All Christian churches believe that The Bible is God’s word to us. Different ways to read the biblical texts do however lead to difference of opinions - about homosexuality as well. Some believe that every word in the Bible is directly dictated by God, others that it is inspired by God but coloured by the society and age it was written down, others again that it simply was written by men who were close to God. As long as your Bible reading is not fundamentalistic, you - or your church - will start selecting what parts are most central and what parts are less important. In the Lutheran church where I belong we for example think that the most important part is about Jesus redeeming us, while the Old Testament admonitions on hair length is of more historical interest.

The question about homosexual behaviour is answered in several ways. Conservative theologians classify homosexuality as fundamentally wrong, and as a misuse of God’s creation. More liberal teachers say that homosexuality in itself is neutral, and that it depends on how it’s used whether it’s good or bad. The most liberal say that homosexuality is good, and like other instances of love an expression of God’s Love.

This issue is hotly debated and strongly felt upon, and some of the websites about the question has very strong expressions of opinion.

WEB RESOURCES

• Six different Christian views on the question is explained in this article in The Layman.

• Wikipedia carries a balanced article on the question.

• Christian Advice has thorough theological articles both for and against.

• Religious Tolerance debates what the real meaning is behind the “problematic” bible texts.

• The Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry arguments against a homosexual lifestyle in this biblically based article.

• This article at Religion Online argues that homosexuality in itself is morally neutral, but that some ethical questions still apply.

• This article at Christianity and Homosexuality carries a personal testimony about a Christian man’s departure from his homosexuality.

• The Catholic Catechism condemns homosexual acts, while pointing out the importance of meeting gay people with understanding and compassion.

• GayChurch.org has several articles explaining their view that Christianity and homosexuality is possible to combine.

• Cathedral of Hope arguments that the important issue is God’s love for us. The resource ChristianGays.com has a similar view, arguing that God’s love and forgiveness are the central parts of the Bible.

• The site Born Eunuchs gives a version of the historical basis for the Church’s ban on homosexual acts.

• This article at Catholic.com also examines the historical views on homosexuality in the church.

• This very strong article at Bibleprobe.com voices that the acceptance of homosexual acts is a sign of the end of times.

• The online magazine Whosoever carries several articles on homosexuality and the Bible, concluding that the condemning passages don’t speak about loving, gay relationships.

• Evangelicals Concerned has a long list of articles on this issue, amongst them this article by Dr Ralph Blair that point out that the phenomena “homosexuality” is a new construction, and that the Bible must be used on a larger scale to find the morality around this question.

If you know about other interesting websites about this question, please give me a tip and I’ll put the resource on this page.

INDICATIONS FROM THE INVESTIGATION

While many of the websites about Christianity and homosexuality are strongly felt and weakly argumented, many others carry weighty theological arguments. The theology seems to the investigation to be sound on both sides, it is simply a question on how the Bible is read. The “conservative” readers put the weight on God’s plan for creating women and men, and focuses on the literal use of bible passages condemning same-sex acts. The “liberal” readers take homosexuality to be an inborn, God-created

inclination, and stresses Jesus’ commandments of love instead. It seems likely that both views are influenced by the time they arose in, and falls somewhat short of the actual truth.

Most western churches is debating this question for the time being. The issue may therefore become clearer in the years to come. While we wait for that, I assume the best way is to pray honestly, read the arguments on both side with an open mind, and trust in God.