Sexuality and Gender

Christian “Intolerance” of Homosexuals

Author Greg Koukl Published on 03/22/2013

Does a biblical view of homosexuality equate to hate?

“I was a little shocked by the sheer intolerance of fellow Christians who define being Gay as a sin. Now, I can’t say that I have accomplished the task of reading the entire Bible, but I can say I have read enough of the Bible to see that it is a book about love, not about hate.

“Nowhere in the Bible does it give anyone the right to judge other people. Judgment is left for God and God alone to decide.

“I do believe it says on quite a few occasions, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ If everyone would stop for a moment and think about what Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Yoruba, and Hinduism are all about, people would realize it isn’t about denouncing one another and seeking out people to despise. It’s about love and compassion, which in this day and age we need a little bit more of.

Bryan

Sophomore, Biochemistry”

Bryan,

Your mistake here is equating moral judgment with hate. They’re not the same. If they were, your own letter would be filled with hate because it clearly judges as wrong the Christians you’re criticizing. You are clearly “denouncing one another,” conduct that could easily be interpreted as “seeking out people to despise” if someone were to give your statements an uncharitable reading.

Since you admit you haven’t read the entire Bible, it’s a little bit bold to claim that “Nowhere in the Bible does it give anyone the right to judge other people.” If fact, there are a number of references that teach the propriety of identifying sin for what it is (e.g., Ephesians 5:11). Note that the word “sin” alone is mentioned 380 times not counting the thousands of references to its various synonyms. Using the Bible, then, to identify a sinful conduct (e.g., homosexuality, arguably, or as you did, being judgmental), is itself and attempt to let God decide what sin is, as you recommend.

As for your understanding of comparative religion (“Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Yoruba, and Hinduism”), it’s clear that you have not given this careful consideration. These are different religions precisely because they are profoundly different religions. The fact that they may, in some cases, share an ethical principle (“Love your neighbor”) in no way suggests that this is what they “are all about.” This is like saying that aspirin and arsenic are basically the same because they both come in tablet form. It’s the differences that matter.

Cordially,

Gregory Koukl