Recently, Tony Jones put up a question asking people to explain why homosexuality is wrong (that is, what is inherently wrong with it) without resorting to what he calls the “6 clobber verses” of Scripture. That is to say, can we show that homosexuality is wrong outside of Scripture?
I see where he is coming from – God does not do anything arbitrarily. There is always a reason behind His rules. He doesn’t just say, “Don’t do this” without there being some reason for it. So what is God’s reason for forbidding homosexuality?
I am not discussing the law or whether or not something should be legal. That is another issue entirely. Rather, I just want to approach this as an, “is it moral” issue among Christians. Thus, if one is not a Christian, this post will not offer much insight into why homosexuality is wrong, other than explain our reasoning.
The debate, when among Christians, must keep the Bible at the center
Clearly, we cannot remove God’s reason from the confines of the Bible. I would argue that outside of homosexuality being an unnatural act (from an evolutionary standpoint, it offers little to no benefit for the advancement of the species), there is very little to condemn homosexuality. But, the same would ring true for quite a few other sexual taboos. Assuming that the liberty to make a choice is part of our natural freedoms, this means all sexual acts that do not inhibit one’s ability to choose (e.g. rape, pedophilia with a young child, etc) should likewise be allowed.
The only way to avoid the above situation is to keep the conversation within some type of Biblical narrative. For example, even Tony’s question shows that he is keeping with the Biblical narrative:
“…can you please explain to me WHY a gay or lesbian person who is in a long-term, monogamous relationship would not be able to wholeheartedly follow Christ?”
Monogamy has no natural defense. In fact, it makes far more sense for promiscuity and/or polygamy to be an acceptable trait because (1) it allows people to be more in line with their natures as sexual beings and (2) increases the fitness of the species. In fact, monogamy would only be defensible from a natural standpoint depending on the situation (e.g. overpopulation).
Suffice it to say, without a natural defense of monogamy, there is not much reason to use it within a debate unless one is holding onto some facet of a Biblical narrative. Thus, if Tony (and others) is going to agree to keep the conversation within a Biblical narrative, then the same must be said for the issue of homosexuality. This does not mean I am going to bring up the 6 “clobber verses,” but rather that one cannot simply dismiss the Biblical idea of marriage; to do so would be a double standard.
