Heya,
@sugarprincessxox , it's been a while.
This will be a bit of a longer post so be warned.
I'll attempt to answer this from the best-formulated Christian stance I've seen so far. A couple of years ago, being curious to know the answer myself, I did some research. There's a book that's been considered the vanguard of engagement between the concept of homosexuality and scripture. It's called "The Bible and Homosexual Practice" by Robert Gagnon. His book is unique because he tackles the topic head-on and dissects all major and minor arguments from an anatomical, scriptural, historical and even statistical point of view. Granted, some of the stats are outdated now but if you look into the updated information, they continue to strengthen his arguments. You can find his website, where he's replied to hundreds of emails, articles and rebuttals to his work at robgagnon.net, but he also has some videos on Youtube you can check out, like this one:
If you don't want to wade through hours of research because yes, it can be quite dense and intensive, I'll summarize it here:
1. From a scriptural/linguistic point of view, the bible is vehemently anti same-sex eroticism (note that it's
not anti-gay, the noun).
2. From a physical position, it becomes obvious that the body isn't designed with same-sex encounters in mind. Long-term anal sex can lead to a myriad of issues from fissures to higher risk of prolapse, anal cancer, etc. This is true for ANYONE engaging in anal sex but if that is the sine qua non for most gay couples, and coupled with the MLM (Men-Loving-Men) community's penchant for excessive amounts of casual sexual encounters, then it becomes clear why certain medical bodies have to even separate studies designed specifically for their community.
3. From a historical perspective, it is very new to consider being gay as a noun or identity-marker. There is some literature to suggest people knew of innate, fixed desires, but nothing like we consider it today. Homosexuality was pretty ubiquitous in the ancient world across all cultures, and unlike
@Lalas 's assertations, not even chiefly among Arab people. Wherever there were males, there was anal sex. And those men would still go on to procreate with women even if the majority preferred to be with men romantically/sexually. It was common but it was an ACT, not an identity. Just like they weren't technically straight either.
4. Statistically, same-sex relationships display a disconnect because there is typically no "regulation of extremes".
I'm going to try to briefly go into a bit more detail about each of these points.
1. The bible is a product of its day and culture. Back then, tied to #3, labels did not exist. All that existed were actions. This is why, in the original languages, the words themselves translated to "homosexuals" are often not that (which is why you hear progressive Christians use the argument that the Bible condones homosexuality). What those words DO describe, and very explicitly in both the Hebrew and Greek texts, is same-sex eroticism. Gay sex among men and women. As I said, in the ancient world, people didn't integrate their sexuality into the totality of their identity as a person. Pederasty was one of the most widely-acceptable forms of homosexual acts, as was homosexuality in the military but those same men of influence and soldiers were expected to go home and impregnate their wives. Look at homosexuality in prison, or in boys' schools, or in sports teams. Look at men today who identify as "heterosexual" but still engage in sex clubs with other men, whether in the context of swinging or MSM clubs. Taking that into consideration, it would seem that the vast majority of men then and now are gay. But that isn't the case because modern vernacular has screwed up the perception of what it means to be same-sex attracted and made it inextricable from someone's core identity. It should not be the sum total of who you are, but (according to plan btw), it's been made to be that way through propaganda. Very, very clever.
2. I really don't want to go into detail here, but this is still a point that can be made today. I believe it was in 2021, the majority of new HIV cases (as in over 70%) consisted of men who have sex with men. This is both because of anatomy (the anus wasn't designed for penetration and so is way more susceptible to damage and the introduction of harmful bacteria which is a breeding ground for disease), and lifestyle (if you know anything about mainstream gay culture, it's been a staple throughout history for the gay community to relish in clandestine, casual sexual encounters, usually with strangers and usually with the inclusion of drugs and alcohol). The number, statistically speaking, of gay men especially who go on to marry and settle with one partner in a closed, long-term, monogamous relationship is shockingly rare. As in under 5% rare.
3. This one is pretty straightforward. Historically and today, most men fuck anything with a hole and don't particularly think about what that labels them. For the bible to speak vehemently against acts is not the bible speaking vehemently against people. At the time, people weren't identified by their impulses, which to be honest is actually incredibly dehumanizing, to be so represented by your sexuality (gay or straight), that someone mentioning anything tangentially negative about the ACT is considered deeply offensive and an attack on your humanity.
4. While lesbians experience the least amount of physical complications surrounding their ability to be intimate, the strain of the relationship is witnessed elsewhere. They have even poorer stats in terms of long-term relationships than male same-sex couples and heterosexuals, and are more prone to emotional and verbal/mental abuse. Robert Gagnon illustrates these as examples of these relationships not being able to "regulate" the extremes. While men and women aren't monoliths with the same behaviors, there are general patterns in the way the sexes approach intimacy and ideally, in an opposite-sex relationship, the man and woman each temper each other but where that stop isn't available, the result is chaotic and often harmful.
Labels like straight, gay, bi etc are very much a modern Marxist creation for the express purpose of normalizing artificial categories of humans just so the depraved can slip in to push the boundaries of sexual integrity. The average gay/lesbian/bi person is not a degenerate. But there is something different about same-sex eroticism, just look at how dark occultism has made use of male anal sex (Aleister Crowley referred to it as his starting point of enlightenment or something like that). There's a reason the industry is so hellbent on promoting it, why porn is rarely without anal play or sex even in lesbian categories, mind you. But this is why it's important to separate action from individual. People are NOT their impulses and they aren't their sexual orientations.
Lastly, I say all this to say that I believe God has genuine reasons for outlawing homosexual acts. I think there's a spiritual dimension to this that manifests in the physical, emotional and even statistical observations of these relationships. That however does not at all give any straight religious person the right to place themselves above a "gay" person. Heterosexuality has also been blighted by abuse, r*pe, pain, brokenness, and so much other shit that a lot of religious people like to sweep under the rug and pretend doesn't happen. Religious institutions can be especially guilty of this. This is a very nuanced topic but I thought I'd try and offer a more detailed response instead of just "God said NO so it's NO because he is God". For some, that may be a satisfying answer, but I don't believe the being intelligent enough to design life would put seemingly arbitrary restrictions in place especially if technically, it "doesn't hurt anyone". I think it does, it just hurts the practicing individuals. Many Christians are obsessed with the effect of homosexuality on the family and culture while completely ignoring the people who are hurt the most are the ones partaking.
1 Corinthians 6:18 -"Flee from sexual immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body."
Christians in general have done a piss poor job of balancing righteousness and empathy.
My thing is, there actually ARE plenty of genuine Christians who are same-sex attracted and will have those impulses until they die but still choose not to act on them despite resigning themselves to a lifetime of celibacy and not even the potential for romantic relationships. It should be inspiring, that someone has found something so much bigger than themselves in their faith, in Christ, something so precious and worth guarding against sin that they're willing to put to death one of the most base human impulses each and every day just to stay within God's grace and not spit on the sacrifice of his Son. It's a lesson MANY heterosexual Christians could use.
