LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Research Paper
for
“A Select Issue on Marriage and Family: Homosexual Practices and its Menace to the
Society”
Submitted to Dr. Ronnie Campbell
In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the completion of
THEO 650 – B01 LUO
Ethics and Christian Ministry
By
Somebody Name
July 2, 2017.
2
Thesis Statement
Gay marriages are morally bad according to biblical standard and has far reaching negative
impacts on the wellbeing of the society.
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Contents
I. Introduction… .................................................................................................. 1
II. An Overview of Marriage ................................................................................ 2
a. Marriage as an Institution of God… ............................................................. 3
b. The Scriptural Connotation of Two Becoming One Flesh… .......................... 4
III. Homosexual Practices and Its Consequences on the Society ........................... 5
a. Health Consequences of Homosexual Practices ............................................. 6
b. It impedes the emotional and social development of Children. ....................... 7
c. Procreational/Continuity Issue......................................................................... 8
d. Enforcing Minority Moral Upon the Majority.................................................. 8
IV. The Effects of Homosexual Practices in the Biblical Era ...................................9
a. Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah… .......................................................... 9
b. Attracts the Wrath of God on a Nation… ......................................................... 10
V. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 12
VI. Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 13
1
Introduction
Marriage is a God ordained institution which is meant to be a legal union between a man
a woman, for companionship, procreation, and raising of godly children in the society. The cue
of marriage is gotten from the scriptural verse in Genesis 2:18(KJV) where God opines “it is not
good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.”1 Going further in verse
24 of Genesis, after a woman had been created from a man’s rib, God declares that “therefore
shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one
flesh.” However, today one lives in a dynamic world where everything is constantly changing,
including such a sensitive matter as marriage. Today one observes a man proposing and getting
married to a fellow man as well as a woman getting married to her fellow woman. The ruling by
the United States supreme court on 27th June 2015 in favor of gay marriage has brought about a
paradigm shift in the definition of marriage and has caused a surge in homosexual activities in
United Sates; not just United States as of July 1, 2017, about twenty-one countries of world have
endorsed gay marriage and more are still deliberating on legalizing it. This paper will study the
biblical standard for marriage, and the subsequent consequences of homosexual practices in the
society.
An Overview of Marriage
The institution of marriage involves a covenant between a man, a woman and God. Man,
and woman, by mutual consent, enter the arrangement. But the procedure, to be valid, must be
consistent with divine law. Ashley Montague an anthropologist in his book titled The Cultured
Man avers that there is no society wherein marriage does not exist in some format.2 The
1 Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in King James Version
2 Ashley Montague, The Cultured Man (New York, NY: Permabooks, 1959), 240.
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institution is, therefore, a universal phenomenon. Since every effect must have an adequate
cause, there must be some reasonable explanation for this feature of global society. There are but
two logical possibilities. Marriage either is of supernatural origin, or it had a naturalistic
beginning. Those who favor evolutionary theory claim that marriage is “a human development
from animal mating relationships.”3 Harvey Lock and James Peterson, authors of Encyclopedia
Americana Volume 18, opine that Some scholars are disposed to trace the development of
marriage to twosome activities of animals below man. They argue that an enduring relationship
between one or more males and one or more females is prevalent among birds and higher
mammals.4 Wayne Jackson the author of “Marriage: As Designed by God” counters the above
stated assertion of the evolutionary theory of marriage by noting that While it is true that some
creatures seemingly mate for life, the ape family, allegedly higher on the evolutionary scale than
birds, is quite wanton, however, that does not augur well with the notion that marriage
progressively developed as several brands of creatures were becoming more erudite.5Biblical
view on marriage is explicit. God created man, and from his side – in earth’s initial surgical
procedure – formed his wife. The two were designed to “cleave” to one another (Gen. 2:21-25).
In a discussion with the Pharisees, Jesus cited this Old Testament proof, and stated: “What
therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matt. 19:6).6 Here is a necessary
point to ponder on, if it is the case that marriage was designed and sanctioned by the Creator,
3 Julian Huxley, Religion without Revelation (New York, NY: A Mentor Book, 1957), 34.
4 Harvey Lock and James Peterson, Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. 18. (New York, NY: 1961),311.
5 Wayne Jackson, “Marriage: As Designed by God,” ChristianCourier.com. Accessed July 5,
2017. https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/843-marriage-as-designed-by-god.
6 Mathew 19:6.
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then he has the authority to dictate the rules. Men and women do not have the right to regard the
revered human relationship in an inconsiderate, self-directed manner.
Marriage as an Institution of God
One of the fascinating things about marriage is that although man has fallen marriage
has not. Initiated and inaugurated by God it has stood the test of time for virtually six thousand
years. The book of Genesis, reveals that God established matrimony as something holy. Of
course, man has defiled it. Still, it is a God ordained method of joining one man and one woman
together so that - "the two shall be one flesh." Jesus Christ referred to marriage in his ministry on
earth. He states, "what God has joined together let not man put asunder."7 This is a strong
statement that the LORD intended to show the inviolability of marriage as well as the sinfulness
of divorce. Remember, the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ time taught that all a man had to do if he was
not pleased with his wife any longer, was to give her a bill of divorce. Jesus emphasized the
sacredness of marriage when he said that God put a man and a woman together, not man. One of
the Characteristics of a Christian Marriage is the traditional vow by the couple to stay faithful to
each other despite all odds. One of the reasons that young couples are made to take this vow
before the Lord is because, even though marriage is a good thing ordained by God, it will not
always be rosy all the times. In a marriage institution, there will be moment of trials and
difficulties, but God expects that the husband and wife should be able to weather whatever storm
that comes their way together. Marriage is intended by God to be an everlasting school between a
man and a woman in which it is only death that is permitted to separate them.
The Spiritual Connotation of Two Becoming One Flesh
7 Matthew 19:6
4
When God mentions “two becoming one flesh” in the Scripture he simply implies that for
any union to be qualified as a marriage it must be imbued with some definite elements in place.
First, the marriage, is a relationship between a man and a woman. John Davis is his book
Paradise to Prison – Studies in Genesis declares “The first marriage that God performed is quite
clearly a pattern. Those who attempt to mount a biblical case for homosexuality must completely
abandon reasonable hermeneutics”8 Second, marriage was intended to be a solely
exclusive arrangement. Early on, however, rebellious man decided it could be otherwise.
Lamech, a descendant of Cain was the first polygamist (Gen. 4:19). The way this incident is
introduced reveals it to have been a spiritual anomaly. While polygamy was tolerated during the
dispensations of the Old Testament era, it was never the divine ideal, and history reveals that
numerous distresses accompanied this innovation (cf. Gen. 21 :9; 30:1-24; 2 Sam. 5:13; 1 Kgs.
11:1-3). Jesus indicated that such laxness would not be allowed under the Christian regime; he
called men back to God’s original plan (Mt. 19:8). Third, marriage was designed with
a hierarchical arrangement. The New Testament is clear that the husband is to be the “head” of
his wife, just as Christ is head of the church. The wife is to “submit” to her husband (Eph. 5:22;
cf. 1 Cor. 11:3). This is no license for a dictatorship or any form of abuse, but it does
acknowledge a graduation of authority within the home. Fourth, the marriage union was intended
to be a lifelong arrangement. Husband and wife are to “cleave” to one another (Gen. 2:24). Jesus
emphasized that what God “hath joined together” man is not to separate (Mt. 19:6), because,
ideally, the husband and wife are bound together by law until the death of one of these parties
(Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:39). Though it is the fad in our modern world, husbands and wives do not
have the right to change marital partners as easily as they would change a garment!
Homosexual Practices and its Consequences in on the Society
8 John Davis, Paradise to Prison – Studies in Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker,1975), 78.
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Homosexual practices/marriages have far reaching negative implications on the
wellbeing and the continuity of any given society. Since it has been established that God is the
author of the institution of marriage, he deserves the right to dictate the form that marriage
should take. Just like any automobile manufacturer will assign a manual to the automobile which
will enhance seamless operation of such to the prospective buyer, any attempt by the owner of
such automobile to contravene the guidelines by the manufacturer in the manufacturer’s manual
can short live the functionality of such automobile, likewise, God is seen as the human
manufacturer as well as the pioneer of the institution of marriage, the Scripture avers “so God
created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he
them.” 9 The above Scripture is enough proof to show that God intended for a man and a woman
to come together in a union as husband and wife. If God had intended for a man to marry his
fellow man, he would have created Adam and Adam or Eve and Eve. After forming Eve from
Adam’s rib and Adam was made to wake from his heavy sleep, he appreciated the handwork of
God by noting that Eve was the “flesh of his flesh.” An attempt by man to reverse the order of
marriage as already been set by God result in some unpalatable adverse consequences, some of
the inauspicious effects of gay practices that this study will consider are in the area of health,
emotional and social development of children, procreation/continuity of mankind and enforcing
minority moral upon the majority.
Health Consequences of Homosexual Practices
Depicting homosexuality as innocuous is a key goal of homosexual activists, as
homosexual author Urvashi Vaid has admitted “We have an agenda to create a society in which
homosexuality is regarded as healthy, natural, and normal. To me that is the most important
agenda item.”10 The reality however, is that the reverse is the case, as was recently conceded by
the homosexual newspaper New York Blade News:
9 Genesis 1:27
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Reports at a national conference about sexually transmitted disease indicate that
gay men are in the highest risk group for several of the most serious diseases.…
Scientists believe that the increased number of sexually transmitted diseases
(STD) cases is the result of an increase in risky sexual practices by a growing
number of gay men who believe HIV is no longer a life-threatening illness.11
This subheading will examine the significantly preeminent health problems experienced by
homosexuals, most of them the direct consequence of engaging in specific sexual acts and
behavioral patterns.
HIV/AIDS in the Homosexual Community
Homosexuals are more vulnerable for contracting Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
than their heterosexual counterparts. In a study conducted by Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
in sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics in five major Unite States cities, researchers found
the rate of new HIV infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) to be nine times
higher than among women and heterosexual men. According to other CDC research, several
factors are responsible for high rates of infection among homosexuals, including psychosocial
problems like depression and illicit drug use, age of sexual partners, and low rates of HIV testing
among homosexual men, particularly African Americans.12 Not only that according to an
interview granted recently by a Nigerian, medical practitioner, Dr. Chioma, is of the view that a
lot of Nigerian young men are beginning to indulge in the homosexual behavior, some of those
young men get involved in such kind of behavior due to the quest for money. According to the
medical practitioner, these young men are prone to anorectal infection which a she currently
10 Urvashi Vaid Quoted in in Gabriel Rotello, Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men (New
York: Penguin Books, 1997), 286.
11 Bill Roundy, “STD Rates on the Rise,” New York Blade News, (December 15, 2000), 1.
12 “New CDC Studies Shed Light on Factors Underlying High HIV Infection Rates Among Gay and Bisexual
Men,” CDC Press Release (July 9, 2002).
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treats a handful of them.13 Of course common-sense ought to let someone know that the practice
anal sex is prone to result in serious health consequences. According H.L. Kahzal et.al in their
publication titled “The Gay Bowel Syndrome: Clinical-Pathologic Correlation in 260 Cases.”
The authors note that in a sample of 260 homosexual men, “The clinical diagnoses in decreasing
order of frequency include condyloma acuminata, hemorrhoids, nonspecific prostates, anal
fistula, perirectal abscess, anal fissure, amebiasis, benign polyps, viral hepatitis, gonorrhea,
syphilis, anorectal trauma and foreign bodies, shigellosis, rectal ulcers and lymphogranuloma
venereum. S.E. Goldstone posits that for a period following receptive anal sex, the internal anal
sphincter is stretched and is unable to contract strongly, thereby failing to completely seal the
anal opening until the muscle regains its original tone. Repetitive anal sex, especially with large
penises or rectal insertions of large objects may damage the internal anal sphincter, thereby
preventing complete sealing of the anus, and leading to fecal mucus seepage (anal or fecal
incontinence). Additionally, anal sex exacerbates fecal seepage by stimulating colonic motility,
which sends feces from the colon down into the lower rectum14
It Impede Emotional and Social Development of Children
While the legislature has taken steps in legalizing gay marriages, the well-being of children that
are under the care of such relationship should be put into consideration. The Scripture
admonishes for one to train up a child in a godly manner so that when such child is grown he/she
will not depart from such training. A child needs both a father figure and a mother figure for
his/her social, educational, spiritual and emotional development. Research by University of
Illinois shows that children with fathers who take the time to ask about what they learned in
13 Dr. (Mrs.) is a Medical Dr who has her own private practice at Lekki Family Practice in Lagos, Nigeria.
14 S.E. Goldstone, The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex: A Medical Handbook for Men (Dell Publishing,
New York, NY, 1999),
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school and their day-to-day social activities and relationships do better in school than kids who
do not have that kind of input or interest.15 The student writer currently has one little daughter,
from the writers’ observation children prone are to talk and like having the attention of their
parents, when parents (father and mother) give their children proper attention in their homes, by
taking time to listen to their concerns, complimenting the children where occasion demands it,
and correcting them where necessary such children are bound to develop into happy and well-
rounded individuals, on the contrary by depriving them the role of either a father figure or
mother figure can cause a strain in their social and emotional development.
Procreation/ Continuity Issue
Human beings are supposed to carry on with the work of creation after the order of God
because the Scripture declares “ye are gods” (Psa. 82:6).16 One of the commands that God gave
mankind after the creation of the world was to multiply Genesis 1:28; “and God blessed them,
and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing
that mov eth upon the earth.” For man to be “fruitful and multiply” the Creator has already
designed a means through which that can take place – through a legal union between a man and a
woman which is otherwise known as marriage. Though someone may claim that an advancement
in science and technology can enable one to have children without the natural process that
involves intercourse between a man and a woman, however when to people in a homosexual
relationship need a child, the party will still need an external donation (sperm or ovary) to
successfully procreate a baby. If homosexual, is an ideal marriage plan and if everyone should
15 Kristen Finello, “The Role of Fathers with Daughters and Sons” Parents, accessed July 2, 2017,
http://www.parents.com/parenting/better-parenting/style/the-role-of-fathers-with-daughters-and-sons/
16 Psalm 82:6
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then start to embrace homosexual relationship, that implies that in a century from now, the
society will not be able to maintain its culture because there will be no young people to carry on
with such a culture.
Enforcing Minority Moral Upon Majority
The legalization of gay marriage, Gay Marriage means having the morals of the minority
forced upon the majority. This can also be said in the reverse. Either way, there is a problem.
Normally, morals should not be forced on anyone though there are exceptions. Morals are forced
on others by preventing them from stealing, raping, murdering, indulging in substance abuse and
so forth.17 Consequently, it is not inevitably wrong to force morals on someone. But the issue
then becomes what is morally right and wrong in the first place, and altering morals in a society
causes stress. Such imposition of the minority morals on the others can cause untold hardship
and harm to others through various means. A good way that an imposition of this kind of morals
can cause harm to others is thus: imagine in a military organization where a transgender policy
has been adopted, a male soldier is recognized by his fellow soldier suddenly decides that he/she
is a lady trapped in a man’s body consequently decides to conduct transgender transitioning
process from male to female. After the transitioning process, such transgender individual will
henceforth be recognized officially as a female, this means that he/she is entitled to all the rights
and privilege that female soldiers are entitled to, including living in the female barracks, using
the same rest room with the female soldiers and so forth. In the event that soldiers are conducting
some field training that will require individuals to use a general rest room and this transgender
male soldier turned female comes to make use of the general female toilet, of course most
female will feel awkward seeing such a person with a man genital organ in their rest room, and
17 David Platt, Counter Culture: A Compassionate Call to Counter Culture in a World of Poverty,
Same -Sex Marriage, Racism, Sex Slavery, Immigration, Abortion, Persecution, Orphans and Pornography.
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they will certainly not like such, but because the law has endorsed the transgender person, the
female soldiers will then have to repress their feelings towards such kind of individual and will
be forced to live with him. In this case the law has imposed the moral of the minority
transgendered male upon the majority female soldiers. Moreover, when the law forces Christian
judge to wed homosexual couple against his/her Christian belief such is forcing the minority
moral upon the majority.
Effects of Homosexual Practices in the Biblical Era
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
As already noted in the beginning of this study that God detests homosexual practice, as a
matter of fact it was considered an anomaly for one to be a homosexual, let alone talk about
legalizing such practice. Any one that indulged in such an act in Mosaic law was punished by the
imposition of death penalty on such a person (Lev 20:13). However, in the Scripture, there is a
record that depicts the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by God, many scholars have argued
that besides the sin of homosexuality, that there were other reasons that prompted God to destroy
Sodom and Gomorrah. Before advancing in this discussion, it will be germane to consider
Genesis 19:
And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom:
and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face
toward the ground;
2And he said, behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house,
and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your
ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
3And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into
his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did
eat. 4But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom,
compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every
quarter:
5And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, where are the men which came in
to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
6And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
7And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
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8Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray
you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only
unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my
roof…13For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great
before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.18
Scholars have advanced some theories to explain away the fact that Sodom was not destroyed as
result of homosexual practices in the land. Some of the theories that scholars have advanced
include: the men of the land were abusive and uncharitable to strangers, the men wanted to
humiliate their visitors, they wanted to engage in bestiality and so forth.19 However a critical
study of the above chapter will reveal that the angels were on a mission to destroy Sodom and
Gomorrah and God had already given them the instruction before coming to the city of Sodom.
Thus Genesis 19:13 says “for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great
before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.” The above statement
nullifies every other argument that one may want to present to prove that it was not because of
homosexual practices that made God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.
Homosexual Practices/ Marriage Attracts the Wrath of God
The above Scripture that has been read so far shows that homosexual practices is highly
detestable by God. One of the attributes of God is love and mercy. The Scripture avers that his
mercies are new every morning (Lam 3:22-23), whatever that made God to forget about his
merciful and loving attributes and punish an entire nation (male, female, children and aged ones)
must have been a very grievous offence against him, which homosexual practice is categorized
as such.
Conclusion
18 Genesis 19
19 Michael L Brown, Can You be Gay and Christian? (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House
Publishing, 2014),130.
12
In the beginning of this study, the writer postulates that “gay marriages are morally bad
according to biblical standard and has far reaching negative impacts on the wellbeing of the
society.” The study started with a brief introduction and progress by establishing that what is a
union of a male and a female counterpart who has mutually agreed to be married to each other.
Several traits of an ideal marriage are equally discussed in the study which gay
marriage/relationship does not posses and thus nullifies the concept of gay marriage as a
marriage. The writer equally proved that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of
homosexual practices, this shows that God detests such relationship. Thus, the writer is able to
validate his assertion that “gay marriages are morally bad according to the biblical standard.”
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