Ep. 212 - Does the Bible Really Condemn Same-Sex Relationships?
The Deconstructionists
John Williamson
4.4 • 823 Ratings
🗓️ 13 October 2025
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Episode Summary
You’ve probably heard it before: “The Bible clearly condemns homosexuality.” But is that actually true?
In this episode, we put that claim under a microscope. We dig into the six main passages most often cited against same-sex relationships, examine them in their original language and cultural context, and confront the translation choices and theological assumptions that have shaped centuries of Christian thought.
We also respond to common accusations from fundamentalist circles—that affirming interpretations “don’t take the Bible seriously” or are just “twisting Scripture to fit modern culture”—and show how serious scholarship actually tells a different story.
Key Topics Covered
• Why the word “homosexual” did not appear in English Bibles until the 20th century
• How ancient cultures, including those in the biblical world, understood sexuality and relationships
• The difference between exploitative, non-consensual sexual acts in the ancient world and modern, loving, consensual same-sex relationships
• Detailed breakdown of:
• Genesis 19 (Sodom and Gomorrah)
• Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13 (Holiness Code)
• Romans 1:26–27
• 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10
• Why context matters: ancient hospitality codes, temple prostitution, and cultural purity laws
• How fewer than a dozen verses address same-sex acts—compared to thousands on love, justice, and caring for the marginalized
• Why serious biblical scholarship supports an affirming view
Primary Sources & Scholarship
Research for this episode draws from respected biblical scholars, linguists, and historians, including:
General Context & Language Studies
• Matthew Vines – God and the Gay Christian
• David P. Gushee – Changing Our Mind
• James V. Brownson – Bible, Gender, Sexuality
• William Loader – The New Testament on Sexuality
Translation & Language Issues
• Ed Oxford – research on the history of the word homosexual in Bible translations
• Dale B. Martin – Sex and the Single Savior
Old Testament Context
• John J. Collins – Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (on Holiness Code)
• Martti Nissinen – Homoeroticism in the Biblical World: A Historical Perspective
- Dan McClellan - the Bible Says So: What we get Right (and wrong) About Scripture's Most Controversial Issues
New Testament Context
• N.T. Wright – various works on Paul (discussing cultural setting)
• Robin Scroggs – The New Testament and Homosexuality
• Ken Stone – Practicing Safer Texts: Food, Sex and Bible in Queer Perspective
Special music on this episode provided by Forrest Clay and Que Jones
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Deconstructionist podcast. I'm your host, John Williamson, and we're back with a new episode. |
| 0:16.1 | And this will be the first of a series of episodes that I intend on doing on a number of different |
| 0:22.5 | questions and topics that people have been asking for for a long time. |
| 0:28.2 | And to be honest, I've held off on doing it, not because I didn't think it was important, |
| 0:32.7 | but because I didn't want to rush it. |
| 0:34.3 | I wanted to give it time, the nuance, and the research it deserves, and now we're ready. |
| 0:40.5 | But truthfully, what finally pushed me to move this one to the top of the list was a few angry |
| 0:46.0 | emails I got after I released an episode on spoiled fruit. |
| 0:49.7 | That touched briefly on this topic. |
| 0:52.3 | Some folks wrote in to say, I'd lost credibility with them because they felt like I was forcing my personal theology on them, which is funny because I never actually shared my personal theology. |
| 1:02.8 | I just told the story. |
| 1:04.9 | But here's the part that really stuck with me. |
| 1:07.0 | Several of them also implied or just straight said, that anyone who holds an affirming |
| 1:12.6 | position must not take scripture seriously. And that kind of pissed me off. So, because I do |
| 1:19.7 | take scripture seriously, very seriously. And so do a lot of scholars, pastors, and faithful Christians |
| 1:24.7 | who have done the hard honest work of actually studying these |
| 1:28.0 | passages in their full historical, linguistic, and cultural context and still arrive at a |
| 1:33.9 | different conclusion than the one some of us grew up with. |
| 1:37.4 | So today we're going to talk about it. |
| 1:39.3 | This episode is the first, like I said, in a series where we're going to unpack the |
| 1:44.1 | collaborer verses, |
| 1:45.0 | the handful of passages often used to condemn LGBTQ plus people, and we're going to do it thoroughly, |
... |
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