Biblical Arguments Against Homosexual Marriage

[FiereMargriet]

Recently I've heard a few people (including my sister who is writing a pro-gay marriage paper for her English class) say that the Bible's teachings against homosexual relationships are not to be taken seriously because of the other "bad things" which are supposedly condoned in the Bible. Now I'm no expert theologian, so let me know if this is wrong, but of course people always bring up the fact that Leviticus says one shouldn't eat shellfish or wear mixed fibers in addition to warning against homosexuality. As I understand it, we as Christians don't have to keep those specific eating/clothing laws as part of the Old Covenant, but we should adhere to the moral teachings such as the one in question...right? So how do I explain this in simple terms to people who bring it up?

Also, my sister apparently had a passage from Deuteronomy in which it was seen as a condoned thing for a man to beat his son (the implication being the Bible's moral teachings aren't even all that moral). Clearly I'm not as well-versed in this OT as I'd like to be, and my sister won't even let me see the paper because she know I will argue it, so I don't have a verse for you, but how do I explain this? I'm thinking it falls under the idea prevalent in the OT that God prevented people from sinning by force or death if necessary, but again that's kind of hard to explain. I've looked in the Defense Directory and couldn't find anything specific to these Books but if there's something I've overlooked please do point it out.

I know people who are already twisting what the Bible says won't care to hear a theological discussion, but as I've heard these arguments with increasing frequency lately I thought it was good to educate myself about it. Thank you for any help you can give me!

[CatherineM]

When discussing this stuff, I prefer to stay out of the Old Testament. Here are some New Testament verses to start with.

Romans 1:24-32
24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural,
27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct.
29 They were filled with all manner of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips,
30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
32 Though they know God's decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practice them.

1 Corinthians 6:9-20:
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts,
10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
12 "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be enslaved by anything.
13 "Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food" -- and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!
16 Do you not know that he who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, "The two shall become one flesh."
17 But he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
18 Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body.
19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own;
20 you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Timothy 1:5-10:
5 whereas the aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith.
6 Certain persons by swerving from these have wandered away into vain discussion,
7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions.
8 Now we know that the law is good, if any one uses it lawfully,
9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 immoral persons, sodomites, kidnapers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,

I also draw strength in this battle from what the author of Timothy says later in verses 18-19:
18 This charge I commit to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophetic utterances which pointed to you, that inspired by them you may wage the good warfare,
19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith,

It is our charged duty to help people off the reefs.