Purpose of This Study

This study is for sincere Christians who hold a traditional view of marriage but genuinely want to understand how other Bible-believing Christians reconcile their faith with affirming LGBTQ+ people. The goal is to demonstrate, from Scripture itself and the original languages, that there are solid biblical reasons for affirming LGBTQ+ Christians.

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Part 1: The Clobber Passages — An Overview

The term “clobber passages” refers to the handful of Bible verses traditionally used to condemn same-sex relationships:

1. Genesis 19 (Sodom)
2. Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13
3. Romans 1:26-27
4. 1 Corinthians 6:9
5. 1 Timothy 1:10
6. Jude 7
7. Deuteronomy 23:1 (eunuchs)

The rest of this study examines each of these passages in detail, showing what they actually said in their original contexts.

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Part 2: Genesis 19 — The Story of Sodom

Traditional view: Condemns homosexuality
What it actually addresses: Attempted gang rape of angelic visitors

Original Hebrew and Translation Options

The Context: Attempted Gang Rape

Read Genesis 19:1-15 carefully:

• Lot welcomes two angelic visitors (v. 1-3)
• All the men of the city surround Lot’s house (v. 4)
• They demand the visitors be brought out “that we may yadaw them” (v. 5)
• Lot offers his two virgin daughters instead (v. 6-8)
• The angels strike the attackers blind (v. 11)
• The city is destroyed (v. 12-29)

This is a story about attempted gang rape, not about two men loving each other.

The Parallel: Judges 19

Judges 19 tells the same story with different characters. The same Hebrew word yadaw [H3045] is used in both passages. The NASB and NLT correctly translate yadaw as “raped” in Judges 19:25 but inconsistently translate it as “know” in Genesis 19:5.

Jesus’ References to Sodom

Key point: Jesus never said Sodom was destroyed for homosexuality. He compared it to cities that rejected the gospel message.

Jude 7: “Strange Flesh”

The phrase heteras sarkos [G2087 + G4561] refers to the different, angelic flesh of the visitors, not homosexual flesh.

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Part 3: Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13

Traditional view: Condemns homosexual acts
What it actually addresses: Male temple cult prostitution in Canaanite fertility worship

Original Hebrew

The Context: Molech Worship (Leviticus 18:21-24)

The prohibitions are grouped as Canaanite religious practices. Molech worship involved child sacrifice. The male-male sex prohibited here was part of Canaanite fertility cult worship.

The Key Hebrew Word: Toevah [H8441]

Toevah [H8441] specifically refers to idolatrous practices, not a universal moral statement about all same-sex relationships.

The Cross-Reference: 1 Kings 14:24

“And there were also sodomites in the land; and they did according to all the abominations (Toevot [H8441]) of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.”

This connects the “sodomites” directly to the idolatrous practices of the Canaanite nations.

The Levitical Context

Leviticus contains over 600 laws. Christians do not follow most of them:

If Leviticus 18:22 is still binding, then so are all these other laws. Yet no Christian follows them all.

What the New Testament Says About the Law

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Part 4: 1 Corinthians 6:9 — Malakoi and Arsenokoitai

Traditional view: “Homosexuals” will not inherit God’s kingdom
What it actually addresses: Male temple prostitutes and male sex workers

Original Greek and Translation Options

Translation History of Malakoi

St. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate (405 AD)

All three terms referred to the same group: transvestite male temple cult prostitutes who served in pagan fertility worship.

The Context: Corinth

Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, a city famous for its temple to Aphrodite (a Greek fertility goddess). The city had over 1,000 temple prostitutes. Paul’s concern was about male prostitution in pagan cult worship, not about loving, committed same-sex relationships.

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Part 5: Romans 1:26-27

Traditional view: Condemns lesbian and gay relationships
What it actually addresses: Pagan idolaters exchanging conventional relations for unconventional ones in cultic worship

Original Greek and Translation Options

The Full Phrase: para phusin [G3844 + G5449]

How Paul Uses phusis Elsewhere: 1 Corinthians 11:14

“Doth not even nature (phusis [G5449]) itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?”

Hair length has nothing to do with biological nature (both men and women can grow long hair). Paul is clearly referring to social convention. The same applies in Romans 1: para phusin means “contrary to convention,” not “against biological nature.”

The Context: Pagan Idolatry (Romans 1:18-32)

Paul is describing pagan idolaters who turned from the true God. The sexual behaviour is part of pagan cultic worship involving temple orgies.

Confirmation from Bible Commentaries

The Life Application Bible Commentary (1992) confirms: “The context indicates that he is referring in part to cultic prostitution and the fertility cults that made use of temple prostitutes in their rites.”

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Part 6: The Word “Homosexual” Never Appeared in the Bible Until 1946

Historical Fact

The 1946 translation was based on early 20th-century sexological research that has since been revised.

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Part 7: The Eunuch Passages — A Window of Affirmation

Deuteronomy 23:1

“He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.”

In context, this refers to self-castration done in devotion to pagan fertility gods.

Isaiah 56:3b-5 — God COMFORTS the Eunuchs

“Neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths… Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.”

God promises eunuchs “a name better than of sons and of daughters.” This is remarkable grace for those excluded under Deuteronomy 23:1.

Matthew 19:12 — Jesus Speaks of “Born Eunuchs”

“For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there are some eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake.”

The first category, “born eunuchs,” is understood by many scholars to include those born with a homosexual orientation. Jesus explicitly affirms they have a valid place in God’s kingdom.

Acts 8 — The Ethiopian Eunuch Is Baptized

In Acts 8:26-39, Philip baptizes an Ethiopian eunuch who would have been excluded under Deuteronomy 23:1. The Holy Spirit directs Philip to this eunuch, and he is welcomed into the faith.

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Part 8: Positive Biblical Affirmation of LGBTQ+ People

Galatians 3:28

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

1 Corinthians 6:11

“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Hebrews 13:4

“Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled.”

1 John 4:18

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear.”

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Part 9: How to Reconcile Scripture

For sincere, Bible-believing Christians who want to affirm LGBTQ+ people, here is how Scripture supports that affirmation:

1. Jesus never condemned homosexuality. His silence, combined with his explicit welcome of outcasts, supports inclusion.

2. The Old Testament prohibitions were contextually specific. They addressed Canaanite fertility cult practices, not modern same-sex relationships. Christians are not under Levitical Law (Romans 6:14, Colossians 2:14).

3. The New Testament Greek words (malakoi and arsenokoitai) refer to temple prostitution and male sex workers, not to people in committed same-sex relationships.

4. Romans 1 describes pagan idolaters, not LGBTQ+ Christians who follow Jesus. The word para phusin means “unconventional” or “contrary to tradition,” not “against biological nature.”

5. The eunuch passages show God’s heart for those who don’t fit traditional categories. God promises eunuchs “a name better than sons and daughters,” and Jesus explicitly includes “born eunuchs” in the kingdom.

6. The word “homosexual” is a 20th-century translation choice, not an ancient biblical term.

7. Scripture affirms the dignity of all people (Galatians 3:28, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Hebrews 13:4).