The Bible and homosexuality

There are a number of passages in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament that have been interpreted as involving same-sex sexual activity and relationships. The passages about homosexual individuals and sexual relations in the Hebrew Bible are found primarily in the Torah (the first five books traditionally attributed to Moses). The book of Leviticus chapter 20 is more comprehensive on matters of detestable sexual acts. Some texts included in the New Testament also reference homosexual individuals and sexual relations, such as the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Luke, and Pauline epistles originally directed to the early Christian churches in Asia Minor. Both references in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament have been interpreted as referring primarily to male homosexual individuals and sexual practices. Homosexuality in the Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and its traditional interpretations in Judaism and Christianity have historically affirmed and endorsed a patriarchal and heteronormative approach towards human sexuality, favouring exclusively penetrative vaginal intercourse between men and women within the boundaries of marriage over all other forms of human sexual activity, including autoeroticism, masturbation, oral sex, non-penetrative and non-heterosexual sexual intercourse (of which the penetrative forms have been labelled as "sodomy"), believing and teaching that such behaviors are forbidden because they are considered to be sinful, and further compared to or derived from the behaviour of the alleged residents of Sodom and Gomorrah. Leviticus 18 Abomination (Bible) Chapters 18 and 20 of Leviticus form part of the Holiness code and list prohibited forms of intercourse, including the following verses: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." Chapter 18 verse 22 "If a man lies with a man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

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Sodom and Gomorrah

Sodom and Gomorrah (ˈsɒdəm...gəˈmɒrə) were two biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1–28). They are mentioned frequently in the prophets and the New Testament as symbols of human wickedness and divine retribution, and the Quran also contains a version of the story about the two cities. The narrative of their destruction may have a relation to the remains of third-millennium BCE Bronze Age cities in the region, and subsequent Late Bronze Age collapse.

The Bible and homosexuality

Christianity and homosexuality

Within Christianity, there are a variety of views on sexual orientation and homosexuality. The view that various Bible passages speak of homosexuality as immoral or sinful emerged in the first millennium AD, and have since become entrenched in many Christian denominations through church doctrine and the wording of various translations of the Bible. In the present day, there are a wide variety of views within Christianity on homosexuality and sexual orientation, with some scholars of Christianity contesting the notion that scripture speaks explicitly of homosexuality as a sin against God.