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 has since become entrenched in many Christian denominations through church doctrine and the wording of various translations of the Bible.^[1]^[2]

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.^[2]^: 42 Within a Christian denomination, individual believers and the groups they belong to may hold different views, and not all members of a denomination necessarily support their church's views on homosexuality. Most denominations teach that homosexual behavior and acts are sinful.^[2] The Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches officially condemn homosexual activity as sin. Various mainline Protestant denominations have taken a supportive stance towards blessing homosexual clergy and same-sex marriage while others have not.

^ Gnuse, Robert K. (May 2015). "Seven Gay Texts: Biblical Passages Used to Condemn Homosexuality" (PDF). Biblical Theology Bulletin. 45 (2). SAGE Publications on behalf of Biblical Theology Bulletin Inc.: 75. doi:10.1177/0146107915577097. ISSN 1945-7596. S2CID 170127256. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 August 2021. [I]n later years some church fathers, such as Origen, St. Ambrose, and John Cassian, commented upon the sin of Sodom as crass inhospitality to strangers (Boswell: 98, 346). Not until the 4th century ce do church fathers consistently begin to clearly make the equation with homosexuality (Michaelson: 67).
^ ^a ^b ^c Koenig, Harold G.; Dykman, Jackson (2012). Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 42–43. ISBN 9780521889520. The earliest interpretations of [the story of Sodom and Gomorrah] focused on the Sodomites' arrogance and rudeness to strangers; God killed them for incivility to his angels. The theme of sexuality [being the sin of Sodom] emerged full force in the first century BC writings of Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish historian. Rabbinical writings about Sodom generally did not mention homosexuality. [...] However, over time, the homosexual interpretation won out [...] the overwhelming majority of Christian churches have maintained their positions that homosexual behavior is sinful and a threat to social morality.

[Gnuse_2015-1] Gnuse, Robert K. (May 2015). "Seven Gay Texts: Biblical Passages Used to Condemn Homosexuality" (PDF). Biblical Theology Bulletin. 45 (2). SAGE Publications on behalf of Biblical Theology Bulletin Inc.: 75. doi:10.1177/0146107915577097. ISSN 1945-7596. S2CID 170127256. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 August 2021. [I]n later years some church fathers, such as Origen, St. Ambrose, and John Cassian, commented upon the sin of Sodom as crass inhospitality to strangers (Boswell: 98, 346). Not until the 4th century ce do church fathers consistently begin to clearly make the equation with homosexuality (Michaelson: 67).

[religion_spirituality_psychiatry-2] Koenig, Harold G.; Dykman, Jackson (2012). Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 42–43. ISBN 9780521889520. The earliest interpretations of [the story of Sodom and Gomorrah] focused on the Sodomites' arrogance and rudeness to strangers; God killed them for incivility to his angels. The theme of sexuality [being the sin of Sodom] emerged full force in the first century BC writings of Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish historian. Rabbinical writings about Sodom generally did not mention homosexuality. [...] However, over time, the homosexual interpretation won out [...] the overwhelming majority of Christian churches have maintained their positions that homosexual behavior is sinful and a threat to social morality.

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