Question: Explain how such a wide range of attitudes toward homosexuality could exist within the Christian religious tradition.
Answer: It is interesting that homosexuality, for centuries, has been such a controversial topic. Like sexuality, homosexuality results from a combination of hereditary factors along with social and environmental influences. While attitudes toward homosexuality are generally in flux, whether due to political activism or not, it seems that Jewish, Christian, and Muslim cultures view it as sinful. Nevertheless, in Christianity there appear to be an abundance of varying attitudes toward homosexuality which require a deeper analysis. Christianity can be divided into four separate sub groups: Fundamentalist Christians, Mainline Christians, Liberal Christians, and Evangelical Christians, all of whom draw distinct conclusions regarding biblical interpretation, specifically on the subject of homosexuality. Fundamentalist Christians typically believe in the strict inerrancy of the bible. In their belief the bible is seen as the word of God and thus should be read literally. The dominant view is that the bible condemns all homosexual activity and considers it sinful if it is performed outside of a marriage. The bible relates the story of Sodom and its inhabitants all of whom were destroyed by God because of their desire to have homosexual sex with the visiting angels. Biblical terms such as “sodomite” are thus used as descriptions of homosexuals. Lastly, the bible does not relate of any consensual homosexual relations and so it should be concluded that homosexual activity is therefore sinful and wrong. Within the Mainline Christians there exist two other groups, the liberals and conservatives. The liberal Christians believe in equal rights while the conservative Christians believe in preserving the status quo. The larger mainline denominations have spawned reform movements to restore church teachings and beliefs, including the inability of homosexuals to marry with in a church. The liberals on the other hand, continue to fight for a change and bringing about equality. The liberals thus view the Bible simply as a collection of writing rather than a doctrine by which to abide by. An interesting point which the liberals argue is that the bible has been translated from the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts, leading them to conclude that the meanings have been compromised and filtered. According to these standards, sexual behavior itself is not sinful; rather it is the relationship between the individuals. Evangelical Christianity is perhaps the most diverse in its range of beliefs. For example, Fundamentalist Evangelicals believe that the bible is inerrancy of the Bible with a few modifications such as Hell no longer being a place of eternal doom, but rather a place where the dead are separated from God. Non Fundamentalist Evangelicals are more liberals and have several differing viewpoints on homosexuality, which are the following: same sex practices are offensive to God, are sinful, and unacceptable. It is almost impossible to believe that all of the above mentioned beliefs are stems of a single, common root; Christianity. While some beliefs are similar, for the most part, they vary greatly from each specific sub group. One can thus conclude that Christianity, and possibly all religions, along with each sub group thereof that stems from specific religions, in this case, Christianity, interprets the Bible either as condemning, accepting, or somewhere in between.