There are biblical warnings to deter mankind from indulging in homosexuality. Leviticus 18:22 clearly warns against men indulging in sexual relationships with other men, and what God thinks about it. It reads, 22) You shall not lie with a man as with a woman; it is an abomination.
The Apostle Paul, writing in his letter to the Romans, is even clearer, for he not only warns men and women about the practice of homosexuality and lesbianism, but he points out it is against nature, and that there would be terrible consequences for those ardently committed to this lifestyle. Romans 1:26-27 says:
26) For this reason God gave them over and abandoned them to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one,
27) And the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another–men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty of their wrongdoing and going astray, which was [their] fitting retribution.
Amazingly enough, and in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, there are clerics today–false prophets, as it were–who say the Bible does not repudiate homosexuality. When Jesus was threatening a group of religious hypocrites, and said to them it was going to be worse for them than Sodom and Gomorrah, all those of the Jewish culture understood and knew of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, which was destroyed by “fire and brimstone,” and why it was destroyed.
As Christians, should we suppose and can we believe that all of a sudden, God has changed his perspective on homosexuality as these false prophets would have us believe? Are we that stupid? Remember, Jesus said in the last days it would be as the days of Lot.
So, what was it like it the days of Lot? Homosexuality was demanding and imposing itself upon the righteous to capitulate, to yield, to give way to its predominance where Lot lived. Genesis 19:1-5 says:
1) It was evening when the two angels came to Sodom. Lot was sitting at Sodom’s [city] gate. Seeing them, Lot rose up to meet them and bowed to the ground.
2) And he said, My lords, turn aside, I beg of you, into your servant’s house and spend the night and bathe your feet. Then you can arise early and go on your way. But they said, No, we will spend the night in the square.
3) [Lot] entreated and urged them greatly until they yielded and [with him] entered his house. And he made them a dinner [with drinking] and had unleavened bread which he baked, and they ate.
4) But before they lay down, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, all the men from every quarter, surrounded the house.
5) And they called to Lot and said, Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know (be intimate with) them.
Jesus said prophetically that in the last days the homosexual community will demand their lifestyle be accepted as a right in society. And now we are even seeing homosexuality bandied about as a civil right that should be guaranteed under the Constitution similar to some of the rights being sought through the modern Civil Rights Movement. They are not the same, but be that as it may be, the same Jesus condemned Sodom and Gomorrah for their lifestyle.
Physiologically speaking the male body is not designed to be penetrated. Anal sex is the overwhelmingly practice for gay men. Dr. John Diggs, an African American doctor who has done extensive studies homosexuality, says:
“Yet human physiologically makes it clear that the body was not designed to accommodate this activity (anal sex) the rectum is significantly different from the vagina and with the regard to suitability for penetration by a penis. The vagina has natural lubricants and is supported by a network of muscles. It is composed of mucus membrane with a multi-layer stratified squamous epithelium that allows it to endure friction without damage and to resist the immunological actions caused by semen and sperm. In comparison, the anus is a delicate mechanism of small muscles that comprise an “exit-only” passage. With repeated trauma, friction and stretching, the sphincter loses its tone and its ability to maintain a tight seal. Consequently, anal sex leads to leakage of fecal material that can easily become chronic.
“The potential for injury is exacerbated by the fact that the intestine has only a single layer of cells separating it from highly vascular tissue that is blood. Therefore, any organisms that are introduced into the rectum have a much easier time establishing a foothold for infection than would in a vagina. The single layer tissue cannot withstand the friction associated with penile penetration, resulting in traumas that expose both participants to blood, organisms in feces, and a mixing of bodily fluids.
“The vagina is the only part of mankind that is designed to receive the components of an ejaculation safely. The anus is not and is subject to an extraordinarily high infection rate.
“The end result is that the fragility of the anus and rectum, along with the immunosuppressive effect of ejaculate, make anal-genital intercourse a most efficient manner of transmitting HIV and other infections.”
“The only epidemiological studies to date on the life spans of gay men have concluded that homosexual and bisexual men lose up to 20 years of life expectancy, according to Diggs’ “The Health Risk of Gay Sex.”
Sociologically speaking, the demand in our present day for homosexual marriage is a threat to the stability of our society, and without question, a detriment to children. Laws enacted by congress during a century of struggle for equal rights for African Americans, were intended to eliminate discrimination on the basis of race, not on the basis of an individual’s sexual preference, proclivity, or personal behavior.
Rev. Clenard H. Childress Jr is the senior pastor of the New Calvary Baptist Church in Montclair, N.J.
