What Does The Bible Really Say About Same-Sex Marriage?

In November, Californians will have the opportunity to vote on Proposition 8. If passed, Proposition 8 would add a new section (7.5) to Article I of the State Constitution (ironically placed right between the Equal Protection and Nondiscrimination clauses) that reads: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” This amendment would undo the California Supreme Court’s May 15, 2008 decision that effectively legalized same-sex marriage in the state.

I personally oppose the proposed amendment.

Some opponents of the Court’s decision, including dissenting Justice Carol Corrigan, say that the Court acted outside of its capacity, and that it is not the Judicial Branch’s duty to legislate. However, the Court did not create any new laws. It was ruled (in a 4-3 vote) that marriage is a fundamental right under article 7 of the State Constitution; therefore, any laws restricting that right to homosexual couples were unconstitutional. Chief Justice Ronald M. George wrote in the majority decision that “the right to marry is not properly viewed simply as a benefit or privilege that a government may establish or abolish as it sees fit, but rather that the right constitutes a basic civil or human right of all people,” including homosexuals.

(On a side note, Republican governors nominated all seven justices of the California Supreme Court. So, despite what many in the Religious-Right want you to believe, liberal activists did not make this decision.)

Of the 220 endorsements for Proposition 8 from organizations and public officials, 125 of them are from Churches and Ministries and many of the others are from Christian schools and other faith-based associations. Well over 55% of the proposition’s public supporters are religious groups, which confirms that significant (if not primary) motivation for banning gay marriage is based in religious beliefs, specifically Christianity.

I was raised Catholic, attended Catholic school for fourteen years, and even attended a fundamentalist Christian church for a few of those years. So, I think it’s pretty safe to say that I have a pretty solid understanding of the Bible and Christian teachings. Using this knowledge, and some research, I hope to convincingly explain that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality and that religion is not a valid justification for this discrimination.

The most commonly quoted Bible passage used to argue that homosexuality is a sin is Leviticus 18:22, which says, “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.” Fundamentalists take this to mean “Men shall not have sex with men.” However a more literal interpretation of this text would actually ban homosexual sex between heterosexual men. For someone to “lie as he does with a woman,” would he not have to regularly “lie” with women? If he is gay, he doesn’t sleep with women, therefore he wouldn’t be laying with men as he does with women.

Even if we are to accept the fundamentalist interpretation of this passage, Christianity teaches that the coming of Christ overwrites Old Testament teachings. Christ never speaks about homosexuality or gay sex (It is, however, mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament. Be patient; I’ll get there). But for fun, let’s just pretend that this isn’t the case, and that the rules of Leviticus still apply in their full glory. Examples of other things forbidden in Leviticus include: eating pork or shellfish (11:7-12), playing with the skin of a pig-that means no football (11:8), shaving or getting a haircut (19:27), getting tattoos (19:28), and wearing polyester (19:19). These are all real examples. Look them up. Should we also amend the constitution to ban these actions as well? After all, it is in the Bible.

Another commonly quoted piece of scripture (and the definite favorite from the New Testament) is Romans 1:21-27. This passage reads:

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

“Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”

Read that carefully. Christians will often quote only the last paragraph, which says that the people gave up natural heterosexual relationships in favor of unnatural homosexual ones. A closer look into the entire passage will reveal a much different story. The truth is, the people in the story created a false idol and, as part of their ritualistic worship of the idol, began having heterosexual orgies. This angered God, who intervened and made them have homosexual orgies. God didn’t punish any gay people for having gay sex; he punished straight people by making them have gay sex. Seriously.

Other passages in the Bible will mention various homosexual acts, but never in the context of a loving monogamous relationship. You may find condemnation of gay rape, gay orgies, pedophilic gay relationships, but never any mention of a committed gay couple.

It is important to remember that I only advocate one interpretation of these pieces of scripture. My interpretation is obviously different than that of a religious conservative. Though different people will interpret Biblical writings in their own way, one simple fact remains true: regardless of how one interprets religious teachings, said interpretations remain irrelevant in the context of the law. America’s founding fathers established a clear, non-negotiable wall of separation between church and state. Laws are not to be made based on religious belief.

Because of this, I encourage all of you to vote "No" on Proposition 8 this November.


Sources: The Bible (NIV Translation), ProtectMarriage.com, text of In re Marriage Cases, Years of Catholic education