Before 20 Years Ago: Did Jesus Condemn Gay People?

Blog Post 7

Today we continue to look at Genesis and then at Jesus’ teaching related to those who are gay.

So third, even if we did see Genesis as establishing a pattern, creation order, or creation norm for sexual relationships, we have to acknowledge that the Bible itself allows for exceptions.  The Bible doesn’t require everyone to get married or “be fruitful and multiply.”  In fact, the Apostle Paul encourages a life of celibacy for those who have this gift (1 Corinthians 7:7-8).  And Jesus gave us a living model of celibacy.  If the Bible presents us with one clear exception to the “creation order” of male-female marriage, why couldn’t there by another?

As another exception to the general pattern for families formed through male-female marriage, the Bible mentions couples who are not able to conceive children.  We too are keenly aware that some couples have infertility issues.  But the Bible and the church do not condemn such marriages as illegitimate simply because the couple can’t “be fruitful and multiply” by conceiving children.

Rather, we fully include infertile couples in society and the community of faith.  And we provide other ways to “be fruitful,” such as adoption or various other creative contributions to the community.  If we take this approach with one group of people who are not able to fulfill the typical human pattern of procreation described in Genesis, why couldn’t we take this approach with another group of people, namely, those who are gay?

Some people say that Jesus implicitly condemns marriage for gay couples when he affirms male-female marriage.  It’s true that in Matthew 19:4-5 and Mark 10:6-8, Jesus quotes the Genesis passage about God creating the first humans as “male and female,” but we need to look at the context.  Jesus is not answering a question about gay people; he is answering a question about divorce.  When he quotes Genesis as saying that “the two shall become one,” he is declaring that God made marriages to last for a lifetime.  So Jesus is condemning divorce, not marriage for gay people.

It’s also significant to note that the Bible never mentions Jesus saying anything about gay people.  The closest it comes to this is in a passing reference (in Matthew 19:12) to some people being “eunuchs who have been so from birth . . . . .”  Rather than condemn eunuchs as a deviation from the Genesis blessing to Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply,” Jesus concludes the passage by saying, “Let anyone accept this who can.”  Could it be that Jesus would say that same about those who have been gay from birth?

In the next post we will begin our exploration of the passages that explicitly condemn certain forms of same-sex sexual activity.

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