The Bible Teaches Abortion and Homosexuality are wrong
Michael Coogan states, “In current debates about family values, most of which have to do with sex, opponents of abortion and advocates of a woman's right to choose both cite the Bible in support of their conflicting views, even though the Bible in fact says nothing specifically about the issue[1].” The statement, “The Bible in fact says nothing specifically about the issue (abortion)” is false. There are no direct statements against abortion in the Bible but a strong case can be made indirectly. The idea the Bible can be used to support the pro-choice position is also false. My next series of posts following “Is God the Author of the Bible” will tackle the issue of abortion from both a Biblical and scientific standpoint. Therefore, I will not address abortion in this series (see Defending the Life of the Unborn).
Next Coogan takes on the issue of homosexuality. He writes about Biblical writers, “…many contemporary believers would argue that, as with slavery and the status of women, it is time to recognize that the values of the biblical writers are no longer necessarily our own.” In other words what they wrote about homosexuality is outdated. If the Bible is manmade this could be considered a valid argument; but if it is from God, the truth of the Bible is timeless and the practice of homosexuality is a sin. In this series I made a strong argument for God being the ultimate author of the Bible. In His timeless truth, God says the practice of homosexuality is an abomination.
He continues talking about homosexuality, “Opponents of same-sex marriage cite Leviticus, which says that when a man sleeps with a man as with a woman it is an abomination. They're right: It does say that. But it later calls for the death penalty for such activity, which only the most rabid opponents would insist on. The Bible also calls eating pork and a woman wearing a man's clothes abominations, yet many would no longer enforce such prohibitions.” Here again he ignores the clear teachings against homosexuality in the New Testament and focuses on the Old Testament. He is charging Christians with being inconsistent by their picking and choosing verses that support their case while ignoring the rest; funny this is what he does.
The charge can be somewhat cleared up when we realize the audience for the Old Testament were the Jews. The Mosaic Covenant or the Law was only binding on the ancient Jewish nation. Does that mean the Old Testament has nothing to offer the Christian? Absolutely Not! God is the author of both the Old and the New Testaments. The Christian can find principles, transcendent moral laws, and teachings that can have a profound influence on the follower of Christ. Many verses from the Old Testament are quoted in the New Testament. However, whenever the Christian reads the Old Testament, he or she must keep in mind that God was writing about and to the nation of Israel. God had a special calling for Israel that is different for today. He called them, blessed them, and protected them as a nation. Today, through the power of the Holy Spirit, there are only individual believers and not a chosen nation. There are things, such as the death penalty for homosexuality, that simply don’t apply today.
There are some verses in the New Testament that speak out against homosexuality. I believe the strongest comes from the Apostle Paul in the Book of Romans. Romans 1:24-28 (NASB) “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.”
Paul clearly is not condemning unnatural desires but unnatural functions. A function is the way something works. Let me illustrate with how a car works. If you had some important papers outside in the wind, a car could be used as a paperweight. You could drive the tires over the papers and they would not blow away. Is that the natural function of a car? No! A car is a mode of transportation and when used to get us places we are using it according to its natural function.
By God’s design our sex organs were created for a certain function; a man to have sex with a woman. According to the Bible, the natural function for two people is for sex to be reserved only for a man and woman inside the confines of marriage. What Paul is clearly condemning is the unnatural sex act of a man and a man and woman and woman. Paul’s main argument is against the perverted function not the unnatural desires, as some homosexual groups contend. The unnatural homosexual sex act is condemned by the apostle Paul.
He sums up his argument in verse 27 with the statement, “men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” He is saying men with men (women with women) are committing indecent homosexual acts. What is the due penalty of homosexuality? Verse 1:18 Paul says they will experience the wrath of God when they die; they will be under God’s judgment and will be eternally separated from God. Without turning from their sin and receiving the forgiveness which is only through Jesus Christ, they will be in hell.
It is very clear the scriptures speak out against the practice of homosexuality. God’s wrath is upon all practicing homosexuals unless they turn to Him for forgiveness. Thousands of homosexual men and women have turned their back on this lifestyle and have become followers of Jesus Christ. The idea a homosexual cannot change is simply a myth; this happens all the time.
Again Coogan is wrong when saying Christians are inconsistent when they speak out against abortion and homosexuality. Our position on these issues is supported by the clear teachings of Scripture in both the Old and New Testaments.
[1] Coogan, Michael, “Bible has some shocking ‘family values'” October 26, 2010 12:53 p.m. EDT
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/26/coogan.bible.family.values/index.html?hpt=C2