HOMOSEXUALITY — A SPECIAL STUDY

At the present time, homosexuality is a well ingrained part of our society. Homosexual leaders have been elected to both state and federal positions, and several states, counties, and cities have “gay rights” laws on the books. More than a few religious groups are endorsing this way of life, and homosexuality is frequently a positive theme on television, in public, and in America’s schools. It has affected people from the Boy Scouts to top political leaders, but this has not always been the case. In the past, America had anti-sodomy laws in every state and the American Psychiatric Association, until 1973, classified homosexuality as a pathology (mental illness). How did things change so drastically and radically?
An article in USA Today (Wednesday, April 10^th, 1997), was entitled “A 26-Year Emergence From the Closet.” In this article writer Christine Sparta documented “the evolution of gays and lesbians on TV.” Her research does a good job of illustrating how was brought to the forefront in America thought.
Sparta began with 1971, citing a television program entitled, “All in the Family.” This show regularly featured “Archie Bunker” (a character who producers tried to portray as a radical conservative). His “wife” for the show was known as “Edity.” On one program Archie’s “macho bar buddy” (Steve) turned out to be gay. Later, in 1977, this same series had Archie earn about and react to the knowledge that Edith had a Lesbian cousin. In 1972, Peter Panama (Vincent Schiavelli was his real name) was a regular “gay character” on a program called the “Corner Bar,” and Sparta (the writer of the USA Today article), offers this interesting quote: “Prior to Peter’s introduction, viewers may have suspected TV characters were gay but their sexuality was never discussed on the air.” It was also in 1972 that Hal Holbrook was portrayed as a gay father in the movie, “That Certain Summer.” Other movies with an emphasis on homosexuality followed. When 1977 came, John Ritter (known as “Jack” on a show named “Three’s Company”) lived with two women in an apartment. He was allowed to have this arrangement because the landlords (the “Ropers”) believed he was a homosexual. On this show, homosexual references were common and comical.
When the 1980’s arrived, the emphasis on homosexuality increased. 1981 was the year the prime-time soap “Dynasty” aired. On this show, a character known as Steven was portrayed as a sexually confused son. Another show, which didn’t mentioned homosexuality till it was on the verge of cancellation, was “Love, Sidney.” By the time 1983 arrived, the soap “All My Children” was featuring a gay story line on daytime television. Donna Pescow played Lynn Carson, a lesbian child psychiatrist who talked about her “sexual orientation,” and other day time soaps quickly followed. “As the World Turns” in 1988 introduced Hank Eliot (Brian Stracher), the first openly gay male on daytime TV. “General Hospital” and “One Life to Live” also dealt with homosexuality in a positive way. When 1984 came, a major television show called “Brothers” had a major character pretend to be a homosexual. This program, while rejected by ABC and NBC, was show on cable, and it exposed many viewers to AIDS, “coming out,” and men kissing men. Just before the 1990’s, “Thirtysomething” was introduced in 1989, and gay characters were often portrayed on this program. In one episode, two men were shown in bed together as a “morning after” scene. Records indicate that a million dollars in advertising were lost because of the bed scene, but this did not stop the homosexual movement.
A well known show in the 1990’s (“L.A. Law”) featured a bisexual woman known as “C.J.” (Amanda Donohoe); she had an extended kiss with an associate (Michele Greene who played “Abby”). The following year (1992) had viewers of “Northern Exposure” watching an episode where producers said Cicely, Alaska was founded by 19^th-century lesbian pioneers. MTV (1994) came out with a gay housemate on “The Real World” (produces showed how he lived with AIDS). He died a month after exchanging rings with his “significant other.” Even PBS got into emphasizing homosexuality with a miniseries called “Tales of the City” (this program featured a non-judgmental portrayal of gay and lesbian relationships), though PBS declined to fund a sequel because of “production costs.” Teenage actor (Wilson Cruz) was portrayed as being thrown out of his parents’ house on “My So-Called Life” in this same year. Another gay milestone in 1994 was a woman named “Roseanne” (she was kissedin agay bar by female actor Mariel Hemingway). Another hit television show during this period (1996) was “Friends.” In one episode of this program an ex-wife (“Carol” who was played by Jane Sibbett), married “Susan” (played by Jessica Hecht), her lesbian lover. In 1997, Ellen DeGeneres (who starred on “Ellen”) declared she was a lesbian.
The progression of homosexuality in American culture is not far removed from how the Bible describes it being introduced in previous times. God has a plan for human sexuality (Gen. 1:27; 2:24; 1 Cor. 7:2-4). As time passed, however, man perverted this part of heaven’s arrangement (Gen. 13:13). While there must have been the “typical sins” in Sodom (murder, theft, lying), Sodom and the surrounding communities were not destroyed for average transgressions. The basis for the destruction is found in Jude 7. Moreover, a study of both testaments shows that the city of Sodom is mentioned 48 times! As time passed for the people of Israel, this great nation became attracted to homosexuality and practiced this sin (1 Kgs. 14:24), though this was explicitly condemned by Moses’ law (Deut. 23:17). For key New Testament references on this subject, see 1 Cor. 6:9-11 and 1 Tim. 1:10.
Homosexuality has been justified in numerous ways and multiple attempts have been made to say that God does not condemn it. Christians are not interested in the allegations of men, no matter how forceful or persistent. Our only concern is with God and His will. In the previous paragraph, passages showing God’s will in this area were cited (Gen. 1:27; 2:24). Additional information about homosexuality is found in the book of Romans, and this information is also definitive. A good beginning place is Rom. 1:26. Paul spoke of “vile passions,” words that describe sexual activity. The adjective vile (atimia) is defined as “shameful passions” (Gingrich and Danker, p. 120). Passions (pathos) is plural in English and Greek, and it describes perverse eroticism. Though Paul God said that one example of vile passions is lesbianism (“for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature”). There were women who had a sexual relationship with other women, and Paul further described this with the word “changed” (i.e. a “moral deviation” and a “substitution”), both of which were against God’s will.
While we often hear that same sex relationships are healthy and natural, this is not God’s view of the matter. Paul’s view for “natural” in Rom. 1:27 (phusikos) is found only three times in the New Testament (verse 26, 27, 2 Pet. 2:12), and it described what is “inborn” or “native” to human beings. Gingrich and Danker (p. 869) define it as “natural, in accordance with nature.” This word shows that it “is unnatural—contrary to the basic inborn nature of man—for men and women to engage in homosexual practices (CBL, GED, 6:466). “Thus, the view that understands homosexuality as a the produce of prebirth hormonal influences is clearly contrary to the Scripture” (ibid). “Every sexual transgression is also a transgression against the natural order” (Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, 3:444).