Before I begin: Bare with me here, I'm against homophobia in every shape and form, and I firmly believe that people have the right to live how ever they choose. I'm a lesbian myself, and in no way believe in any of the following. Also, there may be some people who will be made uncomfortable by this topic, so if this a sensitive topic for you, please do not read or participate in the following. I really don't want to bring up any bad emotions or memories in anyone. Now with that out of the way, let's begin. The purpose of this topic, is to gain perspective. To examine the arguments placed by the anti-gay/homophobic community, and determine what merit, if any, they have. We will do this by thinking of a reason, provided by the anti-gay/homophobic community, and see if we can discredit it. By better getting to know the opposition, we will be better equipped to defend ourselves against it! I suppose I'll start with the big one: It says so in the bible: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." Leviticus 18 "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them." Leviticus 20 Christian homophobes will often pull this card when shaming homosexuals. Discredit: The bible is a source of religious belief, and is in no way a factual document. It is a risk that every religious person takes, and must learn to accept, that their religion could very well be wrong. If someone has decided not to take this risk, or has put their faith elsewhere, you have no right to impose your doctrine upon them. Now for the Christian argument: this same exact section of the bible, (Leviticus) goes on to forbid several other things, ranging touching unclean animals, to having messy hair, to drinking alcohol in church. That's right, by Leviticus, every catholic is a sinner. If you want a complete list of all the things, listed along with homosexuality, go here Banned by the Bible | 76 things banned in Leviticus Leviticus is also the only place (Outside of rape) that forbids homosexuality What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality? So, as it stands. All Christian biblical reasons against homosexuality should be disregarded, because society has already decided to pretty much disregard the rest of Leviticus already.
Some say 'because it's unnatural'. If it were unnatural, surely, it would not occur, then? Unless there's some secret factory manufacturing man-made homosexuals and shipping them out, then it is very much a natural occurrence.
The best response for this I've read in a sentence is: If being gay is such an abomination, why did it not make the top 10 list? To anyone who says it's unnatural. Natural means found in nature ("existing in or caused by nature; not made or caused by humankind"). Every animal species that I'm aware of has gay animals. I've seen male squirrels and male dogs doing it. Giraffes are quite literally the gayest animal on the planet.
And just like for humans, many animal species have gay life partners, its not just sex. They even figure out ways to have offspring together without having to be in a male/female paring. Its completely natural the gay albatross, for instance http://phenomena.nationalgeographic...x-mothers-letting-albatrosses-be-albatrosses/
OK, most compelling anti-gay argument I can come up with: giraffes r gay...... Do u want to be melman???
Also with any religious text, they have been translated time and time again that the text could have easily been changed, and the text had different meanings in ancient times compared to today then "abomination" meant unclean not a "spawn of Satan/ monster" and the bible also says that a child that lies shall be put to death........ I don't see you killing your snot nosed brat soooooo you cant just chose to follow parts of the bible, it also says that you shall not mix fabric, and you can sell your child into slavery, with all the shit you can and can't do by the bible it my as well be a sin to shave. People who hate because of religion need to shut up and stop being an ass. Religion is like a sex toy, you can have one just don't bring it out in public and shove it down people throats. Ok that's my rant for the day.
One could argue against this point, stating at the time of the bibles creation, homosexuality wasn't exactly a widely spread concern at the time. Most people were either straight, or pretending to be straight, for fear of death long before the bible came along. Now Next point: It prevents procreation/It's unnatural Preventing procreation in todays society is actually a good things due to the massive concern for human overpopulation Overpopulation: The Human Population Crisis As for being unnatural, a lot of people are starting to believe that homosexuality is an intentional mechanic in nature, designed to prevent overpopulation. Homosexuality as Population Control? Why Gays & Lesbians Are Essential to the Balance of Nature. | G. Roger Denson I for one, believe this theory to be true, because it makes sense!
I think the strangest argument I heard was that gay marriage shouldn't be legalized because that legalization somehow makes homosexuality seem less exciting. It was a joke from a comedian, so yeah. Still the most compelling "anti-gay argument" I've heard.
"It's wrong." That, I find the hardest to argue against because there seems to be no valid point to show its NOT wrong. What does wrong mean anyway? This is the only one that is hard to convince people. They have such deeply ingrained beliefs on what is wrong and right and refuse to change them. Some use religion to justify their bigotry, some say it's because of procreation, but when it's "wrong" you really can't argue against it. I hate when people say that legalizing gay rights is "paying too much attention to the gays" or something along the lines of that. I hate when they say that it is rubbed in their faces when it really isn't- it's just equality. As a lesbian, should I get angry seeing so many straight couples on TV? Really, if you reverse the roles "straight" and "gay", it seems so absurd.
There's a few things that need to be addressed... One, animals kind of do what animals do. Humans are considered to be more intelligent, and to have a soul, and so we should know better. After all, flamingos weren't created in the image of God... Two, Jesus states he did not come to abolish the Law. Of course this could be debated, but it seems to be fairly clear. So this argument that the Old Testament is done and gone, with Jesus being given as a sacrifice, needs to be examined. Third, to say that homosexuality is a mechanic of nature to control overpopulation is fine... until you realize, homosexuals who would like to have their own children as opposed to, say, adopting would be going against nature's intention. This somewhat forces them into a role that is removed from having any sort of free will. Fourth, homosexuality is also addressed by Paul in Romans, which is outside Leviticus, if you believe that*. I suppose we could put these to the side as they're letters of Paul's, but then you open up the flood gates -- what is allowed or accepted as "canon"? The moment we make exceptions or acknowledge context, is the moment the entire Bible is up for debate, which brings us back to square one. * Spoiler And this is a major problem, when discussing the Bible: Translations and context. Most of the time it comes off as a convenience for the individual, as opposed to God. I have seen several topics and ideas being justified, by verses or by some slick-tongued theologians. And people just nod and go along, as opposed to seeking an answer from God themselves. Not many seem to think that, maybe, Satan is weaving influence into the perceptions and representations of people. After all, the road to Hell is said to be paved with good intentions, and honestly, some of these justifications and explanations embody that. But it gives a sigh of relief when somebody, in their fancy words and persistent chipping, says something that makes it okay to be the way we are. Nobody likes to think, perhaps I am this way as a test, a constant reminder that I need God, and this is how he lets me know I need him. I don't necessarily believe all of this, but I wanted to throw up some things, get the discussion wheel turning. End of the day, these are just some things to think about.
Actually, this is a common fallacy. Homosexuality was quite common in biblical times. Men would have sexual relations with other men, saving sex with their wives for procreation; and wives (particularly multiple wives) would do what they did as well, to deal with being ignored sexually by their husbands. It's only in the last few hundred years that homosexuality has become such an unspeakable taboo. In a sense you're right: it wasn't included because homosexuality wasn't a wide-spread concern at that time...but not because gays were closeted...but because nobody gave a shit, because *so many* people did it. But even if everyone *was* closeted, that doesn't explain why God wasn't sufficiently against it then to include it as a Commandment (but seems to be much less tolerant now)...supposedly, the Bible was not a response to the times in which it was written, but was to be a book *for all time* with *all time relevance*. Surely God saw into all those closets just as well as he saw into the minds of those who coveted their neighbor's wives (not to mention who saw into the minds of men who coveted their neighbor's husbands).
It's not unnatural, but it's not exactly planned by nature. I feel like homosexuality is a mutation. After all, homosexuality is quite counterproductive when it comes to evolution. Not that a mutation is a bad thing (after all, blue eyes are a mutation). But it definitely isn't meant to be by nature. It's most likely a genetic defect. (Again, there's nothing wrong with not being straight. But I'm looking at this from a scientific perspective.)
It's stated that the Old Testament is outdated in the New Testament, of which no mention of homosexuality, or its morality, exists. Not to mention that it's a religious testament that was written by a random person. As stated, homosexuality occurs in nature from multitudes of animals, and it also prevents overpopulation. Not to mention that procreation is often discouraged in today's society, often resulting in large amounts of birth control to prevent such an act in straight relations.
I just wanted to add that in the original Hebrew language the bible was written in, the word for a homosexual was the same as any other sexual deviant. It's entirely possible that it's been poorly translated into English and actually means something different. (But one pro gay argument that really annoys me is the "you can't just choose which parts of the bible to follow" one. It clearly states that the old testament is outdated, so they shouldn't be following it anyway as Christians, but both sides of the Leviticus argument are rendered invalid by this. Also, would you prefer it if Christians told you to not eat shellfish or to burn furniture you sat on whilst menstruating? Because that's what I feel most arguments are implying.)
The best go-to source for all of these issues is Matthew Vines' book "God and the Gay Christian." He's done a very deep and scholarly analysis of the Bible and all of the bases that people use for discrimination against gay people. Spoiler: There's actually nothing in the Bible, once you look at historical context, specific use of language and meaning, and place it all in the greater context of the chapters and verses, that indicates there's a problem with homosexuality or with homosexual sex.
The best argument I heard for not being gay was you will not be able to have your own biological children as a gay couple. But if you're gay, you're gay, and trying to live as a straight person, even with your biological children, would be painful.
Another argument to discredit the bible, and this is the big one. The bible is, essentially, a very old wikipedia. It is full of mistranslations, faulty context, and of course illegitimate edits. Translation errors and forgeries in the Bible It is not only possible, but probable that religious and world leaders throughout history edited the bible to make it say whatever they wanted.
Actually, science is now investigating theories in which the "gay gene" may be beneficial to evolution. One theory is that the "gay gene" isn't "gay" at all, but rather an "attraction to men" gene. In women, it is expressed in such a way that she mates early and often, perhaps enough to offset what happens when this gene is expressed in a man (he turns out gay). A straight woman who has 3-4 kids is going to offset the loss of population growth that occurs when a gay man doesn't reproduce. Also, the gay men may not be reproducing, but can provide protection and work toward the benefit of a group / tribe. The entire group is more likely to thrive, even if some aren't reproducing (the others can pick up the slack). So it is possible that evolution wouldn't pressure the 'gay' gene out of existence, as it isn't really a threat to the continued existence of the human species. See this article for more details: https://www.washingtonpost.com/post...uality-how-our-genes-make-us-gay-or-straight/
From a strictly biological necessity for procreation through sexual means, it's wrong, or rather, counterintuitive. No propagation of the species = none of us would be here. But that is invalidated by the simple fact gay and lesbian people can procreate and despite their displeasure, can and do procreate.
