Not too long ago I was talking with a woman who left the Mormon church over their stance on LGBT issues. She told me she “outgrew institutionalized religion like an old sweater.” The phrase stuck with me as well as the arguments she gave for why any faith’s stance on LGBT issues was wrong. In the wake of that conversation I began to think through a defense of the biblical worldview against the LGBT moral framework and this article is the result.
I’d like to preface this article with a few important remarks.
First, I assume the orthodox teaching of the church for the last two millennia, which is that homosexual practice and gender transition is a sin. I’m aware that some have sought to argue that the Bible doesn’t condemn these things. These arguments have been answered extensively (See DeYoung or Gagnon) by various authors and I don’t focus energy on that debate here.
Secondly, by broadly referring to LGBT I realize that I am grouping same-sex attraction with trans issues for simplicity’s sake, though I acknowledge those experiences are different. I also want to express my sincere compassion for people wrestling with their sexuality. While I hope it’s helpful to examine the moral framework of LGBT intellectually in order to help Christians and non-Christians understand the arguments more clearly, I also know that thinking through these issues for many is not simply an intellectual exercise but one wrought with great pain and complexity. I don’t want to minimize this, and hope anyone reading will be helped by my thoughts and feel fairly treated and cared for. I also understand that not all LGBT advocates think alike and there is diversity from person to person. These arguments are simply the most prominent and compelling arguments in my opinion and therefore the ones I’ve chosen to address.
Thirdly, I’d like to implore people to resist weaponizing these arguments in order to treat people in the LGBT community harshly. Christians must remember that “the goal of instruction is love” (1 Tim 1:5) and “the Lord’s servant must be kind to everyone…correcting his opponents with gentleness” (2 Tim 2:23-25).
The goal of this article is a defense of the biblical worldview regarding sexuality, however, I also hope for it to be helpful in how to love and care for advocates of the LGBT worldview.
With those prefatory comments in place, let’s look at the arguments for the LGBT moral framework.
The Heart Desires of a Person are the Highest Moral Authority
Proponents of the LGBT worldview will often appeal to our heart’s desires. “How can something be wrong if I desire it?” We live in the “age of authenticity” as philosopher Charles Taylor calls it. This form of moral subjectivism is also called expressive individualism[1] and is defined by Yuval Levin as, “a desire to pursue one’s own path but also a yearning for fulfillment through the definition and articulation of one’s own identity.”[2] This mentality tells us that whatever our heart tells us is right. Whether that is same sex attraction or identifying as a gender other than our biological gender. As one gay man wrote in a testimonial, “Together we can help the next generation to be brave, kind, and true to themselves.”[3]
We can all admit the appeal of this. Who hasn’t wanted to pursue their heart’s desires above all else? Yet, is it truly best to be true to ourselves? One reason I think it isn’t is that there are universal virtues that feel contrary to nature such as forgiveness and self-sacrifice. People rarely “desire” to forgive others but we know it’s right morally and leads to emotional flourishing. Corrie ten Boom, a survivor of the holocaust, spoke transparently about the difficulty of forgiving the Nazis, and yet she said the ones who forgave were the ones who flourished emotionally.[4] So, if there are clear examples of our nature being wrong, how can we be sure our nature is right when it comes to our sexuality? What if it’s actually our heart’s desires that threaten us with the greatest harm, leading us away from flourishing?
Secondly, if the goal is being true to ourselves, shouldn’t it be a person’s moral prerogative to disagree with LGBT if that is their heart’s desire?[5] If our LGBT friends want to morally justify their view on subjective grounds, they cannot also morally condemn opponents on an objective ground. Consistency would demand allowance for disagreement. Yet, often disagreement with the LGBT worldview leads to persecution. Why? Scripture tells us that all people have a God-given conscience that testifies to the truth of God’s Word and convicts us of sin. This may be the reason many don’t simply shrug at Christian disagreement with the LGBT worldview, but vehemently seek to squelch it.
Of course, LGBT proponents insist that the reason they adamantly oppose the Christian teaching is that it leads to violence against gay and transgender people. All Christians should condemn violence against people in the LGBT community. It’s reprehensible for a person to harm another person made in God’s image, as much as they disagree with them. However, oftentimes the LGBT community also decries even polite disagreement with their worldview because of the emotional and psychological harm it causes gay and transgender people. Let’s look at that next.
Follow Your Heart’s Desire as Long as it isn’t Harming Someone
According to the LGBT moral framework, a person’s actions are justified unless it “harms” another person or frames their actions negatively (i.e. mental illness).[6] LGBT advocates have often criticized opposition to homosexual practice or gender transition classifying it as hate speech. In 2018, Jackie Hill-Perry, a hip-hop artist and author who left her homosexual relationship after becoming a Christian, was invited to speak at a faith-based group at Harvard University. This prompted student protests as well as denunciations from professors including a Harvard professor named Ahmed Ragab who said Hill-Perry’s “problematic” views “alienate and threaten the existence of queer students on campus.”[7]
The key issue here is the definition of doing harm to others.
In some ways I sympathize with this sentiment. Of course, violence done to gay or trans people is wrong and stems from anti-Christian teaching. Additionally, having a major aspect of our worldview challenged is distressing and scary. Not minimizing the difficulty of this, I would still say the real harm according to Scripture is letting someone stray from God in sin leading to pain in this life and separation from God eternally. Christians believe that God as the creator of life knows how best to live it. To reject his guidance would not be wise counsel no matter what the motivation.
However, putting spiritual harm aside, the LGBT ideology is even harmful by its own definition. Studies have shown an increase in suicides in those who have transition surgeries.[8] Though stable households with same-sex parents are rare, research shows that children who have grown up with two parents of the same sex are detrimentally affected emotionally, sexually and socioeconomically.[9] Therefore, it’s questionable whether the LGBT ideology is beneficial by its own standards, and clearly harmful according to Scripture.
A Desire Someone is Born with Cannot be Morally Condemnable
It is true that some people can’t remember a time when they weren’t attracted to the same sex or identified with their biological sex. This causes many to urge a full embrace of a person’s passions out of love for the individual. I’ll admit that this argument is compelling. When we love someone we want others to appreciate them. When people don’t love them as we do we become angry. This actually happens to the psalmist in Psalm 119:53 and 119:139. He’s angry at those who don’t love and cherish God’s Word as they should. The important distinction is that the Bible doesn’t condemn gay or trans people in general, but only homosexual practice and gender transition. In fact, it should be precisely because gay and trans people are valued and loved that many Christians long to share the truth about their actions from God’s Word, that they might experience true freedom and joy in Christ.
However, it’s also important to note that research has consistently shown genetics to be at best a partial cause of sexual orientation. Dean Hamer’s 1993 study claimed to show significant genetical causation, but many in the scientific community criticized Hamer for inflating statistics and firing researchers who questioned the findings. The most recent and largest study done on genetic causation showed that genetics potentially contributed for about 1/3 of causation.[10]
Even if genetics accounts for significant causation, do we really want to blame all actions on genetic causation? We certainly wouldn’t advocate for that in the case of pedophilia. Additionally, if someone is born a certain way does that make the way they are born natural or right? Many are born with birth defects such as blindness or even genetic tendencies (i.e. obsessive behavior or alcoholism). Of course, we shouldn’t shun any of these people based on how they were born, yet few would claim that being born blind is natural or good. As Jesus did with the man born blind in John 9, we should love people regardless of their differences and at the same time lament that this isn’t the way it’s supposed to be.
Christians believe that since the Fall, sin has affected all things, including the body, mind and sexuality. We are all made in God’s image, and yet we all deal with the effects of sin in some form or another. We long for the day when, in our resurrected bodies, we will be perfect and without blemish physically, mentally and emotionally. Yet, until that time we must walk in humble obedience to God and his Word.
Love is More Important than Sexual Immorality
In his book The 10 Commandments of Progressive Christianity, Michael Kruger explains the argument for sexual immorality put forward by many progressives that it doesn’t matter what you believe, but how you behave. This teaching states that something is only wrong if the people doing it are unpleasant. Kruger points out that this not only somewhat alleviates a person’s moral conviction, but causes them to feel morally superior. Not only are their actions justified, but they are better than others because they are loving. This may cause some Christians to question their views since some gay and trans people are so nice. On the other side, people who oppose LGBT are often portrayed as evil and mean-spirited, and rightfully so in some instances.
I’ll admit that it is easy to be persuaded by a kind and loving person and dissuaded by a harsh and seemingly unloving person. However, there are issues with this ad hominem argument. Aren’t evil often described as nice and pleasant by their former neighbors and co-workers? Someone’s visible behavior and good reputation is not always an accurate picture of their morality and goodness. Additionally, though there are some misguided self-proclaimed Christians who have been physically or verbally violent toward people in the LGBT community, shouldn’t the many kind, compassionate and gentle Christians who oppose LGBT balance the scales? As Robert Gagnon has written, “positive moral conduct in many areas of one’s life does not establish the legitimacy of all of one’s conduct.”[11]
Regardless, for Christians the final say is the Bible. Christians judge beliefs and behavior based on God’s Word and God’s character, not on how nice or unpleasant someone is who believes it. To those who say true Christians are known by their fruit, citing Matthew 7:15-16, I’d respond that the fruit Jesus is talking about is obedience to his commands (John 14:21), watching our doctrine closely (1 Tim. 4:16) and a love for God and others that is defined by the Bible not by the culture. Some Christians wrongly speak truth harshly, but equally bad is grace without truth.
Marriage is Really About Companionship and Pleasure
If marriage is about companionship and pleasure, then why is a same sex marriage wrong? For Christians the most important reason is because Scripture explicitly states that homosexual practice is wrong. God is morally trustworthy regardless if we understand his reasons or not. This is why James tells us to receive meekly the implanted Word (James 1:23). However, statistics show a far higher number of sexual partners among homosexuals than heterosexuals which partly accounts for the higher rate of sexually transmitted diseases among homosexuals.[12] So the idea that homosexual relationships are just as committed and loving doesn’t seem to hold up statistically.
Additionally, marriage isn’t just about companionship and pleasure according to Scripture. As Rachel Gilson has argued, marriage is meant to display God’s relationship with his church and that requires gender diversity in the relationship.[13] Further, a spouse is meant to grow their spouse in godliness (Eph. 5:25-26), but if the relationship itself is sinful according to Scripture then it severely stunts the pursuit of godliness.
The Core Issue
The whole debate about homosexuality and trans issues boils down to a debate about authority. Christians regard the Bible as their highest moral authority. To them the last word always goes to God’s Word. This certainly doesn’t mean Christians don’t wrestle with questions about the Bible. God is perfect and we are not so there is bound to be tension. In fact, if there isn’t tension that is how we know we are worshipping a figment of our imagination rather than the true God.[14] Christians also don’t blindly believe in an irrational faith or hypocritically hold to beliefs they know are morally wrong. Rather, we don’t ultimately trust our judgment of what is rational and morally right over what God says in his Word. As J.I. Packer writes, “We should not abandon faith in anything God has taught us merely because we cannot solve all the problems which it raises. Our own intellectual competence is not the test and measure of divine truth.”[15] Our confidence in the Bible is not an irrational confidence. We believe God and his Word is perfectly rational and morally perfect even if at times we struggle to understand how.
Conclusion
We must remember that those who identify as LGBT are people to love, not a problem to solve. As Robert Gagnon writes, “[knowledge] can become a weapon for exalting oneself over others in a smug attitude of moral superiority. It can turn into a tool for ‘depersonalizing’ others. Love must be wedded with knowledge, faith must express itself in love.”[16] I hope LGBT advocates are won over by the compelling biblical worldview, but I also hope they are first won over by the love, gentleness and humility of the Christians they find themselves discussing sexuality with.
As Christians we must realize there are many brothers and sisters in Christ struggling with same-sex attraction. We should be careful how we talk about gay and transgender people. It could be they need to share their struggle but don’t feel they’ll be accepted based on how their Christian friends joke. Heterosexual Christians have more in common than they might think with those who struggle with gender dysphoria or same sex attraction. What Christian doesn’t experience the war of passions within them daily (James 4)? All Christians are all called to die to their sinful passions, not just the same-sex attracted. People in the LGBT community should find in Christian community a group of people who can sympathize deeply with conflicting passions and who are eager to tell them where grace and true freedom is. LGBT advocates should experience Christians to be people aware of their sin and their need of grace. We are beggars telling other beggars where they can find bread.
Christians also shouldn’t hold up marriage as the ultimate prize of being a Christian or necessary for happiness, fulfillment and wholeness in this life. The church is a spiritual family where people can have brothers and sisters and even children, spiritually speaking, without being married. God says to the eunuch in Isaiah 56:5 that he will give him a name better than sons and daughters, “an everlasting name that shall not be cut off”! Like Paul we can lift up the blessings of singleness and point to the ultimate hope of Christians, which isn’t heterosexual marriage, but our spiritual marriage to Christ.
In place of an inadequate subjective moral framework, Christianity puts firm moral ground beneath our feet. Desires and feelings are gifts from God, but they make terrible masters. Our hope rests on God’s unchangeable promises, not our shifting feelings and passions. Praise God for that. If anyone reading this has or is considering embracing the LGBT worldview or lifestyle I would want them to hear this more than anything: following our heart may feel like life but ultimately leads to death (Rom. 1:24-26); following Jesus requires death to self, but ultimately leads to life (Matt. 16:24-25). In Christ we are offered an identity far better than a sexual orientation. For Christians, Christ is their life (Col. 3:4). We may fear giving such allegiance and lordship to God, but could he have proven himself any more trustworthy? He left heaven for our sake, he lived the perfect life we couldn’t live, he laid down his life to save us and suffered a brutal death for our sins. He’s the true lover of our souls, and he deserves to be the Lord of our life.
[1] | Trevin Wax, “Expressive Individualism: What Is It?,” The Gospel Coalition (blog), accessed October 18, 2018, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/expressive-individualism-what-is-it/.
[2] Yuval Levin, The Fractured Republic: Renewing America’s Social Contract in the Age of Individualism, Revised edition (New York: Basic Books, 2017).
[3] “It Can Take Courage to Be True to Yourself,” Born This Way Foundation, August 21, 2017, https://bornthisway.foundation/it-can-take-courage-to-be-true-to-yourself/.
[4] Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place, 35th Anniversary edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 2006).
[5] For example, Becket Cooke asks why his former decision to embrace a homosexual lifestyle was praised while his later decision to become a Christian and leave that lifestyle was met with persecution. Becket Cook, “Why Hollywood Praises Elliot Page (and Blacklists Me),” The Gospel Coalition, December 10, 2020, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/hollywood-elliot-page-me/.
[6] This was the cited reason Amazon recently stopped selling Ryan Anderson’s book When Harry Became Sally. WSJ Staff, “Read the Letter Amazon Sent to Republican Senators Over Its Book Policy,” Wall Street Journal, March 12, 2021, sec. Business, https://www.wsj.com/articles/read-the-letter-amazon-sent-to-republican-senators-over-book-policy-11615512467.
[7] Paula M. Barberi and Caroline S. Engelmayer, “‘Ex-Gay’ Speaker Invited by HCFA Draws Protest | News | The Harvard Crimson,” The Harvard Crimson, February 17, 2018, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/2/17/hcfa-protest/.
[8] Ryan Anderson, “Sex Reassignment Doesn’t Work. Here Is the Evidence.,” The Heritage Foundation (blog), March 9, 2018, https://www.heritage.org/gender/commentary/sex-reassignment-doesnt-work-here-the-evidence.
[9] Jennifer A. Marshall, “Dad, Mom and Gay Parenting,” The Heritage Foundation (blog), June 20, 2012, https://www.heritage.org/marriage-and-family/commentary/dad-mom-and-gay-parenting.
[10] Pam Belluck, “Many Genes Influence Same-Sex Sexuality, Not a Single ‘Gay Gene’ (Published 2019),” The New York Times, August 29, 2019, sec. Science, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/29/science/gay-gene-sex.html.
[11] Robert A. J. Gagnon, The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2002).
[12] Sara Nelson Glick et al., “A Comparison of Sexual Behavior Patterns among Men Who Have Sex with Men and Heterosexual Men and Women,” Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (1999) 60, no. 1 (May 1, 2012): 83–90, https://doi.org/10.1097/QAI.0b013e318247925e.
[13] Rachel Gilson, Born Again This Way (Epsom, UK: The Good Book Company, 2020).
[14] Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (Penguin Books, 2008). 118.
[15] J. I. Packer, “Fundamentalism” and the Word of God (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1958). 109.
[16] Gagnon, The Bible and Homosexual Practice. 492.
Mike McGregor
Mike McGregor (MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary) is Director of College Ministry at First Baptist Church in Durham, N.C. You can follow him on Twitter at @m5mcgregor.
