REBUTTAL: 7 Bible Quotes Supporting Gay Relationships
I was severely grieved in my spirit and frankly, flatout angry, when I learned about the Youtube video “7 Bible Quotes Supporting Gay Relationships.” The web show is hosted by lesbian vlogger, Arielle Scarcella featuring LGBT activist, Matthew Vines. Vines is the author of God and the Gay Christian which explains “how you can reconcile being gay with believing in the Bible.” Quite obviously, you cannot “reconcile” living a lifestyle of what God calls an abomination with the Word and blessings of God. IT’S NOT POSSIBLE.
We cannot cut down, twist, and taint the Word of God to suit our sinful desires. Let GOD be true and EVERY MAN a liar--including me!! If what I say doesn’t line up with the Bible, then I’m a liar--plain and simple. It doesn’t matter what my worldview is, it doesn’t matter what my personal experiences “prove,” and it doesn’t matter if I have the best of intentions. If you taint and twist the Word of God, then you are a liar and a false teacher and you come under a curse.
The Apostle Paul said this:
So with this in mind, I’ll take the video point-by-point and tell you what the Bible REALLY says.
1) Condemning same-sex relationships is harmful to the LGBT community.
These days, it seems the only place where pain for the greater good seems acceptable is the gym. Far too many people, even Christians, have bought into the lie that if a thing FEELS bad it must BE bad which is absolutely untrue.
Jesus was subjected to an illegal trial, was struck in the face, beat down, whipped, had a crown of long thorns plunged into His skull, carried the cross for miles, and then finally dyed on the cross so we could acknowledge, accept, and benefit from His sacrifice. It didn’t FEEL good, but it WAS good--for us.
When we focus on the subject of feelings regarding sin--and homosexuality IS sin--it doesn’t matter how condemnation or conviction makes you feel. IT’S SUPPOSED TO HURT.
Because you are not a Christian, you have subjected yourself to condemnation from the devil; it doesn’t come from God.
Condemnation produces negative emotions without hope; it’s a sign that you should change your ways. And then there’s conviction.
Conviction a.k.a. "godly sorrow" is for our benefit and given to those who are Christians and walk NOT according to the flesh (Romans 8:1).
So if you’re being made to feel bad about your lifestyle, consider it a gift: repent, change your ways, and give your life to God to escape the only thing the world has to offer you: death.
And by the way, God chastens those He loves so you can’t say it’s not love when someone like me tries to share the truth of the Gospel with you regarding an LGBQT lifestyle or any other sin.
It would be “bad fruit” on the Christian’s part to not speak the truth in love.
2) Sexual orientation is a pretty new concept.
The phrase “sexual orientation” may be new, but the concept is not. Seriously, let’s not all pretend we didn’t learn about the Greco-Roman classics somewhere between middle school and college and that we didn’t learn that there were those who had same sex attractions. Achilles and Patroclus. Alexander the Great. Hello!! These were famous Grecian homosexuals, bisexuals at best. Heck, maybe even panssexuals. Sappho is one of the earliest if not the earliest poetic records of lesbianism. The very term “lesbian” comes from the name of her island and its patron god, “Lesbos.”
Rome, under emperors like Caligula and Nero, was rife with sexual immorality of all sorts. Men who practiced homosexuality were still seen as manly if they were the “giver” and not “receivers,” much like in Viking culture and even modern gang/prison culture today. Those who “received” were (are) usually young men and boys (including prepubescent boys) as well as slaves/prostitutes and seen as weak(er). Many, if not all of the emperors, took male lovers.
In East Asia, homosexuality was quite common.
Even Ancient Egypt is not free from homosexuality and this picture was of a couple who lived around 2400 B.C. The proof of homosexual orientation is there in the relics and literature of the ancient world if you care to see it.
And in the Bible itself, quite obviously if God via Moses commanded that man should not lie with a man, it was because there were men who were attracted to doing so. The Hebrews may not have had a word to describe homosexuality or lesbianism, etc., but that doesn’t mean the concept didn’t exist in ancient life, especially regarding pagan worship. (See #7.)
The concept in Leviticus (written thousands of years ago) and Romans (written about two thousand years ago) is pretty darn clear: sleeping with a person of the same gender is an abomination, unclean, lustful, dishonorable, deceptive, vile, against nature (unnatural), shameful, and deserving of a (death) penalty. No need to label “homosexuality, “lesbianism,” “bisexuality,” “pansexuality,” or any other title; the concept is made abundantly clear; a blind man could see it.
3) Celibacy is a gift, not a mandate.
This passage (referring to I Corinthians 7), is taken ENTIRELY out of context. Being gay and celibate in the Old Testament, might have been overlooked if one was able to keep it hidden. You can’t be stoned for something you haven’t been caught for or exposed of, but God knows the heart.
And while the gay celibate person would have undoubtedly received their judgement after death, in the New Testament we are not judged merely on our actions, we are judged by our thoughts.
So you can be celibate all you want to, but if your heart is attracted to the same-sex, if you desire to have sex with someone of the same-sex--even if you never act on it--you are guilty of that sin as if you had committed it.
People often embrace grace like it’s easy; grace is not easy. Because every little thought of our mind and heart could be deemed as evil, even if you appear to be a fine, moral, upstanding individual. Grace is harder than the Law, but God says, “my grace is sufficient.”
I’ll use the famous Tim Gunn as an example. Gunn, most famous for his role on Project Runway is gay--and celibate. And while Tim may never have slept with a man for all I know, the desire of his heart--at least regarding sexual attraction--is evil. Even Stevie Wonder could see that Tim Gunn is gay.
But Desiree! How can you say this??
VERY EASILY.
We are to bring ALL of our thoughts captive to the Word of God and punish ALL disobedience within ourselves!
We are also to renew our minds daily.
Our bodies our living sacrifices, meant to be walking, living, breathing tabernacles of the holy Spirit of God. So how dare we sully these our tabernacles--God’s tabernacles--with the uncleanness and “vile passions” that define homosexuality, no matter if you are committed to one partner or sleep with whomever you find based on the band of their underwear? And in an effort to maintain clean tabernacles, we are to “be transformed by the renewing of our minds.”
This is especially key for those struggling with any former LGBQT lifestyle and attractions. If you have been saved, delivered, and set free, OWN IT!! He whom the Son sets free IS free indeed! Yet if you don’t make it a point to renew your mind with the Word of God, then you put yourself at grave risk of being subjected to this spirit of perversion again and when he’s allowed back in your life, he’ll bring seven more spirits worse than himself and set up shop!!
I don’t believe all this nonsense about electing celibate, gay bishops or being a Christian and gay. IT’S NOT POSSIBLE. And Paul never said, “You know what, forget all that mess I said in Romans 1, my bad. Think whatever you want, just don’t act on your emotions and you’ll be good.” NO!
Whereas NKJV says “the homosexuals” won’t inherit the Kingdom, the KJV says the effeminate won’t inherit it.
You can be “sweet,” “fruity” (as the Arielle and Matthew alluded to in the video), and “have a little too much sugar in your tank,” and still have the pretense of being straight--like many men in the church, namely the music departments *side eye* you know who I’m talking about--but guess what: you’re still going to Hell if you don’t get right! Celibacy won’t help you then!
4) Most people thought Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed for being gay, but they were REALLY destroyed because of their arrogance and apathy toward the poor.
This is the only point Matthew and Arielle mention that is HALF-WAY true, but in the words of Brandy, “almost doesn’t count.” Ezekiel 16:49 states:
But when the LGBQT activists TRY to use this as their “scriptural backing,” they conveniently skip over the very next verse which reads:
What was this great abomination?? HOMOSEXUALITY. That is ONE scripture out of several that states a so-called other, “true” reasoning for Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction. But this is the problem with so many of these liberal theologians: they become liberal with the Word of God and equally liberal with the interpretations thereof.
You can’t cherry-pick the Bible and create doctrines based on those cherry-picked verses; you have to take the ENTIRE Bible IN CONTEXT to decipher what the Spirit of God truly intended. If you take the Word of God in pieces instead of whole, you create doctrines of devils, not the true Gospel of the Kingdom.
*SIDENOTE: When Vines, in the video, refers to the “attempted gang rape,” he can’t even get that story straight (no pun intended). The men of Sodom tried to rape, not two men, but two ANGELS, who came to the aid of Lot and his family via the intercession of Abraham. Read the full story for yourself in Genesis 18:16-19:29. If Vines can’t even get such a simply (and horrific) Bible story correct, how can we honestly trust him to teach us what the Bible “really” says about something so wicked, yet prevalent as homosexuality?
5) Leviticus condemns [male] same-sex intercourse, but Leviticus doesn’t apply to Christians as moral law.
Complete and utter BULL. Hath Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law?? Yes. Does that give us an excuse to go on sinning? No. In fact, these two activists have it all backwards: the Moral Laws are the only thing left from the Law that still applies. Things like men having goatees, women wearing pixie cuts, eating shrimp, and wearing mixed fabrics, no longer apply. Sanctification unto God was the whole point of those societal and dietary laws anyway. And although we no longer put people to death ourselves (i.e. stoning, burning, etc.), the wages of sin IS death (Romans 6:23). So to say that the moral laws no longer apply to us as Christians partaking of the New Covenant is absolute poppycock.
6) Paul condemns same-sex LUST, not same-sex LOVE.
This is another severe twisting of the Scripture. Those who identify as gay Christians (an oxymoron to say the least) differentiate between a committed gay relationship from being gay and promiscuous. God does not. Romans 1 doesn’t differentiate between two men or two women lying together in commitment from those lying together in a gay, one night stand. It just calls the very act itself vile and unclean and “deserving of death.” To God, all same-sex attraction, sexual behaviour, and relationships are an abomination; He never contradicts Himself once. He can’t! He’s God and He changes not.
7) The term “homosexual” didn’t even appear until 1892.
This is about as sane a claim as Planned Parenthood’s statement in their pastoral letter that the word "abortion" isn’t in the Bible. As stated in #2, The phrase “homosexual” may be new, but the concept is not. And you know I’ve got proof to back up my claims.
First, as already discussed, the Bible--Old and New Testament--condemns the described/defined behaviour of homosexuality, lesbianism, and any other sexual immorality.
Second, the term “sodomite” IS found in the Bible.
These passages define sodomites a.k.a. gay men as “unrighteous,” “lawless,” “insubordinate,” “ungodly,” “sinners,” “unholy,” “profane,” and states that they will NOT inherit the Kingdom of God and can thus, NOT be Christians.
Third, the term “perverted persons” defined as “qadesh,” “qeshah,” and “qedeshim” ARE found in the Bible.
EVERY.SINGLE.ONE of these references (and I’ve listed every one mentioned in the NKJV) ties the existence and practicers of sodomy to idle worship. And while I’m positive that Matthew Vines would separate this from “loving, committed” same-sex relationships, there is no difference at the core. Romans 1 breaks this down beautifully.
Idolatry isn’t just the worship of stone, wood, and metal statues. It’s the worship of anything and anyone that’s not God almighty. Humanism is idolatry because it elevates the human being (flesh) above God or to the same level as God. Homosexuality and similar practices are idolatry because they elevate unclean, same-sex desires above the Word and ordinances of God. And yes, even the stubbornness to insist on your own way, or in this case, that you were “born this way,” is idolatry.
Most clearly, all of these preposterous claims are definite proof that Arielle only “studied the Bible a bit in college.” I studied, George MacDonald, Humanities, and French “a bit” in college too. But that by no means makes me an expert, capable of teaching others the “true” nature of the subjects listed. It is also proof that Matthew Vines is woefully deceived.
They blame the Biblical condemnation of homosexuality on recent scholars, but his quarrel is entirely without basic logic.
Arielle claims these are “just seven out of many Bible-based reasons, for/in favour of same-sex relationships.” I’d LOVE to know what other misconstrued verses she twists to her diabolical purposes.
A true Christian would NEVER, I repeat NEVER, support homosexuality or sexual immorality in any form. This includes, but is not limited to:
Fornication
Adultery
Bisexuality
Homosexuality/Lesbianism
Panssexuality
Gay/Lesbian "Marriage"
Polygamy
Polyamory (Multiple marriage partners, i.e. 2 husbands and 3 wives, one "marriage")
Incest
Pedophilia
Sex with Demons (Incubi, Succubi)
Necrophilia (sex with the dead)
Bestiality/Zoophilia (sex with animals)
It doesn’t matter how committed you say you are, if you FEEL you were “born this way,” if it was an experiment, if it was part of your fraternity hazing, if an angel from heaven flew down and told you it was right, ALL SEXUAL IMMORALITY IS WRONG. God has set healthy parameters for the practice of the only safe sex possible and that consists of one adult man and one adult woman united in marriage as it was with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Anyone who would tell you otherwise is deceived at best or possessed by a devil at worst. Choose your same-sex desires or choose the Word of God; but you cannot choose both.