What does the Bible say about relationships between people of the same sex
This is one of the topics where different Christian traditions, all rooted in the Bible, do not reach exactly the same conclusion. Here is what the text says and how different traditions have understood it, without pu...
This is one of the topics where different Christian traditions, all rooted in the Bible, do not reach exactly the same conclusion. Here is what the text says and how different traditions have understood it, without pushing a single position.
1. The texts most often cited
Leviticus 18:22 (KJV) says, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” In the New Testament, Romans 1:26-27 describes relationships between people of the same sex within a list of behaviors the apostle Paul connects to turning away from God. Genesis 2:24 describes the marriage union as that of “a man” and “his wife.”
2. How the more historic traditions read it
Most historic Christian traditions, Catholic, Orthodox, and much of Protestantism, have read these texts as teaching that God’s design for sexual relationships and marriage is between a man and a woman, and teach that same-sex relationships do not fit within that design.
3. How other Christian traditions read it
Other churches and Christian traditions, especially some Protestant denominations in recent decades, understand these same passages differently. Some read them as addressing specific practices of the ancient world, such as idolatry or exploitation, rather than a blanket condemnation of every same-sex relationship, and place more weight on the equal dignity of every person before God.
4. What Scripture says every tradition shares
Genesis 1:27 (KJV) says God created mankind “in his own image,” something every Christian tradition agrees applies to each person, without exception. And in John 3:16 the offer of God’s love is described as reaching “whosoever believeth in him,” with no prior conditions attached.
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