A RESPONSE TO “HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT IMMORAL.

HATE IS” pt2: Perverting the

Scriptures

A post from UP Babaylan talking about homosexuality caught my attention [1]. Last time, I
discussed how they misinterpreted Pope Francis, and I explained that we, Catholics, are in
agreement with him while they may not be considering the context of the Pope’s statements [2].
Now, I will bring up the point that they raised. UP Babaylan said:

“But it’s time that we recognize it for what it is: not an affirmation, but a perversion of the very
scriptures they cite that preach love and acceptance [1].”

Just as how they misinterpreted Pope Francis, I am not surprised when people will say that as
Christians, we should promote what they are doing because if we don’t, it means that we don’t
love them. They will probably cite the commandment of Jesus “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself (Matthew 22:39)” and claim if we don’t love them, including their actions, that we’re
not Christians. My first post already tackled the idea that we can disagree with them while loving
them, as shown by Pope Francis who disagrees with the morality of homosexual acts and yet, he
is still loving. What I will be doing right now is talk about the Scriptures, and I will be giving
three questions to UP Babaylan, including other advocates of homosexuality, for some
reflections.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION 1: Does the Bible say we should avoid committing sins?
Take note that I am not assuming, from this first question, that engaging in sodomy (oral or anal
sex) is a sin. This question is addressed to sins in general. Advocates of homosexuality such as
UP Babaylan think we should love people with same-sex attraction in the context of promoting
their actions. However, love is not understood as such in the Scriptures. Consider the encounter
between Jesus Christ and the adulterer. The adulterer was caught by the Jews and they were
throwing rocks at her because of her sin. Jesus told them that for a man who has no sin, he
should be the first person to throw a rock. After they left, we have this dialogue between Jesus
and the woman.

John 8:10-11
10 Jesus looked up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11
She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin
again.”
Jesus Christ loved her, but He did not support her actions. He even said, “Do not sin again” or
“Sin no more” in some translations. Why did He do that? Well, to love is to will the good of
another. If sin is bad, to love that person is not to will what’s bad for her or support what’s a sin.
Therefore, the answer to the question above is “Yes” and even liberal Christians can agree with
me on this point.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 2: Does the Bible say marriage is only between man and woman?
This is where there is a bit of a division between conservative Christians and liberal Christians.
There are Christians who support same-sex marriage. However, I have not seen a positive
evidence on their side that the definition of marriage in the Bible is open to people with same-sex
attractions. Usually, they will argue that there is nothing wrong with same-sex marriage because
of freedom. Obviously, holding to an absolute freedom and sufficiency of consent is problematic
for liberal Christians. That concept of freedom is only consistent with liberal sexual ethicists who
are not Christians. Unfortunately, I won’t be discussing this issue because it is part of a different
topic. We still need to ask the question I raised above. Since liberal Christians do not provide a
positive definition of marriage from the Bible, it’s up to conservative Christians to define it. And,
Jesus already defined it in front of the Jews.

Matthew 19:4-6
4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male
and female, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined
to his wife, and the two shall become one’? 6 So they are no longer two but one. What therefore
God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”

Jesus responded as such because the Jews were asking a question about divorce. Obviously, they
were not discussing the same-sex marriage itself, but the fact that the question is about divorce,
His response is related to marriage. We then see Jesus defining marriage as the union between
male and female joined together by God as one flesh. A liberal Christian may go to the route that
there is nothing wrong with marriage between male and male or female and female because of
freedom. However, marriage is not defined by the culture. It’s already defined by God.
Therefore, the answer to the question above is “Yes”, and liberal Christians should agree that
there is no positive definition of same-sex marriage in Scriptures.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 3: Does the Bible say sexual acts outside of marriage are sins?
There are many passages in Scriptures that are against sodomy such as Romans 1:26-27 and 1
Corinthians 6:9-10. However, I will focus more on passages from Leviticus.
Sex should only be within permanent union of a man and woman that which is procreative or
open to life (Genesis 1:28, Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:4-6). This means that sexual sins are sexual
acts outside the context of monogamous, permanent, and heterosexual marriage. This is why
engaging in sex with someone’s wife (Leviticus 20:10), with your father’s wife (Leviticus
20:11), with daughter in law (Leviticus 20:12), with your wife’s mother (Leviticus 20:14), with a
beast (Leviticus 20:15-16), with sister or parent’s daughter (Leviticus 20:17), with uncle’s wife
(Leviticus 20:21), and with brother’s wife (Leviticus 20:22) are all morally wrong.

And, what is homosexual sex? It is the sexual act between people of the same sex. Just as other
verses in Leviticus 20 are prohibitions against sexual sins that are against marriage, it follows
that sex between males (Leviticus 20:13) is against marriage as well for marriage is only defined
as between man and woman.

UP Babaylan can go to two routes here. Either they believe the authority of Scriptures and say
that the laws in Leviticus are no longer applicable today or they reject the authority of Scriptures.
If they go to the first route, there is a problem because what’s not applicable today are
ceremonial laws and judicial laws, not moral laws which is why adultery is still wrong in New
Covenant. If they go to the second route, then they will cite that Scriptures are not authoritative
and argue from secular reasoning why homosexual sex is permissible. But, I still disagree that
it’s defensible even from a secular point of view, and I will defend traditional sexual morality on
my next post from a natural law perspective in contrast to liberal sexual ethics. Nonetheless, the
answer to the question above is “Yes.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Does the Bible prohibit homosexual sex? More passages can be used and more arguments can be
said, but based on my explanations above, I can say, “It’s a yes for me.” This doesn’t mean that
we are trying to be righteous. In fact, we are all sinners. Rather, it’s a calling from God that we
should repent our sins, and that includes every single one of us. Jesus Christ loves one of us, and
we can love Him more if we are ask Him to help us carry our crosses and be attached to our
Savior, not to the world.

References (DCF):
[1] https://www.facebook.com/upbabaylan/posts/3428300973876273
[2] facebook.com/1926549144236044/posts/3350722285152049/
[3] facebook.com/1926549144236044/posts/3336665149891096/
DCF: facebook.com/1926549144236044/posts/3350770628480548/
References (COP):
[1] https://www.facebook.com/upbabaylan/posts/3428300973876273
[2] https://www.facebook.com/KonserbatiboPINAS/posts/188295332905406

COP: https://www.facebook.com/KonserbatiboPINAS/posts/188297516238521