Last year I received a letter from a homosexual who wrote:
Jesus Christ didn’t say any word regarding sexual orienation! Only Saul from Tars and abearation from Leveticus and Deuteronomy are cited (aberations that can not be applied nowadays without being sent to prison, because now we cannot murder someone so easy, as it was in that time)
This statement is spread among immoral people that practice homosexuality and they call “aberation” every part of the Scripture that condemns their sin and they don’t admit that it was inspired by God as a part of the Holy Scriptures. If thieves, drunkers, etc. do the same, it is interesting what remains from the Holy Book. God doesn’t allow anyone to act in this way regarding His Truth let on the pages of the Holy Scriptures, and everyone who neglects the Bible will answer for this before God Himself. So, according to the opinion and the statement of the author of the letter and of all members of the homosexual and lesbians community, the Lord Jesus “didn’t say any word concerning the sexual orientation”.
I want to make an analysis of the texts from the Gospels, where the Lord Jesus talks concerning the sin of sodomy, named so, because of the city of Sodom, that is mentioned in the Bible and that was destroyed by God with fire and brimstone from heaven, because of their many sins. The one that crowns them all is the sin of homosexuality. I advise you to read the biblical passage found in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, chapter 19 to find out more about that event. But, in this article I want to refer to the New Testament only and especially to Gospels, that relate the life and the activity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus mentioned the people who lived in the city of Sodom for three times, especially those who were destroyed as punishment for their homosexuality. The Gospel of Matthew has one of this references and the other two are found in the Gospel of Luke. Let us make a short analysis of each of these passages.
Homosexuals from Sodom could have repented if they had heard the Gospel
When Jesus rebuked people from the localities where He had performed His greatest marvels, because they didn’t repent, He said:
And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you. (The Gospel of Matthew 11:23–24)(NASB)
Men from Sodom were extremely violent homosexuals. The book of Genesis relates us that when Lot invited into his house those three men who came into the city, not knowing they were angels, “before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.” When Lot tried to confront them, peacefully and tactfullly, he said: “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly.” They acted according to their wickedness and violence settled in the perversion of their heart, they shouted at Lot: “Stand aside!”, furthermore, they said, “This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” Angels struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway to take those men and abuse them sexually. This is the reality about homosexuals that are extremely violent.
A 1998 study revealed that of the homosexuals surveyed, 62% had been threatened with a weapon and 85% had experienced significant property or financial loss from an angry partner. In addition, 39% had been forced to have sex against their will by a homosexual partner. You can find more dates concerning this on Internet, for example here is a source. If homosexuals are so violent with their partners, then the society should realize how dangerous it is to tolerate this kind of sexual conduct, shouldn’t it? Most of them became homosexuals because they had been sexually abused by other homosexuals. But, let us look go back at the words of the Lord Jesus said in the the Gospel of Matthew. The Savior said that if homosexuals from Sodom had seen the miracles performed by Jesus Christ in Capernaum, they would have repented and their city would have existed until nowadays. If our Lord said that violent homosexuals would have repented, much more important it is to share the Gospel with homosexuals whom we know, so that they and the countries that are affected by their bad actions might live. The actions of homosexuals affect the society badly and this is an evil that spreads very quickly when it is tolerated by the society. All men from Sodom became homosexuals and so, they, their families and their city were destroyed. All paid the price of the sin: homosexuals for immorality and the whole society for indifference and tolerance of the evil that destroyed them.
Homosexuals and all sinners will be judged because they do not accept Jesus Christ
The first time Jesus metioned Sodom in the Gospel of Luke was when He “appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.” (The Gospel of Luke 1:1–16)(NASB). After He gave them instructions how to act with those who rejected them and the message of the Gospel, the Savior said:
“I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for (inhabitants of) Sodom than for (inhabitants of) that city.”
The conclusion is that if the disciples of Jesus, or Christians came and said to the inhabitants of that city about the salvation and forgiveness they could have in the Lord Jesus then violent homsexuals from Sodom would have repented. Why then homosexuals from nowadays are so bad that they do not want to accept Christians who come to bring them the message of the Gospel and forgiveness of their sin and the knowledge about the day of judgement, that Jesus Christ refers to? In the end of this message addressed to the disciples, the Savior said: “The one who listens to you (disciples) listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
An unexpected destruction came upon the indifferent homosexuals
The second passage from the Gospel of Luke, when Jesus Christ mentioned the homosexuals from Sodom for the second time is in chapter 17, where it is related about the day when the Son of Man is revealed. Here is the description of this day:
It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. (The Gospel of Luke 17:38–30)(NASB)
People from Sodom were very concerned with their business, with their financial position and they didn’t care about the immorality that was spreading and growing. They were not aware about the consequences that were to follow. Today is the same situation. Here is what the author of the message cited in the beginning of this article wrote to me:
“The rest of us (homosexuals) have to pray that Basarabia may enter the European Union, as others have done, so that civilization may penetrate there too. It is the last hope for homosexuals from Moldova: to impose social tolerance from this place forgotten by God! Maybe this is a cause why Moldova is the poorest “country” from Europe, because the mentality you have is so beackward… and inversely?”
According to this statement, immoral poeple’s opinion is that civilization means financial position and toleration of immorality. If they don’t have these things, then the country is “forgotten by God”. But the Word of God proves the contrary. Immorality destroyed the country and the inhabitants of Sodom. The fire that came from heaven burnt their properties, and no one escaped of this great disaster they had brought upon themselves with their own way of immoral living.
All these three passages, where the Lord Jesus mentioned the homosexuals from Sodom confirm exactly the things written in the Old Testament concerning the sin of sodomy and its consequences. The Lord Jesus didn’t deny anything that God had spoken in the Old Testament. How can immoral people say the Word of God is an “aberation” and to say that “Jesus Christ didn’t say any word concerning sexual orientation”?
If you are homosexual or you practice any other kind of immorality, stop. Don’t disregard the Word of God and don’t believe those who tell you it is an “aberation”. Stop to perform those immoral things people from Sodom performed and do what the Lord Jesus said people from Sodom would have done if the Savior or His disciples had come to them. Repent! You have already heard the Gospel when you read this article. Repent from all you sins and stop to have dealings with people that practice these immoral things. Look for a church where people live in fear for God, and look for people who study and live according to the Word of God and make them your friends. In this way you will escape from the judgement that will come for all immorals and sinners. Reconcile with God.
If you are a believer, do what Jesus would have done to homosexuals if Sodom hadn’t been destroyed by the time He was on this earth. Do what the Lord Jesus said to His disciples to do when He sent then from city to city. Tell people about the salvation offered by Jesus Christ. Go to immoral people and tell them the message of salvation. Even if it seems to you their state is too low, and they do not have any chance to turn back to God. Don’t be so sure. The Lord Jesus has hope and he waits for homosexuals and immoral people to repent. Be a true disciple of God and a witness of the Gospel.
Translated by Felicia Djugostran
About: Rev. Vasile Filat:
Pastoring the Good News Church in Chisinau, Moldova, I want to serve people from all over the world and have written 1868 articles which have been translated into Romanian (1868), Russian (843), English (786) and French (translation in progress). You are welcome to read my extended biography or to ask me a question.
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Jesus said nothing, not one word, about homosexuals. For those of you who insist that this does not matter, that the Bible is somehow clear elsewhere about the evilness of homosexuality, here are some questions.
Why didn’t Jesus say that He was abolishing all the rules in the Old Testament EXCEPT the rule against homosexual intercourse?
Why didn’t He distinguish between His forgiving the woman brought to him in adultery ( ‘Let him who is without sin cast the first stone’ ) and His wanting to continue to hold homosexuality against people?
Why didn’t He say anything about how homosexual marriage would defile the sanctity of the relationship of man and woman?
Why didn’t He say anything?
Did He just keep forgetting to mention it?
If homosexuality truly is a sin worthy of eternal damnation, as some believe it is, then why didn’t Jesus discuss it? He certainly preached at length concerning every other sin listed in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and Timothy 1:9-10. Why would He leave this one out?
As for the Old Testament, Genesis 19 describes the destruction of Sodom, which has been attributed to the homosexuality of its citizens; the men may have wanted to rape the (male) angels. Actually, the text at this point is ambiguous; the original Hebrew word sometimes referred to sexual activity although it usually meant “to know” in a literal sense. But a careful reading of Genesis and Ezekiel reveals that inhospitality, pride, idol worship, and lack of consideration for the poor were their prime sins. If homosexuality was involved, it was obviously not consensual sexual activity; it was rape. So we can safely conclude that Sodom was destroyed because of the sins of its citizens which included their habit of raping visitors. Judges 19 seems to be a duplicate of the Genesis story.
Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13 appears to condemn male homosexual behavior, but in fact only refers to temple prostitution. Even if it did refer to lesbian and gay relationships, it would not be applicable to Christians today, any more than are the other 613 laws which make up the Jewish Holiness Code. It is less than genuine for a Christian to imply that these verses are still valid for the beliefs and conduct of Christians, while stating that the remaining laws of the Holiness Code are not applicable.
Deuteronomy 23:17, I Kings 14:24 and 15:12 are mistranslated in some versions of the Bible as referring to homosexual behavior. “Temple prostitute” would be an accurate translation.
We can conclude that the Hebrew Scriptures condemn homosexual rape and temple prostitution, but do not disapprove of gay and lesbian relationships. One can be confident that centuries of fire and brimstone sermons on homosexuality based on verses from the Old Testament are misinterpretations of the Bible.
“Jesus said nothing, not one word, about homosexuals.”
My friend, I want to advise you to get a Bible and study It for what is there and not for what you think is there or what other people have told you is there. I have written an article that would help you. Please read it and if you have questions then we can discuss it in more detail.
http://erikbrewer.wordpress.com/2008/07/11/see-gods-word-for-what-it-is-and-not-what-you-think-it-is/
Good blog. I recently received a news item from the American Family Association about a recent homosexual festival in San Francisco with accompanying photos – and I am still wondering why God doesn’t soon do something to wipe out such hellish depravity!!! Anyone over 18 who doesn’t realize how low it has sunk can find out by going to Google etc. and typing in:
Remember, if there had never been a Hollywood, maybe there never would have been an in-your-face “Homowood”! All true Christians everywhere should pray that God will soon do (for the sake of our children) what He promises He will do!
Bruce
Hello Steve, I appreciated reading your reply to this blog post, however I want to warn you that your arguments are faulty in some respects. I have no judgment on your main point, but I would like to point out a few problems. First, Jesus was very clear that he was NOT sent to abolish the law (Matthew 5:17). In fact, many argue that he presented a law that was far more rigorous (Matthew 5:20-27) in order to illustrate the impossibility of perfection and the need for a Savior. Your second point concerning the woman caught in adultery is a non-point since you are actually implying that homosexuality IS a sin needing forgiveness, and Jesus would naturally forgive that sin unless He specifically mentioned that He wouldn't. Truthfully, there are many things that you and I would probably agree to be sin that Jesus never mentioned. Bestiality, and other various grotesqueries are never condemned by name, yet we would readily consider these things to be obvious. Therefore, we can't create a morality based solely on things Jesus didn't mention.To say that no moral laws from the Old Testament are valid today is hyperbolic at best and hypocritical at worst. I would be willing to wager that you, Steve, are a moral person concerned with doing the right thing. Yet nearly all universally approved moral standards we hold are mirrored in these laws. Therefore, I would have to conclude that you do not actually favor the abolition of ALL Old Testament standards from Christian life, but only the ones that YOU feel are antiquated somehow. Your point about Shrine Prostitution behaviors accidentally being mistranslated to homosexual behavior is compelling, but doesn't gel with most Hebrew scholars, while those who do agree point out that Temple Prostitutes were specifically renowned for homosexual practices. Similar attempts to re translate the more positive term “eunuchs” to mean homosexuals also meets with difficulty. However, it is possible that this is a evidence of a bias by heterosexual scholars, but that could be tricky to prove.To be fair, you are replying to an extremely poorly written argument against homosexuality. I'm not sure if there is a language barrier or what, but the connection between Christ's message about Sodom and modern homosexuality needs some serious work. Thank you for your heartfelt reply, and I am glad that we as believers can discuss this very important issue without resorting to petty bigotry and name-calling.
Hello Steve, I appreciated reading your reply to this blog post, however I want to warn you that your arguments are faulty in some respects. I have no judgment on your main point, but I would like to point out a few problems. First, Jesus was very clear that he was NOT sent to abolish the law (Matthew 5:17). In fact, many argue that he presented a law that was far more rigorous (Matthew 5:20-27) in order to illustrate the impossibility of perfection and the need for a Savior. Your second point concerning the woman caught in adultery is a non-point since you are actually implying that homosexuality IS a sin needing forgiveness, and Jesus would naturally forgive that sin unless He specifically mentioned that He wouldn't. Truthfully, there are many things that you and I would probably agree to be sin that Jesus never mentioned. Bestiality, and other various grotesqueries are never condemned by name, yet we would readily consider these things to be obvious. Therefore, we can't create a morality based solely on things Jesus didn't mention.To say that no moral laws from the Old Testament are valid today is hyperbolic at best and hypocritical at worst. I would be willing to wager that you, Steve, are a moral person concerned with doing the right thing. Yet nearly all universally approved moral standards we hold are mirrored in these laws. Therefore, I would have to conclude that you do not actually favor the abolition of ALL Old Testament standards from Christian life, but only the ones that YOU feel are antiquated somehow. Your point about Shrine Prostitution behaviors accidentally being mistranslated to homosexual behavior is compelling, but doesn't gel with most Hebrew scholars, while those who do agree point out that Temple Prostitutes were specifically renowned for homosexual practices. Similar attempts to re translate the more positive term “eunuchs” to mean homosexuals also meets with difficulty. However, it is possible that this is a evidence of a bias by heterosexual scholars, but that could be tricky to prove.To be fair, you are replying to an extremely poorly written argument against homosexuality. I'm not sure if there is a language barrier or what, but the connection between Christ's message about Sodom and modern homosexuality needs some serious work. Thank you for your heartfelt reply, and I am glad that we as believers can discuss this very important issue without resorting to petty bigotry and name-calling.
Hello Steve, I appreciated reading your reply to this blog post, however I want to warn you that your arguments are faulty in some respects. I have no judgment on your main point, but I would like to point out a few problems. First, Jesus was very clear that he was NOT sent to abolish the law (Matthew 5:17). In fact, many argue that he presented a law that was far more rigorous (Matthew 5:20-27) in order to illustrate the impossibility of perfection and the need for a Savior. Your second point concerning the woman caught in adultery is a non-point since you are actually implying that homosexuality IS a sin needing forgiveness, and Jesus would naturally forgive that sin unless He specifically mentioned that He wouldn't. Truthfully, there are many things that you and I would probably agree to be sin that Jesus never mentioned. Bestiality, and other various grotesqueries are never condemned by name, yet we would readily consider these things to be obvious. Therefore, we can't create a morality based solely on things Jesus didn't mention.To say that no moral laws from the Old Testament are valid today is hyperbolic at best and hypocritical at worst. I would be willing to wager that you, Steve, are a moral person concerned with doing the right thing. Yet nearly all universally approved moral standards we hold are mirrored in these laws. Therefore, I would have to conclude that you do not actually favor the abolition of ALL Old Testament standards from Christian life, but only the ones that YOU feel are antiquated somehow. Your point about Shrine Prostitution behaviors accidentally being mistranslated to homosexual behavior is compelling, but doesn't gel with most Hebrew scholars, while those who do agree point out that Temple Prostitutes were specifically renowned for homosexual practices. Similar attempts to re translate the more positive term “eunuchs” to mean homosexuals also meets with difficulty. However, it is possible that this is a evidence of a bias by heterosexual scholars, but that could be tricky to prove.To be fair, you are replying to an extremely poorly written argument against homosexuality. I'm not sure if there is a language barrier or what, but the connection between Christ's message about Sodom and modern homosexuality needs some serious work. Thank you for your heartfelt reply, and I am glad that we as believers can discuss this very important issue without resorting to petty bigotry and name-calling.
Hello Steve,
I appreciated reading your reply to this blog post, however I want to warn you that your arguments are faulty in some respects. I have no judgment on your main point, but I would like to point out a few problems.
First, Jesus was very clear that he was NOT sent to abolish the law (Matthew 5:17). In fact, many argue that he presented a law that was far more rigorous (Matthew 5:20-27) in order to illustrate the impossibility of perfection and the need for a Savior.
Your second point concerning the woman caught in adultery is a non-point since you are actually implying that homosexuality IS a sin needing forgiveness, and Jesus would naturally forgive that sin unless He specifically mentioned that He wouldn't.
Truthfully, there are many things that you and I would probably agree to be sin that Jesus never mentioned. Bestiality, and other various grotesqueries are never condemned by name, yet we would readily consider these things to be obvious. Therefore, we can't create a morality based solely on things Jesus didn't mention.
To say that no moral laws from the Old Testament are valid today is hyperbolic at best and hypocritical at worst. I would be willing to wager that you, Steve, are a moral person concerned with doing the right thing. Yet nearly all universally approved moral standards we hold are mirrored in these laws. Therefore, I would have to conclude that you do not actually favor the abolition of ALL Old Testament standards from Christian life, but only the ones that YOU feel are antiquated somehow.
Your point about Shrine Prostitution behaviors accidentally being mistranslated to homosexual behavior is compelling, but doesn't gel with most Hebrew scholars, while those who do agree point out that Temple Prostitutes were specifically renowned for homosexual practices. Similar attempts to re translate the more positive term “eunuchs” to mean homosexuals also meets with difficulty. However, it is possible that this is a evidence of a bias by heterosexual scholars, but that could be tricky to prove.
To be fair, you are replying to an extremely poorly written argument against homosexuality. I'm not sure if there is a language barrier or what, but the connection between Christ's message about Sodom and modern homosexuality needs some serious work. Thank you for your heartfelt reply, and I am glad that we as believers can discuss this very important issue without resorting to petty bigotry and name-calling.
Dustin
I appreciated most of the points that you made in responding to Steve but I question the following, “To be fair, you are replying to an extremely poorly written argument against homosexuality. I’m not sure if there is a language barrier or what, but the connection between Christ’s message about Sodom and modern homosexuality needs some serious work.”
Jesus spoke specifically of Sodom and the hearers of the message were very familiar with the destruction that took place in Genesis. Homosexuality was rampant in Sodom (the text says men came from every corner of the city, both young and old). Jesus did not have to refer to the sin that was being committed because the hearers knew. To say that Jesus never addressed homosexuality is absurd. The article brings the proof. Also Jesus taught on marriage and sexuality saying that from the beginning marriage is for a man and his wife. He did not leave the door open for another option. Modern homosexuality is the same form of homosexuality that existed in antiquity. As the Bible says, there is nothing (homosexuality) new under the sun.
Thanks for your reply.
You say that homosexuality is so obviously evil that Jesus had no need to condemn it. I cannot respond, as there is no response to those who say they knew what Jesus thought, but did not say. But don’t argue it is a part of what Jesus taught, because that is clearly false.
You are not, in the end, interested in what Jesus taught. If you were, you would condemn divorce, not homosexuality, for example. Jesus was quite clear on divorce. He also condemned praying out loud, but your ilk is not at all interested in that, either. On the contrary.
No, you would rather try to find support for your pre-existing bigotry, which has nothing to do with the message of Jesus.
Love God, and love your neighbors. If you feel you must condemn your neighbors, please don’t do it in the name of Jesus.
Homosexuality is not a sin,it’s just a human behavior
Homosexuality is found in certain species of animals, even i think i would dare say all sexual species
So man is an animal as well,he’s not superior to animals but because of his intelligence, but it doesn’t mean he’s gonna have to restrict himself to act according to what a stupid book says
I think the bible was written by a person,not by a god, and if it was a “god”, it must’ve been a powerful spirit but not the creator of the universe, or even possibly extraterrestrial,even if this is gonna sound stupid to most ignorant Christians
I don’t think Yahweh was the creator of the universe if there’s one, because the creator of this universe wouldn’t have any similarity to men,neither his way of thinking or his appearance.
If there’s a God,or a creator of the universe,he is indeed into everything that exists,but he is so big and powerful,that he doesn’t give a shit about what his created inferior beings are gonna think about him,neither he’s gonna need them to praise him and worship him, and even less,he’s gonna want them to act according to his own ideas, he won’t care about two men having sex or if a man kills another man,he’s not gonna punish him
Maybe karma exists,which was run by him,but it has self-intelligence,so he doesn’t need to check it anymore
And it doesn’t work closely to what the bible says Yahweh works
There are other planes of existence,but there’s no heaven and hell,there are planes of existence,some say seven,and as you go ascending,you get nearer to the creator of the universe,and i guess if Yahweh is a spirit,maybe he’s from the second or third plane,but he’s got to many flaws to be even there
All humans are in the first plane,the physical plane
And Jesus Christ,well there are lots of lies about his character,maybe he got married,and maybe he wasn’t as divine as he said or people say, maybe a group of people argued and decided to create a religion as part of a plan to rule the world,and they thought about him and made him divine.
So who knows who Jesus really was,and what he really did and wanted, all those documents are just full of bullshit
Therefore,sins don’t exist,and all humans can actually fuck as much as they want with whoever they want,and under any circumstance as they like,also we can eat lots of food,stay asleep as long as we want,lust after anyone we want whether it’s a woman or a man,wish as much fucking wealth as we want,envy others and try to possess what they have (i don’t mean steal from them,but work and get what they have),feel proud if we feel good because of what we created,and get pissed of at someone if he makes us feel that way, even take revenge if he did something terrible to us
So homosexuals can have as much sex as they want,and they should be respected by society,and not attacked,and there should be no fucking idiots trying to tell them “read the gospel,son ,repent your sins and be straight or you’ll go to hell”
if heaven and hell existed,maybe 99.9% of humans would go to hell,even many priests and even the pope
and many Christian ministers too,not just the catholic priests who have had sex with children,but a lot of people would go to hell
but it won’t happen cuz it doesn’t exist!!!!