by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
I. Discussions of homosexuality have been occupying prominent places in the news<\/p>\n A. Many arguments that the rights of those practicing homosexual relationships need\nto be protected.\n B. Arguments that homosexual relationships are normal and should be taught in\npublic schools as acceptable alternatives.\n
C. Annoucements of new studies attempting to find the cause of homosexuality.<\/p>\n D. One medical talk show host often wonders why people are so set against the idea\nthat homosexuality has a genetic cause. He supposes that the feeling is that if it\nwere proven that homosexuality is biological, then religious people would be on\nshaky ground condemning homosexuality as a sin.\n
II. In the beginning<\/p>\n
A. Gen. 1:26-27 – God created us as male and female<\/p>\n B. Gen. 2:18 – After creating the man only, it was not good. Hence the female was\ncreated.\n
C. Gen. 2:22-24 – Men leave their parents to marry their wives.<\/p>\n
D. No provisions are made for men marrying men or women marrying women.<\/p>\n
E. Marriage is for male and female – Mt. 19:4-5<\/p>\n
III. Sex outside of marriage is wrong<\/p>\n A. All homosexual relationships take place outside of marriage, though there is active\nwork in attempts to redefine marriage civially to include homosexual marriages. \nHowever, God’s definition still stands.\n B. Even if there is a “marriage”, the homosexual community has different ideas about\nadultery than you and I.\n
C. Charles Silverstein, an author of a book on homosexual sex:<\/p>\nThe word “promiscuity is usally used pejoratively, in such loaded statements as\n“The AIDS crisis is a direct result of promiscuity in the gay community.” It’s not\na neutral description but a moral condemnation, and is used against gays by any\ngroup that condemns homosexuality. What constitutes promiscuity depends upon\nthe speaker and his value system. One person will call a man who has two sexual\npartners promiscuous; another will reserve this condemnation for a regular\nfrequenter of brothels. As a rule, gay men call someone promiscuous if he has a\nlot of sex with a lot of different guys.<\/i>\n D. Sexual relationships with multiple partners in not condemned in the homosexual\ncommunity and is even looked upon as a potentially postive experience. (Larry\nBurtoft, Ph.D, Setting the Record Straight<\/i>, A Focus on the Family Report).\n E. Survey of those involved with lifetime partner: 57% report having sex with 30 or\nmore people; 35% report having sex with 100 or more people. That is 92% with a\nlarge number of multiple sex partners while in a “lifetime commitment”!\n
F. All sexual imorality is condemned. Example: Gal. 5:19-21.<\/p>\n
IV. Does the Bible actually condemn homosexual relationships?<\/p>\n
A. Lev. 18:22 – God finds it to be an abomination.<\/p>\n
B. Lev. 20:13 – It carried the death penalty under the Old Law.<\/p>\n C. Rom. 1:26-27 – It is against nature. The act carries its own penalties. The\naverage homosexual only lives to 42. Those who contract AIDS average lifespan\nis only 36.\n
D. I Cor. 6:9-10 – Cannot inherit the kingdom of God.<\/p>\n
E. Sodom and Gomorrah<\/p>\n
1. Gen. 18:20 – very greivous sin<\/p>\n 2. Gen. 19:5 – Angels staying a Lot’s house are threatened with “knowing\nthem carnally” – homosexual rape.\n
a. Some say their sin was “gang rape”<\/p>\n
b. But condemnation was prior to this instance.<\/p>\n 3. Jude 7 – Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities had given\nthemselves over to sexual immorality and “strange flesh”. Strange flesh:\nnot normal sexual relations, other types of sexual relations, homosexuality.\n
V. Is Homosexuality Genetic?<\/p>\n A. Despite the many articles, it has not been proven. At best there is a suspicion of\nthat genetics leads to a tendency towards homosexuality.\n
B. Behavioral traits can have four causes<\/p>\n
1. Genetic – inherited from ancestors<\/p>\n
2. Innate – caused by physical events in the womb<\/p>\n
3. Biological – caused by physiological factors<\/p>\n
4. Environment – family or social factors<\/p>\n C. People use to believe it was totally environment, but they could not prove it\nsufficently so they looked for other causes.\n
D. Read highlights from page 10 to 14 in Setting the Record Straight.<\/p>\n
E. The conclusion is that it is too complex to say there is a single cause.<\/p>\n
F. There is an overriding assumption that there is a cause to homosexuality. <\/p>\n 1. Something made me the way I am. It is not my fault. You can’t condemn\nit.\n 2. Ignores \n the most simple answer: it was a choice.\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. Discussions of homosexuality have been occupying prominent places in the news A. Many arguments that the rights of those practicing homosexual relationships need to be protected. B. Arguments that homosexual relationships are normal and should be taught in public schools as acceptable alternatives. C. Annoucements of new studies attempting to find the cause of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-62739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-homosexuality"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1850,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-homosexuality-a-race\/","url_meta":{"origin":62739,"position":0},"title":"Is homosexuality a race?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 12, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is homosexuality a race? Answer: According to my dictionary, a race is \"a lineage; a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock; a breed or stock.\" In other words, a race is a breed of mankind. When two people of the same race have children, characteristics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38841,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-homosexual-mistranslated\/","url_meta":{"origin":62739,"position":1},"title":"Was “homosexual” mistranslated?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I recently came upon a claim that, because of mistranslation, homosexuality was condemned even though it isn't stated as being bad. I read certain people explaining that I Corinthians 6:9-10 is mistranslated since \"homosexual\" wasn't even a word in Ancient Greek. They even claim that only the abuse\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18160,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-roman-catholic-priest-attempts-to-defend-homosexuality\/","url_meta":{"origin":62739,"position":2},"title":"A Roman Catholic priest attempts to defend homosexuality","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 18, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I found your article concerning homosexuality and the Bible, under the title \"Is homosexuality condemned in the Scriptures?\" I would like to clarify something, and perhaps provide a new perspective. You stated that \"the reason that the Bible doesn't mention \"gay love\" is that such a thing does not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18250,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/people-do-leave-homosexuality\/","url_meta":{"origin":62739,"position":3},"title":"People Do Leave Homosexuality","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Source: Jeff Johnston, \"Do People Change from Homosexuality? Hundreds of Stories of Hope and Transformation,\" The Daily Citizen, 5 August 2015. A list of stories of people who left homosexuality, some for decades. \"Typically, this is a process of growth and change, not an instantaneous transformation. Nor is it easy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Issues"","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21086,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-gives-you-the-right-to-teach-that-homosexuality-is-wrong-when-you-cant-be-sure-youre-right\/","url_meta":{"origin":62739,"position":4},"title":"What gives you the right to teach that homosexuality is wrong when you can’t be sure you’re right?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'd like to let you know straight away: what you are doing is so incredibly wrong that it cut me to the quick. I don't have any problems with people believing in God. \u00a0But I do have a problem with those guys who think that they have to spread\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26063,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dont-you-dare-change-my-mind-but-why-is-homosexuality-bad\/","url_meta":{"origin":62739,"position":5},"title":"Don’t you dare change my mind, but why is homosexuality bad?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello there. I am a thirteen-year-old open-minded female who accepts and respects anyone of any religion, ethnicity, sexuality, and tribe. Before I begin, please do not assume that I am older than I have stated, or have spoken out of influence because I have indeed not. Not all thirteen-year-old\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62739\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}