Well there was this in my notes, it was a response to a comment someone left somewhere, idk. The comment was pretty generic homophobic/transphobic Christian stuff, so this should cover a lot. However, it should be noted my views on Christianity have changed drastically, but the theological points I make are still valid.
Spoiler - click to show.
"Scripture only settles matter of which it speaks plainly"
-some guy
The 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 thing gets the most attention. There are whole books with chapters and chapters dedicated to the etymology of two words most frequently combined to be translated to "homosexuals".
Those words are "arsenakoites" and "malakoi"
Malakoi is found elsewhere in the bible, and is always translated as "soft" (to describe clothes). Many translate it to mean effeminate, or the passive partner in a homosexual relationship. A more accurate translation would be "weak", in this context morally weak, or soft. The opposite of malakoi is "karteria" which means something like patient or preserverant.
It makes sense why Paul would condemn people for giving into their lusts so easily- in other words, Malakoi were people with the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair. Easily tempted.
Even if you wanna go the route of malakoi meaning the passive homosexual- fine let's go with that. But before we look at that theory, we have to figure out what arsenekoites means.
Arsenekoites definition: error 404
Paul legit made this word up. It not uncharacteristic of Paul to do this, he was quite the neolinguist.
He uses it one other time in the Bible- 1 Timothy 1:10. In context it means someone who uses sex slaves (it's right next to the word that means sellers of said sex slaves). In other ancient writings, it's been used to refer to murder, false accusation of murder, thievery, rape, interspecies rape, temple (greek temple) prostitution, and in more recent years, pedestry.
So even if arsenekoites and malakoi were linked- the passive and active homosexuals- it wouldn't have been a loving, committed, monogamous, consensual act. The malakoi would've been the soft sex slave, and the arsenekoites would've been the rapist- something unfortunately very common in Roman culture.
So, we can more accurately translate 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 to something more like
"Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor the morally weak nor homosexual rapsists/temple prostituters"
It should also be noted Romans 1 wasn't originally understood to reference lesbianism and the word homosexual wasn't added to the Bible until the 1900s
You'll notice the KJV doesn't mention anything about gay or trans people.
So, next point. Does God make mistakes? No. I agree with the commenter that God doesn't put anyone in the wrong body.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Psalms 139:13 NIV
It's important to note that the idea of "spirit inside a flesh vessel" isn't entirely biblical. The ancient Jews believed a person was all one thing, with different parts. Your breath of life was from God and your body was from God. Separately both were useless.
So when it comes to trans people, yes, God created their body on purpose, and yes, God ALSO created the most intrinsic part of their being. They're one person.That includes gender identity. God is Creator of everything good.
For everything created by God is good, and nothing received with thanksgiving needs to be rejected
1 Timothy 4:4
Why shouldn't a girl with a penis be received with thanksgiving? Or a boy with a vagina? Or someone intersex? While it's true Gender Dysphoria is a negative side effect of our sin-ridden messed up world, God made trans people. Much of the new testiment is focused on unity of the church.
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28
Notice how the Jew/Gentile and slave/free dynamics are social institutions. And now notice how Paul includes male/female as one of those institutions. To God, we're all the same. And if that's the formula for heaven, oneness in Christ, it's only Christian to look past gender and social status, since Jesus told us to pray that the will of God and the Kingdom of God would be on Earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
The Bible also says in Genesis that every individual is created in God's Image. What does that mean? Well, we know it has nothing to do with sex since God doesn't have a physical body (John 4:24). We know it doesn't have to do with gender since God transcends, or rather encompasses, all genders. God is described with traditionally feminine and masculine attributes and language (though you may only be used to God's masculine attributes being displayed, cuz, well, we live in a patriarchy). So we know that our gender or sex has no impact on our Image-bearing status.
God is love (1 John 4:16). Love is not merely an attribute of God, God is Love. Being an image bearer, according to scripture, comes about in two ways. One, our ability to share love, and our need to do so. The second one is just as obvious- our creativity as human beings is a reflection of God. The very first things God does is create and then give the humans dominion over that creation. In a sense, we are co-creators under God. And we use that creativity and our ability to love everyday. Deep emotion, deep thinking, deep reason, and the ability to express those things through creation makes us human- makes us the Image of God.
Gender is a great gift. Gender has an impact on the spiritual for sure. But it's not as important as a conservative/traditional/complementarian christian might convince you.
The commenter states that God defines marriage in Matthew 19. Let's look at the text.
Some Pharisees came to him [Jesus] to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ ? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Matthew 19:3-6
Ok so some religious ppl come up to Jesus and ask of divorce is ok. Jesus quotes a scripture from Genesis about the first couple, Adam and Eve.
In the story, God creates a human and parades a bunch of animal in front of the human. God wants to make the human happy. The human names all the animals, but still never found a suitable mate. God observes:
It is not good that the human should be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.
Genesis 2:18
God makes a second human, and when the original human wakes up, he exclaims that he finally found someone "flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone". It wasn't the heterosexuality, it wasn't the difference that united them, it was their sameness. God saw a need for human companionship, and the humans made a kinship bond. It's not about the gender.
Nowhere in Genesis does it say that Adam and Eve's marriage is the picture for all marriages. In fact, no where is marriage as an institution defined (as far as I know). Paul gives advice for husbands and wives and their children- but never said that’s the only acceptable way to be married. There was polygamy throughout the Bible, and indeed some of the most blessed Kings were polygamist. Back then, marriage wasn't what it is today. Don't call it a marriage unless there is some financial gain or status climb for the two families uniting- that's what marriage was about. Paul puts a modern twist on marriage by comparing the love a couple has to the love that Christ has for the church. That's how marriage is viewed today- much less financial and official and more loving and covenantal.
Heterosexuality is a gift from God for sure, but it isn't ever described as a mandate, a standard, or God's original intent. God saw a loneliness in the human, and even though God is sufficient for everybody, God STILL recognizes the importance of kinship for humans!
A lot of gay Christians force themselves into celibacy or (more popularly in the 1900s) hetero marriages. The Bible says in Corinthians that celibacy is a gift- not having kinship obligation towards anybody can be freeing, and can allow a Christian to focus more on God. In the same chapter, it says that celibacy is NOT a gift everyone has. If you experience lust, it says it's best to get married. If you can't handle yourself single, just find someone to bang with. Someone you can make a covenant of love with, a marriage.
Jesus in Matthew isn't defining marriage. He's simply quoting scritpure the Pharisees would've been familiar with to make one point- kinship! "What God brings together let no man separate."
God knows us best. He knows what we need. He places desires in our hearts for specific purposes. That includes sexuality.
God knew what Adam needed. An Eve! But not every Adam needs Eve. Not every Eve needs anyone at all. God made a partner suitible for the first human. God makes partners suitible for partners everyday. God can do the same for gay+ people.
Leviticus 18:22 uggggghhhhhhhh this one. It says "man shall not lie with man as with a woman". The original Hebrew is kinda whack, and a lot, like very many, scholars claim it should be "man shall not lie with boy". I don’t know which camp I'm in, because honestly it doesn't matter. You know why? Because it's in Leviticus.
This might be confusing, but bare with me. This is pre-Jesus. Remember that. Through Jesus, now, this day in age, we ask for forgiveness and have access to God through Christ because of His death and resurrection. He atoned for our imperfect lives by giving up His perfect life. God's family grows through conversion, through individuals putting their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior and God as their God and inviting the Holy Spirit into their lives. If you do that, God adopts you into God's family and you get to be with God after you die. That's one thing me and this commenter agree on. I believe you need to be born again, through God, a spiritual rebirth.
Now, pre Jesus things were MUCH different. God's family was limited to the Jews. You were in God's family depending on whether or not you had Jewish blood.
Now, the ancient world was ruthless. The Jews weren't large in number. God promised to provide a savior to the WHOLE world through the Jews. So you can think of God as an overprotective parent. Strict rules were put in place to set them apart from other nations (holiness) and to keep them healthy and safe (purity). Jews were expected to follow all the rules to the best of their ability to remain close to God and safe from the world.
In Leviticus, it says you can't eat shellfish, pigs, you can't wear clothes of mixed fabrics, you can't have ANY sex that isn't intended to make a baby, you can't have sex on a period, in fact if you have a period you have to set up camp away from everyone else for the entire thing before you can come back. Men and women have to keep clothing seperate (even though everyone wore robes of the same look and material then), you can't cut your hair, you can't tattoo yourself in memorial for someone, you can't eat dairy and meat together, you can't eat unless you do a special hand running through water thing, you can't you can't you can't. And no, men and men can't have sex together either. Also don't sacrifice your babies to the god Molek, that's weird. There's a whole slew of other seemingly random laws.
Why? Well we now know that pig and other animals are difficult to cook to a safe temperature/safe from parasites. Some even poisonous. We know that STDs and germs are easily spread through menstrual blood (keep men and women's clothing seperate, keep away from camp when bleeding). We know to wash our hands before eating. We know that male male sexual activity has increased risk of AIDS. We know preparing dairy and meats together can cause cross contamination. We know killing babies is like, wrong.
The ancient Jews might not've known all of that, but God sure did. Some of it is obvious today, what with science progressing and whatnot. Other parts are a little more odd and might've had more cultural significance than we realize.
All that wasn't really necessary for me to rant about, but the point I wanted to make was this- the law was good, but it's obsolete.
By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first [law] obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.
Hebrews 8:13
And, in this post Jesus world, we aren't even under the law!!!!! This is like the WHOLE POINT of the New Testament! Come on!!! Jesus came to fulfill the law. Instead of the old law, Jesus puts us under grace. We are commanded by Jesus two things- to love God and to love others.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:36-40
Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:10
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:14
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Romans 6:14
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Galatians 5:18
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works [by following any law], so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
So, what was considered a sin then according to the purity codes, like eating a cheeseburger, is not considered a sin anymore under the new law of love.
And if this guy is judging other based of the law? Well I sure hope he's never eaten a cheeseburger or lived in the same place with women on their periods. So yeah. Any argument from the old testament is big yikes. Don't👏use 👏Leviticus👏to👏justify👏homophobia👏
Maybe the most heartbreaking part of this dudes comment is the "ex gay ex transgenders" part. Jesus changes lives. He really does. He meets people in sinful places and takes them out. He commands true, heartfelt repentance from everyone. Everyone who loves God tries their best to repent from sin. It's what you want when you're a Christian. Sin is something that keeps you away from God. Christians want to be in relationship with God.
So gay Christians enroll in ex gay services. They participate in conversion therapy. Because when you're told something is keeping you from God, you'd do everything in your power to get rid of it. You pray to God to take it away from you. You feel shame, crippling guilt everytime it gets brought up. Every stolen glance from an attractive person. Every remotely gay thought. Any hope for a spouse in the future. Any chance to present how you want. Guilt. Guilt. Guilt.
Exodus international (an ex gay christian company) popularized the phrase "change is possible" in regards to homosexual orientation, even though we know orientation is pretty much always a fixed attribute.
Does God have the power to change someone's orientation? Yeah, God's God. But will God? Probably not. God doesn't change eye color or what you're favorite song is or how tall you are. Not that God couldn't, God just doesn't will for it.
So when gay christians attempt to change something so intrinsic about themselves and it doesn't happen, bad things grow from that. Self hate. Self harm. Suicidal thoughts. Loss of faith. Broken relationships. Broken spirit. It wears one down. I can't stress enough how much damage conversion therapy does. Pretty much every leader of every ex gay movement wrote a book about being ex gay and how there's hope for the gays.
They later all came out, or got caught, as still gay. Most of them have written apologies for being involved with the movement. Many are now lgbt affirming believers. All of them admit that no one can change their orientation.
God has alledgedly put forth an impossible, burdensome command. Either get straight or remain celebate and lonely and never act on your desires (or maybe for trans people, to never alter their bodies and only present as their assigned sex). That's what the church is saying God is saying. But is God really saying that? Compare this "impossible" command with what the Bible says about God's commands:
In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome
1 John 5:3
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:30
Yes, we are all called to repent, sacrifice, and "go and sin no more" (John 8:11). But why then, can you not pray the gay away? Why doesn't sexual orientation change? Why doesn't gender identity change? Why won't God take this "sin" away from God's faithful? Who are truly sacrificing this and truly giving it to God? Why doesn't it. Just. Go. Away?
Maybe because it's ✨not a sin✨
To further nail in this point, let's do a test. A Biblical test of fruit. Let's look at what Jesus says:
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Matthew 7:15-20
Ok, so, say someone teaches being gay is a sin that you need to fix (or maybe having "gender confusion" is a sin). Well, then that person may try to repent but quickly finds it doesn't work. It's not a choice or a lifestyle they can just stop. Even gay celebates are still gay. So things get worse. Like I said before, self hate and self harm are common is the ex gay movement. That's not good fruit. Nothing good has come out of the ex gay movement. If anything, it encourages secrecy and promiscuity among gay people. I've heard some horrible stories of lgbt Christians before they were affirming of themselves. It's all horrible. They all felt distant from God. So how can it be a good teaching?
Contrasting, let's look at the affirming position. Being gay, theoretically, isn't a sin. No one is trying to cure themselves of a fake illness. Everyone is following God faithfully and using their sexuality responsibly. Gay folks spark loving relationships and enjoys sex under the covenant of marriage. Trans people receive medical attention and express themselves as their Creator intends. Relief. Joy. Love. Not lust. Gay folks are just as capable of keeping their lust under control as heteros. What bad fruit could come of this? All I'm seeing is good fruit. People sorting out their lives, hopefully in prayer, and staying close to God. I think the court is safe to rule this a good teaching.
Another thing- the Holy Spirit will never use guilt, such a negative, teasing emotion as a tool.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
Romans 8:1
Instead, She uses conviction. There's a small but significant difference-
"Guilt, on the other hand, is not from the Spirit, but from Satan. And because guilt and conviction can often seem so similar, Satan relies on our own confusion and uncertainty to break us down. Guilt is the exact opposite of healthy; it is crippling."
-idk some article
"Conviction is a two-stage process: The Holy Spirit shows you your sin, and He shows you how to turn from it and walk instead in righteousness."
-idk some article
Conviction has a redemptive quality to it.
Here's a stupid example, I often feel convicted of being selfish. But when I feel convicted of that, I immediately want to share my food (bc it's always abt food haha) because I know it'll make other people happy, and it's good for me to stop hoarding snacks.
When one feels guilty about being gay or trans, there's a sense of doom. There isn't any hope. It's pure condemnation. and that's what the enemy wants. Of course the enemy would want someone to feel hopeless and like they can't turn to God! There is no redemptive arc there. Guilt breeds nothing but fear.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:18
(Also like, the thing about most gays/trans ppl being abused/exposed to porn is like. Just factually incorrect? Even if that happened to be the case, it'd be correlation not causation, bc if those things directly caused ppl to be queer there'd be a MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT amount of queer folk so I'm not even gunna look up that stats it just sounds stupid)
