Introduction

On the 6th of October 1968, a newly formed church for homosexuals held its first meeting. The ‘church’ consisted of 12 people congregating in the living room of Troy Perry, a former Pentecostal minister. Over thirty years later, the church has expanded to nearly 300 congregations in nine countries. It is now called the UFMCC (Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches) and wields considerable political and cultural influence in American society.

How, though, did such a "Gay Church" exist in the first place, when the scriptures clearly condemn all homosexual activity? During the first years, the Gay Christian movement could barely defend itself scripturally. Their greatest argument was, in a nutshell, “God loves everyone.” Technically this is true, as 2 Peter 3:9 says, “he is patient with YOU because he does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.” However, the scriptures condemning homosexuality were simply brushed over or ignored (apart from some weak argumentation about the city of Sodom).

In the first century, the Apostle Paul did say that “wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse, misleading and being misled.” This certainly applies to the Gay Christian movement. 2 Peter 3:16 says, “the untaught and unsteady are twisting, as [they do] also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” This too, is what the Gay Christian movement has done. The solution to the anti-homosexuality scriptures was simple – twist them to mean something else!

Boswell

This was accomplished by a history professor, John Boswell, in his book Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality.

Boswell claims that all of the scriptures we traditionally think of as condemning homosexuality have been mistranslated or misunderstood. He also claimed that the early Church didn’t condemn homosexuality, but the “homophobia” emerged in later centuries.

This was a huge boost to the Gay Christian movement! It was just what they were looking for. Finally: they have seemingly water-tight scriptural arguments, “proving” that being gay and a Christian is okay with God. To this day, pro-gay theologians will quote from Boswell’s book methodically, especially in TV and Radio debates with right-wing conservative Christians. Pamphlets are printed quoting Boswell’s work, and other pro-gay researchers have built on his foundations, publishing even more books expanding on his theories.

Satan’s world views homosexuality as acceptable, and any attempt to twist the Bible in that direction will always be welcome. Not surprising then, that his book went down very well. It was hailed as “groundbreaking,” “revolutionary” and “astonishing.” It even won the 1981 American Book Award for History.

Signs of deception

However, don’t be fooled. The “gay Christian” movement does not even respect the Bible, regard it as their only authority, or abide by its guidelines.

For example, Boswell has commented that scripture is inadequate to answer life’s problems. Religious author Joe Dallas comments that when in a radio debate with a “gay Christian” minister, he asked the minister how he discerned God’s truth. The gay minister responded by saying there were three sources he relied on, each having equal authority: the Bible, his own heart, and his community!

Although the “gay Christians” claim to worship in accordance with the Bible, they do not. Religious author Joe Dallas, mentioned earlier, was a part of the “gay Christian” movement for some time before realising it was a deception. He writes, “Another serious problem the gay Christian movement faces has to do with sexual ethics.” He notes how the moral guidelines of the bible strictly say that sex before marriage is forbidden, marriage must be monogamous, and divorce is only permissible in the event of fornication.

However, “during my involvement with the gay church,” he writes, “we made virtually no effort to abide by these standards. Among gay men it was unheard of to wait until a marriage (or ‘union ceremony,’ as it was called then) before engaging in sex. Indeed, sexual relations within days or even hours of meeting were not uncommon, and they were never, in my experience, criticized from the pulpit. Monogamy, though usually held up as an ideal, was seldom (to my knowledge) adhered to. And the dissolution of a relationship required far less than abandonment or adultery. Most couples I knew broke up because of incompatibility, or one partner’s interest in a third party.”

Does this behaviour sound "Christian"? Or have they simply twisted the necessary amount of scriptures in order to lead a regular gay lifestyle?

Tactics

How does the pro-gay theology “prove” that homosexuality is acceptable in the Bible? A broad range of tactics are used. First, however, Boswell demolishes the reader’s confidence to understand the Bible. He claims that he fully understands the ancient Hebrew and Greek languages in which the Bible was written (although he is an historian and not a language expert). Of course, the average person reading his book is almost certainly unfamiliar with these ancient languages, and has no grounds on which to disagree with his conclusions.

His credentials are also very high. Some swallow Boswells teaching simply based on this. However, the credentials of a person are not proof that his conclusions are correct.

Let’s briefly examine and criticise the pro-Gay Theology.**

Invalid Arguments

Homophobia – Boswell, and others, say the main reason Christians are against homosexuality is simply because of bigotry, and they have taken the scriptures and misapplied them in accordance with their prejudice.* This is ridiculous. Exactly how much bigotry does it take to misinterpret “you must not lie down with a male the same as you lie down with a woman”? Does it really take someone full of bigotry and prejudice to reach the conclusion that homosexuality is wrong from that verse? Additionally, Dallas writes “If [the Church] only prohibits homosexuality out of their own prejudice, why on earth do they, as heterosexuals, also condemn heterosexual sins?”

Mistranslation – Although some mistranslations have occurred in some bible translations, can we really accept that the Bible translators got it wrong in five different places, from two Testaments? And somehow only in the scriptures referring to homosexuality? As Dallas notes, “pro-gay apologists seem to have no problem with the other Scriptures condemning sins such as adultery and child abuse.” Additionally, when the New World Translation was translated directly from the oldest manuscripts in existance, the scriptures still condemned homosexuality.

Out of context – Another part of the argument is that the scriptures referring to homosexuality were taken out of context. How exactly? The scriptures in Leviticus, Romans, 1st Corinthians, and 1st Timothy are all mentioned alongside other sexual sins and immoral behaviour. Homosexuality, along with adultery and fornication is just another form of immoral behaviour.

Culture – One more part of the pro-gay argument is that the scriptures are bound to the ancient cultures they were written in and therefore, do not apply in our modern era. However, the scriptures condemning homosexuality span two totally different cultures: ancient Israelite and 1st Century Roman – yet the same moral laws apply. Indeed, over the centuries many different nations invaded the land of Israel and imposed their various cultures onto the people. Yet simply because the culture changed didn’t mean that Jehovah’s moral standards also changed. If it were true, does this mean that if you find yourself living in a land where the culture accepts adultery, incest, and bestiality, that those things are suddenly perfectly acceptable to Jehovah God?

Anything but water-tight

Despite the enthusiasm by which the world has eaten up the works of Boswell, his interpretations are on shaky ground. The conclusions he reaches are highly spurious. His re-translations are dodgy. His reinterpretation of history is somewhat laughable. Some of the arguments are even contradictory and require a lot of mental gymnastics and great generosity. The arguments can been seen-through almost instantly by anyone with a good understanding of the scriptures.

Those that believe their theology use it as an excuse to have gay sex without condemnation from their own consciences. Simply put, they want to believe it. This reminds me of what the Apostle Paul said, “For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching, but, in accord with their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves to have their ears tickled.” – 2 Timothy 4:3

If you wish to read full refutations of their individual arguments, please read the pages below. I will take an even closer look at their reasonings and fully refute the most common ones. “By [his] mouth the one who is an apostate brings his fellowman to ruin, but by knowledge are the righteous rescued.” – Proverbs 11:9

If you want to learn more, read the pages listed below. If you do not wish to know or do not need to know about these twisting arguments, I suggest that you do not read further. You can click here to return to the main menu.

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Footnotes

* There is a small shred of truth in the “homophobia” argument. However, it doesn’t change the Bible’s condemnation. The Today’s English Version uses the phrase “homosexual perverts” in 1 Corinthians, however, the New World Translation accurately writes “men who lie with men” which is what the Greek word literally means. The word “perverts” does not appear anywhere. Of course, homosexuality is a sexual perversion – but that does not excuse inserting a word that is not in the original text. The Apostle Paul was content with listing the various sins – he didn’t need to start throwing in insults as well. All he said was “men who lie with men … will not inherit God’s kingdom.” This increases our appreciation for our New World Translation – the most accurate Bible translation ever produced.

** We will not be considering the arguments used by the pro-gay lobby that attack the Bible's authenticity. We are only considering the arguments which are based on the belief that the Bible is the inspired word of God. For a discussion of the arguments for the Bible’s authenticity, please see the book ‘The Bible – God’s Word or Mans?’ published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.