GAY TRUTH

English: Gender symbols, sexual orientation: heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality. Česky: (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Mr. Vines says, "The Bible never directly addresses, and it certainly does not condemn, loving, committed same-sex relationships. There is no biblical teaching about sexual orientation , nor is there any call to lifelong celibacy for gay people." The way Mr. Vines has phrased the issue is in favor of his conclusion, but the  Bible  does discuss the issue of homosexuality and clearly condemns it.  Mr. Vines has admitted so in his examination of Leviticus 18:22, which he mistakenly says is not applicable to Christians today.  He says there is no biblical teaching about the topic of "sexual orientation."  However, the Bible addresses "sin orientation" and condemns it.  Homosexuality is a sinful orientation. Mr. Vines says, "if the remedy against sexual sin for straight Christians is marriage, why should the remedy for g...

English: folio 150 recto of the codex, with the beginning of the 1. Epistle to the Corrinthians (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers 10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching." (1 Tim. 1:9-10, NASB). Mr. Vines says, "In the final passage, 1 Timothy 1:10, the first word--“abusers of themselves with mankind”--reappears in a list of people Paul says the law was written against. Here, the translation is “them that defile themselves with mankind.” The translation issues and debates here are the same as those from 1 Corinthians . Again, the strongest inference that can be drawn from other uses of this term is that it referred to economic exploitation through sexual coercion--po...

King James Version of the Bible (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Mr. Vines says, "In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul warns against those who will not inherit the kingdom of God . And then he lists 10 different types of people who will not inherit the kingdom. Because the dispute here is about translation, I’ll start with the King James Version of this passage, which was published more than 400 years ago and so predates this modern controversy. It reads: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.  Our key words for the discussion here are the words translated as “effeminate” and “abusers of themselves with mankind.”  . . .  This changed halfway through the last century, when some Bible translators began connecting the...

"For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error." (Rom. 1:26-27, NASB ). Mr. Vines says, "Because of this [referring to their idol worship], God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual 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 shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error . . . How we understand this passage hinges in large part on how we understand the meaning of the terms 'natural' and 'unnatural' . . . First, the passage’s context. In 1:18-32,...

The Aleppo Codex is a medieval manuscript of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), associated with Rabbi Aaron Ben Asher. The Masoretic scholars wrote it in the early 10th century, probably in Tiberias, Israel. It is in book form and contains the vowel points and grammar points (nikkudot) that specify the pronunciation of the ancient Hebrew letters to preserve the chanting tradition. It is perhaps the most historically important Hebrew manuscript in existence. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." (Lev. 18:22, NASB ). "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. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them." (Lev. 20:13, NASB). Mr. Vines says, "Hebrews 8:13 states that the old covenant is now “obsolete,” because Christ is the basis of the new covenant . . .  it is true that Leviticus prohibits male...

Sodom and Gomorrha, Alte Pinakothek, Room 23 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Mr. Vines says, " Genesis 19 . The actions of the men of Sodom are intended to underscore their cruel treatment of outsiders--not to somehow tell us that they were gay . . . It’s now widely conceded by scholars on both sides of this debate that Sodom and Gomorrah do not offer biblical evidence to support the belief that homosexuality is a sin ." Matthew Vines cites no reference to demonstrate that it is "widely conceded by scholars on both sides of this debate that Sodom and Gomorrah do not offer  biblical  evidence to support the belief that homosexuality is a sin.”  Just saying it doesn't make it so.  In contradiction to his assertion, a quick look into commentaries on Genesis 19 provides the following: The term "sodomy” is derived from this passage. It is widely held that the severity of God ’s judgment of Sodom had to do with the prevalence of homosexuality there. 1 Sodom and...