has great similarities to the issue we face today: the conversion of Cornelius and the subsequent council at Jerusalem in Acts 10 – 15.

The story of the conversion of Cornelius and the subsequent gift of the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles is described in Acts 10-11. This caused no little division within the church, just as there is today over the homosexuality issue. In Acts 15, certain of the Pharisees in Judea began to proclaim publicly that it was necessary for the newly converted Gentiles to be circumcised. In verse 2 we see that, just as today, there was “no small dissension and dispute” over the issue. However, in this case scripture was clearly on the side of the Pharisees. The only “scripture” at that time was the Old Testament, and circumcision was clearly a requirement of anyone who would come into covenant with God (Gen. 17:9-14). Circumcision was a direct command from God, not from men. When God commanded Abraham and his descendants to be circumcised, he also commanded it “throughout your generations” (Gen. 17:9) as an “everlasting covenant” (Gen. 17:13), i.e., forever. The apostle Peter, who was sent by God to Cornelius originally, finally spoke before the assembly (Acts 15:7-11). Peter did not appeal to scripture, but to the obvious working of the Holy Spirit among the Gentiles. To him, the evidence that the Holy Spirit had been given to Cornelius and the Gentiles was all the proof text that he or anyone else needed. That essentially ended the discussion, and “…all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.” (Acts 15:12).

It’s for this very reason that I personally know, without a doubt, that God accepts those who are homosexual just as they are: because of the evidence of the Holy Spirit in a converted, homosexual friend of mine named Charles. I met Charles in the early 1980’s at a church conference. We soon became good friends, studied the Bible and attended church together, and I watched Charles grow in faith and knowledge. I didn’t learn until a few years later that he was gay. I watched him struggle with his own identity in a church that condemned him for a sexual orientation that he didn’t ask for or choose. I watched him as he tried dating various women and then as he struggled with being celibate. I listened to him as he poured out his fears to me about being HIV-positive (which he contracted before his conversion to Christ). I kept him company when he became very sick with intestinal problems and tried to comfort his fears that this might be the one that does him in (it wasn’t). And I was there as he finally accepted who he was and the fact that his sexual orientation wasn’t going to change. Charles spent the final few years of his life in a loving and committed relationship with someone who cared about him, and he passed away a couple of years ago. Charles was a Christian who possessed God’s Holy Spirit, of that I am certain. And, at that, all the above scriptures that we look at under the microscope melt away and, like the disciples who heard of Cornelius’ conversion, I simply become silent and glorify God (Acts 11:18, 15:12). The evidence of the Holy Spirit in Charles’ life and conversion is all the proof that I need.

Galatians 3:28 is one of the most basic, bedrock principles on which the Church of Jesus Christ is founded, and is really all the scripture I feel we need on this issue:

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Christ accepts us all, regardless of our culture (“Jew nor Greek”), our condition (“slave nor free”), or our biology (“male nor female”). It’s clear to me that a homosexual orientation is simply a biological fact of certain peoples’ lives, not a choice that anyone makes. Salvation has nothing to do with biology. And the desire to love someone and be loved by someone, to become intimate with one special person, is an innate need that we all possess. Scripture certainly condemns lust and perversion, but a faithful, committed, loving relationship it does not condemn.

The fact that we have people with a homosexual orientation now considering ordination and the ministry suggests to me that the Holy Spirit is now working to bring this group of people into fellowship with Christ and to serve Him. Many that once were pariah in our culture are now turning to Christ. They desire fellowship with Him. They want to worship God and fellowship with other disciples. And some are beginning to feel a call to serve as elders and ministers. To now put this stumbling block before them is a serious matter, according to Jesus:

“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Mat. 18:6)

I am aware of an individual, a homosexual man, who showed an interest in our own local fellowship. He attended our services a couple of times, but when he became aware of the anti-gay rhetoric present among the leadership of this congregation, he went away sorrowful and has never returned (and likely never will). He has come to a point in his life where he has begun to think about the things of God and wants to find a place where he can worship God in peace and learn of Him without being judged. He has an obvious hunger for the spiritual things of God, but he cannot even begin the journey because of all the stumbling blocks that modern-day Christianity has put in his way. This is not a man caught up in lust and perversion; he has had few relationships in his life, is not currently in a relationship, and the last relationship he was in was not even a sexual one. I grieve for him, but nevertheless am confident in God’s ability to bring this man into His Kingdom in spite of all the obstacles we might put in his way.

What Is the Church Instructed Concerning Divisive Issues?

The tradition of tolerance of divergent views and interpretations of scripture is a long-standing one in the Presbyterian Church, and was a hallmark of the denomination before I was even born. From the Presbyterian Book of Order (2003-2004), G-1.0305 we read:

“…we also believe that there are truths and forms with respect to which men of good characters and principles may differ. And in all these we think it is the duty both of private Christians and societies to exercise mutual forbearance toward each other.”

This tradition is not one that was started because someone thought it was a good idea – it is clear scriptural instruction from the Apostle Paul. In Romans 14, Paul instructs the church on how to deal with issues on which there is disagreement. He makes it clear that it is to be an individual decision and warns us against judging others whose beliefs may differ from ours. Paul does not state that the pastor or the elders of the church should decide the issue, but that each individual needs to decide on their own. “Let each be fully persuaded in his own mind” (Rom. 14:5). Throughout this chapter Paul appeals to individual liberty, and makes it clear that we each stand or fall before God on our own (v. 4). Paul instructs us not to judge one another on “doubtful disputations” (v. 1). Our business is to “…follow after the things which make for peace, things wherewith we may edify another.” (v. 19).

An Appeal for Tolerance

I recognize that not everyone is in agreement on this issue. I do not claim to be an authority on this issue, and I make no claim that you will not be able to poke holes in my arguments. But by publishing its conclusions to the local church-at-large, the session of my local church has drawn a line in the sand, is causing division in Christ’s body, is violating the tenets of the Presbyterian Book of Order, and is not following clear scriptural instruction.

We as a church are called to provide “…for inclusiveness as a visible sign of the new humanity” (Book of Order, G-3.0401). It is our responsibility to welcome “all persons who respond in trust and obedience to God’s grace in Jesus Christ and desire to become part of the membership and ministry of his Church. No persons shall be denied membership because of race, ethnic origin, worldly condition, or any other reason not related to profession of faith… Failure to do so constitutes a rejection of Christ himself and causes a scandal to the gospel.” (emphasis mine)

I am disappointed with the leadership of my local church, not because it has a different interpretation of scripture than I, but because it does not seem to have its priorities in order. The commission of Jesus Christ to the church is to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature…” (Mark 16:15) and to “make disciples of all nations”. Gender and sexual orientation differences are things entirely of this human realm – they come with being human and they will go with it once we are given immortality with Christ (Mat. 22:29-30). The kingdom of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ is not about sex, “but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 14:17).

I could write much more, for there is much scholarship on this subject and many resources which present both sides of this divisive issue.

 “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother?” (Rom. 14:10). “Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brothers’ way.” (Rom. 14:13).

Timothy T. Taff