G.Bibu, a lawyer, examines the following four points in his in depth article on homosexuality :1. The Bible on the offense of homosexuality. 2. Passages in the Bible, misrepresented as favoring homosexuality 3. Christinity, it's Contribution to the Society, in dealing with homosexuality 4. The Bible as the only source of reformation for those practicing homosexuality. This is the first part of a four part series.
Sodomy is an expression which refers to the abomination committed by the inhabitants of Sodom, (a city of ancient Palestine), which was destroyed by God Almighty, for the most grievous perversions they practiced, during the days of Abraham the patriarch. Their chief sin consisted in copulation between persons of the same sex, and also between a person of either sex and a beast (Bestiality). The sin of this nature therefore came to be known as "sodomy", after the name of the city, which to its eternal shame and doom, pioneered in to this great folly and wickedness. It is needless to say that a subject such as this, has a great degree of embarrassment inherent in itself, but it is not immodest to speak in denunciation of any sin or of its practitioners, howsoever grievous the sin itself may be. The sin of sodomy is so rampant in the world today, and so widely is this shameful deed known every where, that there is absolutely no necessity to elaborate as to what it is, and we shall therefore advance on to explain the purpose of our discussion thereon, in some detail.
SCOPE:
It is our purpose to vindicate at the outset, the Christian position on the sin of sodomy, as necessitated afresh by two unfortunate, but quite significant developments in the modern world. One primary development is the widespread notion that the western lifestyle is a reflection if not a representation of the Christian Culture. Many are unwilling to even consider the possibility of the latter being a misnomer to refer to the former, chiefly on account of their unshakable prejudice against the path of the Gospel. And since many western countries are submerged under the sin of sodomy, legalizing gay marriages, and overtly justifying their folly, many anti-christian elements have taken undue liberty to ascribe such a degeneracy to some moral deficiency in the Bible itself, as fancied by their pernicious imaginations, merely on the basis that these nations have a Christian identity. Ahmed Deedat, in his prominent critique against the Bible, has charged Christianity with giving rise to homosexuality and gay marriages (Is The Bible God's Word-P.47), to cite just one among many such instances. While there is no ground upon which to absolve the guilt of those nations, which have thus occasioned blasphemy against the Lord's name among his enemies, there is no justification whatsoever, to the imputation made against Christianity as being responsible for the very practices, which are so unequivocally denounced by its Scriptures. (More on this later).
The second factor that demands a clarification of the Christian position on the subject is a challenge, more from within the church than from the world. For also of our own selves have men arisen, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them, and many have followed their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth is being evil spoken of. There is of-late within the church, a disgraceful and a dangerous group of people, who not only practice sodomy and solemnize gay-marriages in their churches, but also justify their wickedness by twisting certain passages of the Bible, reading sodomy into the text of the holy writ. It is no big task for an unbiased student of the Bible to belie their conjectures by applying a fair exegetical treatment to the passages cited by them, as done in this article. (More in its appropriate place). It would suffice here to mention, that the two factors herein shown demand a clarification of the Christian position on the offense of sodomy, and we purpose to meet these two challenges respectively in what follows, by clearly stating the Biblical position thereon, which should suffice to answer the first predicament, and next to deal with a couple of instances in the Bible which are misrepresented as indicating sodomy, which should serve to discomfit all the allied calumnies against Christianity, and thereby crack the second quagmire. Finally, we shall make a few observations on the contributions, which Christianity has made to the world in dealing with the sin of sodomy.
1. THE BIBLE ON THE OFFENSE OF SODOMY:
Those intending to form an opinion on the Christian position as touching any matter, must do so by reading from the Bible, and not by reading in to the Bible what some one does. What is to be understood here is that Christianity is the religion of a book. What that book declares is the position once for all settled on all aspects of the Christian faith. Christianity is not an evolving faith upon the practices adopted by its pretended adherents from time to time. Therefore the western culture or any other culture cannot be the representative of the Christian lifestyle, how so ever Christian it may claim to be, unless there is a complete and unreserved adherence to the precepts of the Bible. Christians do not make Christianity, but Christianity makes Christians. Thus the Bible is the ultimate authority to decide the Christian position on the offense of Sodomy, as on any other matter. The Bible is clear and unambiguous in its stand against the sin of sodomy as may be understood from the following observations from its pages:
1. God at the very inception of this detestable deed, had made known His mind so loudly and clearly, by means of the drastic and deterrent judgement which He executed against the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were the first among the habitations of men to be defiled by this abomination (Genesis 19, 2 Peter 2:6, Jude 7). The rain of fire and brimstone left these cities in utter ruins, never to be fit for human habitation again. And what's more, this was but a temporal judgement upon the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, and it is not yet over with for them, but are yet reserved for the final judgement for their eternal doom (Matthew 10:15). The God of the Bible is of one mind, and His standards are immutable like Himself. His hatred for sodomy did not arise spontaneously at this instance, but He hates it from eternity to eternity And with Him is no variableness nor shadow of turning (James 1:17). Therefore, the God of the Bible still hates sodomy, and threatens His fierce judgement against those practicing it.
2. When the Law was promulgated at Sinai, the first ever to be given to man in writing, the Lord God expressly declared Sodomy to be an offense punishable by death (Exodus 22:19, Leviticus 18:22-30, Leviticus 20:13-16, Deuteronomy 23:17, &Deuteronomy 27:21).
3. Despite sodomy being a capital offense under the Law, there were Sodomites in the land of Israel (1 Kings 14:24), and under every true reformation, the God fearing kings who took the lead in sanctifying Israel afresh unto the Lord, ensured to flush out the sodomites from the land (1 Kings 15:12, 1 Kings 22:46 &2 Kings 23:7), for which among other things, the Scripture bears them record that they were upr
ight before God (1 Kings 15:11, 1 Kings 22:43 &2 Kings 22:2).
4. God ever consistent with Himself, has maintained the same standard of holiness in the new testament also, as touching sodomy, as in any other matter. The wrath of God is threatened against those committing various kinds of ungodly deeds in Romans 1:18-32, and among them, the lesbians and homosexuals are expressly and predominantly mentioned (verses 26-28). Also, the New testament warns in unambiguous language that those practicing sodomy cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9). The practice of sodomy is therefore threatened of incurring eternal consequences, for there shall in no wise enter into heaven, any thing that defileth, or whatsoever worketh abomination (revelations 21:27).
5. In order to fully appreciate the Biblical denunciation of the sin of Sodomy, it is necessary to read thereon, verbatim from its pages. A few quotations are furnished as examples hereunder:
A. "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination" (Leviticus 18:22).
B. "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them" (Leviticus 20:13).
C. "And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them" (Leviticus 20:15-16).
D. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;— for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, — Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them" (Romans 1:18,26-29,32).
E. "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" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
Thus we have established with precision, the Biblical position on the sin of Sodomy, and this is the only prophetic voice in the world today, which has been consistently warning those committing this wickedness, of the impending wrath of God upon them. Despite such a clarity in the Christian position on the matter, those engulfed by their antichristian bias, continue, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, to speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.
{moscomment}
Crisp and concise article !