Isn't the Bible pretty clear that gay marriage is wrong?

by Ling
(southeast USA)

Ancient Scroll

Ancient Scroll

Rick Brentlinger Answers -


I think you've asked a fair question which deserves an unequivocal response. The answer is NO, to be perfectly honest, the Bible is not clear that gay marriage is wrong. None of the Bible passages alleged to condemn gay marriage was addressing the topic of gay marriage. Our basic rule of hermeneutics (how we interpret the Bible) is:

Scripture cannot mean now
what it did not mean then.

If the Bible was not addressing the topic of gay marriage then when it was originally written, the Bible is not addressing the topic of gay marriage now.
  1. Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 - about the marriage of Adam and Eve - is not about gay marriage.

  2. Genesis 19 - about the men of Sodom attempting to gang rape angels - is not about gay marriage.

  3. Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 - about shrine prostitution - is not about gay marriage.

  4. Deuteronomy 23:17-18 - about shrine prostitution - is not about gay marriage.

  5. Matthew 5 and 19 and Mark 10 - where Jesus discusses divorce - are not about gay marriage.

  6. Romans 1:26-27 is not about gay marriage.

  7. 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10 - where Paul alludes to rape and dealers in sexual slaves - are not about gay marriage.

  8. Jude 5-7 - where Jude condemns sex with angels - is not about gay marriage.

"Scripture only settles matters
about which it speaks plainly."

-Richard Hooker, 1554-1600,
Anglican theologian


It is dishonest to rip verses out of context as most anti-gay Christians do and attempt to deceive GLBTs by alleging the out of context verse addresses something it never addressed in context, gay marriage.

Honest people don't misuse scripture that way.

Comments for Isn't the Bible pretty clear that gay marriage is wrong?

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Sep 25, 2010
 What do you think of christians that come out of the gay lifestyle?
by: Anonymous

I've actually been listening to p4cm's exhomosexual ministry and many of them or all of them were lesbians and gays and have come out of it.

When we come into the faith, we understand what Christ has done on the cross for sinners, aren't we taking up our cross by crucifying the old self and the fleshly desires daily? When we come to Christ and we want to give up everything for him doesn't that include our worldly desires?
Sep 25, 2010
 You have a fundamental misunderstanding
by: Rick Brentlinger

You have a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be gay or lesbian. Many anti-gay Christians believe, falsely, that being gay is a choice. The truth is, being gay is as integral a part of our being as you being heterosexual is an integral part of your being.

You never made a choice to be heterosexual.

We never made a choice to be homosexual.

Almost every Christian who claims to have left the gay lifestyle admits to still struggling with same sex longings. Even Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International admits he still struggles with desires to be with a man instead of a woman.

If ex-gay "ministries" really worked, if being gay was simply a choice, if people could really change by simply making up their mind to change, then the anti-gay crowd might have a valid point.

But the evidence is overwhelmingly against the anti-gay position. Change ministries don't work.

People who were gay do not become "straight."

Homosexuals do not become heterosexuals.

I encourage you to explore our NavBar. Click on Exodus International and discover their spectacularly unsuccessful track record.

Finally, you talk about crucifying the old self and our fleshly desires daily. You seem to equate that with gays and lesbians becoming celibate.

Just for the record, although many gays and lesbians do live celibate lives, God does not require all gays and lesbians to be celibate.

How would you feel if a bunch of Christians you don't know and who don't know you insisted that YOU must live a celibate life, never marrying, never knowing the joy of an intimate partner? I think you would be insulted by their arrogance.

It is wrong to put a yoke on the neck of your gay brothers and lesbian sisters which you yourself are unwilling to bear, Acts 15:10.
Dec 21, 2010
 What about Romans 1?
by: Anonymous

Can you give more analysis on the Romans 1 passage? All you say is that it is not about gay marriage. But if homosexual acts are condemned, then wouldn't the same be true for married gays who perform homosexual sex? I guess one could be gay and abstainant?
Dec 21, 2010
 Glad to - here is much more detail
by: Rick Brentlinger

Great question. Here is a good starter page which contains lots of explanation plus many Links to additional information.

What is Romans 1 about?
Aug 06, 2011
 Romans 1:24-32
by: Matt

I'm glad that you love the Lord and profess Him as your Lord and Savior, but I have to ask you to explain Roman 1:24-32. I don't believe that homosexual people are bad people or that God doesn't love homosexuals. But I do believe that we (everyone) has a sin that we look to justify instead of change. We love God and want to be closer to Him, but at the same time, we want to sin. So if you please, tell me your thoughts on this passage. Thanks and God bless
Sep 20, 2011
 Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life
by: Anonymous

God is the living God and... Yes GOD does love gays, lesbian, homosexual... He loves us so much that he died on the cross for us even though he had a choice not to die, but you see after all we're here for a reason.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. I love jesus and I'm very thankful.
Nov 11, 2011
 I need answers...again
by: Standing Straight For Gay Marriage

I came across Paul Cameron's Family Research Institute website and want your opinion on it. Are the percents, tests, and surveys relevant to same-sex marriage rights?; and are any of them incomplete, lacking elements, or flawed in any way?
Nov 11, 2011
 This information will be helpful
by: Rick Brentlinger

This website evaluates Paul Cameron's dubious research and tainted scholarship.
Nov 11, 2011
 Thanks
by: Standing Straight For Gay Marriage

Thanks :) This link did help.
Aug 21, 2012
 Your personal relationships
by: Anonymous

How many relationships have you been in?

Rick's comment: I get lots of abusive emails from Anonymous people who threaten my life and all manner of other mean-spirited comments. For that reason, I do not answer personal questions like yours. Hope this is helpful in explaining why.
Sep 19, 2012
 Changing
by: Anonymous

Surely if they come out, they realise that it was indeed wrong in the first place

Rick's comment: I feel sorry for you. Hope you'll continue to read and study the Bible until you arrive at God's truth and grace.
Nov 29, 2012
 Gay and Lesbian Relationships
by: Joe

You are all decieved to believe that gay or lesbians relationships are ok and still be a christian.

Rick's comment: Hey Joe, did you arrive at your conclusion after lots of intensive prayer and Bible study? Do you know which Hebrew and Greek words are used in the clobber passages? Do you know the meaning of those ancient Hebrew and Greek words?

Do you know what our ancient Jewish ancestors understood Lev 18:22 and 20:13 to mean? Do you know what our ancient Christian ancestors understood Romans 1:26-27 and 1 Cor 6:9 to mean?

If you cannot answer an honest Yes to all of these questions, then really, you don't have any idea what you're talking about. Agreed?
Jan 17, 2013
 You misintepreted the word
by: Anonymous

you have completely misintepreted the Word and are doing it as justification to the sins you are commiting. We all sin, but what gets us into heaven is us trying to stop. God never forces a man to sin you and i both know that. He would never create a man that has no other choice but to sin. Homosexuals will NOT enter the kingdom of heaven if they do not repent of their ways. Stop manupilating the Word of God as justification for youre sins. Homosexuality is wrong.

Rick's comment: Thanks for proving how necessary this website is. You've replaced God's truth with your own opinions and that is a dangerous thing to do. Isn't it about time you got saved so you can be right with God?
Feb 07, 2013
 Rebuttal
by: RealChristian

The scriptures could not have been more clear that practicing homosexuals will NOT enter heaven, just as practicing murderers, rapists, liars, adulterers. They of course have the same chance at redemption as everyone else. But to say its ok because they may have been born with this temptation is completely ignorant, a drunkard who recieve's a DUI cant go in front of a judge and say "You cant prosecute me because I was born with a addictive personality." Sorry but that just doesn't fly, and the scriptures touched on this exact subject many times. Your leading young people who may come across this site into the same path of sin your following, some will never try to recieve Christ because they will never admit that the temptations they have are wrong. I will pray that you come back to the Lord, and you are able to see the light. God Bless.

Rick's comment: I feel sorry for you. In your ignorance you make up your own "facts" instead of believing what the Bible says in context. If you continue to rip verses out of context to "prove" you are right, the Holy Spirit will not lead you into the marvelous truth of His grace.
Feb 08, 2013
 Rebuttal 2
by: RealChristian

Please elaborate exactly where I pulled scripture out of context.

"A man shall not lust after another man as with a woman, that is an abomination unto the lord."

"Thou shall not lie with a man as with a woman, that is detestable unto the lord."

I find that text to be extremely clear.

Rick's comment: @RealChristian: Those verses describe pagan temple prostitutes, as many conservative anti-gay Christian scholars have already pointed out.

I hope you are willing to read and study so that you learn to interpret scripture in context, as in rightly dividing the word of truth. Memorizing and obeying 2 Timothy 2:15 is a good place to start.
Feb 08, 2013
 Rebuttal 3
by: RealChristian

So your reasoning is that we should not take the Bible at its word and replace our own thoughts to match? Ive seen it clearly stated that both prostitutes and practicing homosexuals were condemned. If it were only to be prostitutes then why would they so clearly state "man shall not lie with man" even though they had already specified that homosexual behavior is not acceptable, even going further to state that in the future there would be those who would pervert the word of Christ and attempt to convince that what is wrong is right?

Rick's comment: You come to the Bible with false preconceptions which you seek to prove instead of letting the Bible in context speak for itself. When someone points out your error, in foolish pride, you reject truth and reiterate error. How sad.

I note also that you have no answer for the page I linked to. I expect that is because you didn't bother to read it. You may have skimmed it and decided that since truth does not support your opinion, you will ignore truth.

For your views to be true, history must tell us that homosexuality was a huge problem in ancient Israel. Yet the message of history is the opposite. Homosexuality was not a problem but temple prostitution was a huge problem.

Even the best anti-gay scholars admit that in writing. That you reject their view indicates that you are dishonest or that you lack the ability to come to grips with historical facts.
Mar 18, 2013
 Ignorant
by: kibblerz

You are perverting the word of God, it is clear about condemning practitioners of homosexual relationships. But you try to find your own meanings to continue sinning. Yes, people who got out of homosexuality get thoughts now and again, because the enemy comes back to tempt them. I was born horny, and wanting to have sex with many women and not wait till marriage, but I was born that way so it must not be a sin with your logic.

Everyone has a specific sin they struggle with, whether it be lust, greed, or homosexuality. The problem with gays is when they welcome sin, they welcome CONDEMNATION... You are abusing God's creation and when you welcome it and do not sincerely repent you do not enter heaven.

Rick's comment: As usual, you have no biblical argument to support your views. You must rip verses out of their biblical context and assert that the out of context verses prohibit homosexuality in order to "prove" your point. Do you ever tire of ignoring context and then accusing us of perverting scripture?
Apr 21, 2013
 Arsenokoitēs
by: Ryan Favale

What is your translation of the word arsenokoitēs used both in 1 Corinthians and Timothy? From any translator I can find it means the act of same sex sexual relations. In the context of these verses the same word is used to describe activities that exclude one from the presence of God, as long as they are not practiced and the person has given their life over to God.

Rick's comment: Ryan, the arsenokoit stem was never used in the first century AD with our modern meaning of homosexual. Here are helpful links to support my assertion.

https://www.gaychristian101.com/Define-Arsenokoites.html

https://www.gaychristian101.com/Arsenokoites.html

https://www.gaychristian101.com/what-did-paul-mean-when-he-used-the-greek-word-arsenokoitai.html

https://www.gaychristian101.com/what-words-could-paul-have-used-if-he-intended-to-condemn-homosexuality.html
Apr 28, 2013
 NOT AGAINST!
by: XanaWarriors

Amazingly, if you check the bible OR the torah, it says that yes, marriage is between man and women. Ok. It does NOT however state that gay marriage is wrong, or that Man and women are the ONLY marriage's available.
Jun 16, 2013
 Gay Marriage?
by: Anonymous

Remember, SEX is a DESIRE. and we have sex to not only mate and reproduce but to fulfill our desires so is gay marriage ok? what is marriage? is it just a piece of paper to legally bind two people together? or is a it a religious commitment? I have some how gotten lost over the past couple of years with Gay people wanting to be able to get legally married. For what purpose? so you will feel that what you are doing is not wrong? or if it is right?? can some one answer this?

Rick's comment: Here is a link to our gay marriage page which includes text links to some of our other pages about gay marriage.

You may also want to read our Gay Christian FAQ since it answers questions about gay marriage. Hope this at least begins to answer your questions.
Apr 09, 2014
 Romans 1
by: Barb Gray

Lets just remove Romans one from scripture. After all God could not have meant that, Oh, let's just remove anything else we don't like. Let us all remove anything we don't like, then what we have left is what we want scripture to say not what it says. It is all true or lets just throw it out and create our own religion.

God gave us all a conscience and we all know within ourselves right and wrong, like it or not. If we all understood the Holiness of our heavenly Father we would all fall prostrate in worship and repentance. Faith is not just believing, even the devils believe, but an acceptance of and following of His word and His person. He made it clear, homosexuality is an unacceptable lifestyle ignore at you own peril.

Rick's comment: Hi Barb - when we read and study the Bible, it is important to obey 2 Timothy 2:15. To understand the Bible correctly, in a way that pleases God, we MUST always interpret scripture IN CONTEXT.

All scripture is given in a biblical cultural doctrinal historical linguistic literary and religious context. Understanding the context is the first step in understanding the Bible. Understanding context is not "removing what we don't like." It is our rubber meets the road spiritual duty.
Jul 17, 2014
 Changing
by: Bess

When I read the part about gays and lesbians realizing it's wrong when we come out (I'm bisexual), I knew I had to speak out. No, it isn't like that at all - it's the most freeing experience, having enough faith in God to trust Him and our straight brothers and sisters not to abandon us. To be filled with grace as we take the biggest risk of our lives and have the courage to accept whom we really are.
Oct 03, 2014
 Bible Quote?
by: Someone

In 1 Corinthians 6:9, the Bible says, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,"

Well, that's what it says. So it says that gays won't inherit the "kingdom of God". So, What does this mean? I'm confused.

Rick's comment: Hi Someone - it helps when we remember that the word homosexuality is not in any ancient Hebrew or Greek manuscript of the Bible. The word homosexual only came into the English language in the 1890s.

That means that the apostle Paul did NOT write homosexual when he wrote 1 Cor 6:9. Some translators added the word, homosexual, to the Bible 1900 hundred years later. Those translators are wrong.

There were many ancient Greek or Latin words Paul could have used if he wanted to describe, mention or prohibit homosexuality. The facts of history support the gay and lesbian Christian view, as demonstrated on these pages.

What does malakoi mean?

What does arsenokoites mean?
Oct 26, 2015
 Don't waste your time
by: Arina

To argue with someone who is adament that gay marriage or any type of its acts is okay and not wrong is a waste of time in and out of itself. He\she ignores the fact that a word does not have to be necessary to dismiss an action. He/she ignores the fact that many times has God stated that homosexuality is wrong. Practically saying that "well it wasn't called homosexuality so God wasn't talking about that." All of his\her arguments against those who come against gay lifestyle us invalid and lacks conclusion. All arguments. It is neither natural nor bibical. To those who actually know, don't waste your time on someone who ignores the very scripture they claim to preach.

Rick's comment: Hi Arina - You have not presented any scriptural proof for your opinion. Stating your opinion doesn't make it true. Assuming the Bible agrees with your views and then claiming that it does, is not a convincing argument for anyone with common sense.

I encourage you to keep reading and studying the Bible in context. If you do that, facts and God's truth in context will compel you to change your mind.
Nov 30, 2015
 Bible Translators
by: Jeanne

Before translating a Bible to another language, they should study, examine and research it first before they translate it into that certain word and phrases right? I almost read every page in your site and still continue to search different views about the Bible in homosexuality. It just confuse me because no one should translate the Bible incorrectly or base by their own opinion and understanding. But then, why/how could they publish a Bible like that? I want to serve God at the same time being honest with Him and with myself that I'm a lesbian or what you could say one of the natural born eunuch, right?

Rick's comment: Hi Jeanne - Yes, lesbians are included in the category known as natural born eunuch. Every lesbian and gay should read the New Testament repeatedly and then read the Old Testament and then reread the New Testament time after time.

We should learn the Bible until we know it better than the anti-gay Christians who use the Bible to attack us. That is why I offer so many FREE Bible studies and link to so many FREE online Bible study courses. I hope you will use those FREE resources. God bless you Jeanne.

What must I do to be saved?
Apr 24, 2016
 Stop the hate
by: Anonymous

I'd like to point out that one of the ten commandments says to love your neighbor, not love your neighbor unless he/she is homosexual. By hating homosexuals you are willingly breaking one of God's ten commandments and you will face God's judgment for it when the time comes. While I don't know the Bible well enough to back up being homosexual I know enough to back up not hating them.
Dec 27, 2016
 I AM BI
by: Kai

Alright, the Bible states that gay marriage is not intended in his natural plan for our lives. However we cannot deny the way we were created. Doesn't the Bible also state that lying is wrong? However, i'm sure everyone has lied AT LEAST once in their lives. Is sin wrong? YES! Does God still love you unconditionally? YES! You are unique and special, anything that tells you otherwise is a lie from the pit of Hell.

Rick's comment: Hi Kai - Thanks for commenting - I appreciate your sincerity! May I gently point out that the Bible NEVER says that gay marriage is not in God's natural plan for us.

I beg you NOT to internalize the lies the anti-gay and anti-bi crowd tell us about what the Bible says because they are often wrong.

Let's trust Jesus as our Savior from sin, hell and the wrath of God and then live as biblical disciples of Jesus. Our godly lives are testimony to the change that's wrought i us when we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior.
May 13, 2018
 One man, One woman?
by: Ky

Although it doesn't directly go against gay marriage, doesn't the bible hint at it when it says marriage between only one man and one woman, (I'm sorry, I can't recall the exact verse) and in 1 cor.7:1 ?

I am looking for further clarification, thank you. And God bless!

Rick's comment: Hi Ky - The Bible describes the kind of marriages that were available in Bible times. We should not make an argument from silence and read our own opinion into that silence.

Here is how I understand 1 Corinthians 7.

What must I do to be saved?
Aug 13, 2019
 article against the arguments that the bible is misread
by: Justin

https://mennoknight.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/responding-to-five-arguments-about-arsenokoites/

Rick's comment: Hi Justin - I have extensive information on this website about the meaning of arsenokoites. These pages and the links on these pages, will help you sort it out.

The truth about arsenokoites.

What did arsenokoites mean in actual usage?

What is the context of 1 Cor 6:9?
Oct 06, 2023
 The Bible is clear
by: Andrew

Marriage is always between a man and a woman by definition. Therefore the Bible doesn’t need to be explicit in mentioning same sex marriage every time it speaks of marriage as marriage already excludes same sex relationships. That’s not anti gay it’s just plain biblical teaching.

Rick's comment: Hi Andrew - Three things to think about.

1. Your pre-suppositional assertion will only convince people who already accept your presupposition, that marriage is always between a man and a woman.

2. If the Bible clearly supported your view, you wouldn't need to resort to pre-suppositions about what the Bible says.

3. Your argument - "the Bible doesn’t need to be explicit in mentioning same sex marriage every time it speaks of marriage as marriage already excludes same sex relationships" is another pre-supposition.

You may want to read more about Jonathan and David, arguably the greatest human love story in the Bible, with more chapters and verses devoted to the love between David and Jonathan than any other couple, homosexual or heterosexual.

David and Jonathan.

Jonathan loved David.

Jonathan and David.

Gay couples in the Bible.

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