Even apart from what the Bible says, homosexuality must be termed extremely unhealthy.

Sexually transmitted diseases are without a doubt the most serious consequence of homosexual behavior. Practicing homosexuals as a group account for an overwhelmingly disproportionate number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases, including gonorrhea, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and syphilis (Mireya Navarro, "Federal Officials See Sharp Rise of Hepatitis Among Gay Men," The New York Times, March 6, 1992). According to the American Medical Association, homosexual youth are twenty-three times more likely to contract sexually transmitted diseases than heterosexuals (American Adolescents: How Healthy Are They?, American Medical Association, 1990, p.31).

Lesbians are 19 times more likely than heterosexual women to have had syphilis, twice as likely to suffer from genital warts, and four times as likely to have scabies (New England Journal of Medicine 317:973,1987).

A recent study of Massachusetts teenagers, published in the American Journal of Public Health (Anne H. Faulkner and Kevin Cranston, "Correlates of Same-Sex Sexual Behavior in a Random Sample of Massachusetts High School Students," February 1998, p. 264) discovered that self-identified gays were:

• nine times more likely to have reported using alcohol on a daily basis;
• six times more likely to report having recently used cocaine than their heterosexual counterparts;
• nineteen times more likely to report having used cocaine on ten or more occasions per month;
• five times more likely to report having used other illegal drugs, including cocaine, twenty or more times in their lives;
• nearly seven times more likely to report ever having injected an illegal drug;
• fifty percent more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to have considered committing suicide.

The average homosexual of any age is three times more suicidal than the heterosexual (Cameron, Playfair, Wellum, The Homosexual Lifespan, Family Research Institute, Feb 14, 1992).

Life expectancy of homosexual men and women without AIDS is about 33 years shorter than that of the heterosexual (Cameron, Playfair, Wellum, The Homosexual Lifespan, Family Research Institute, Feb 14, 1992). Surprisingly, AIDS has only a modest effect on the average life expectancy of a homosexual male. The average age of men dying from AIDS is 39. The average age of homosexuals dying from all other causes is even more revealing: 41. Only one percent die of old age. In study after study, less than three percent of all homosexuals surveyed are over the age of 55.

Why is homosexuality such a dangerous lifestyle? Part of the reason is the promiscuous lifestyle of homosexuals. Homosexualities (1978, page 308) an official publication of The Institute for Sex Research founded by Alfred Kinsey, Alan Bell, and Martin Weinberg, reported that only ten percent of male homosexuals could be termed as "relatively monogamous" or "relatively less promiscuous" (defined as 10 or fewer lifetime partners). Additional findings showed that 60 percent of male homosexuals had more than 250 lifetime sexual partners, and 28 percent of male homosexuals had more than 1,000 lifetime sexual partners. Another startling fact is that 79 percent admitted that more than half of their sexual partners were strangers.

Genesis 19:5-8 They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them." Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof." "Get out of our way," they replied. And they said, "This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you worse than them." They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

Leviticus 18:22 Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. [Read also verses 24-30.]

Leviticus 20:13 If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

Deuteronomy 23:17 No Israelite man is to become a shrine prostitute. No Israelite woman is to become a shrine prostitute.

The "male shrine prostitute" was a homosexual. He is called a "dog" in verse 18, a nickname he received from the dog-like manner in which he debased himself with men.

Judges 19:21-23 So he took the man into his house and fed his donkeys. After they had washed their feet, they had something to eat and drink. While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, "Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him." The owner of the house went outside and said to them, "No, my friends, don't be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don't do this disgraceful thing."

1 Kings 14:24 There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. [See also 1 Kings 15:12; 22:46; 2 Kings 23:7; and Job 36:13-14.]

Romans 1:25-26 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

"male prostitute" = malakos = literally softness, slang for a boy or man used in temple prostitution for homosexual activity. "homosexual offenders" = arsenokoites = one who lies on a couch with a male.

1 Timothy 1:9-10 We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers--and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine.

"perverts" = arsenokoites (same word as 1 Corinthians 6:9).

For more on specific Scriptures or to see how gays interpret these Bible texts see the following:

• The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics, ISBN: 0687022797, Author: Robert A. J. Gagnon. This is the best book that I know of discussing the traditional Biblical view of homosexual practice.

• Homosexuality & Christianity.

What Helps the Homosexual
(Taken from Homosexual Struggle by Nancy, IVP booklet):

1. People who will call sin sin. I didn’t need any help in my attempts to condone or rationalize homosexuality. I seemed to do that quite well on my own. I needed people who would bring the truth of Scripture to me in my confusion. I needed advice such as that a friend of mine wrote:
   
   "When you’re involved with a woman in a gay relationship, you may feel there is no greater joy in the world. You will love her and be loved in return, you’ll share at a deeper level than you’ve ever known before and she will return your sharing with tenderness and compassion. You’ll think that there was never a better love than this and never will be. You’re wrong. You’ll think that your love is different and unique and goes beyond the morals found in the Bible. You’re wrong. You may even feel that your love for each other is equal to if not better than the love between a husband and a wife—or you may even feel married to each other. But you’re wrong again. You could never give each other the greatest love possible. You may love each other, yes, but you are not giving each other the love that Jesus gave us (Mark 10:45)."

2. Realizing that there was a difference between homosexual orientation and the activity of homosexuality. Orientation is a condition. It is the way that my brain and thoughts are presently wired. Homosexual activity is what is forbidden in Scripture and labeled sinful.

3. Someone who would listen with God’s patience and compassion. Good listening ears were few and far between. Find one who will listen and won’t give pat answers.

4. Staying away from tempting situations. In other words, talk to female friends in broad daylight on the lawn, rather than after midnight in your bedroom. "Flee from youthful lusts" applies to homosexual as well as heterosexual temptations" (2 Timothy 2:22).

5. Realizing that homosexuality is not the unforgivable sin. All sin is equally deserving of condemnation, yet equally touchable by grace. I was freed to deal with my sin more realistically when I realized that homosexuality is no worse than envy or rage (Galatians 5:19-21).

6. I needed to not only be willing to let God make changes inside me according to His will and timing, but also to endure some loneliness and discomfort in the meantime. My goal in life has become holiness (Hebrews 12:1-13) and the means are obedience and the power of the Holy Spirit. There is hope—we have a big God! And He has assured us of his forgiveness and cleansing.

7. In dealing with lust, I found Philippians 4:8 to be extremely helpful. Rather than focus on my own struggles and inner conflicts and confusion, I tried to let my mind dwell on what is true, honorable, right, pure—namely the Lord Jesus himself. We are programmed by our preoccupations. If your mind is "set on things above" (Colossians 3:2), your actions will follow appropriately.

8. I have become content with being single and celibate. There is nothing second-rate about singleness! God does not always choose to change the orientation of a Christian homosexual. But Jesus has become my "first love" (Revelation 2:4) and I am really enjoying life.
   
   I have also become open to and more interested in the possibility of eventual marriage—an indication of changes in my heart that I hardly dreamed possible. There still seems to be some ambivalence, mixed motives and confused emotions to resolve in this area, but I sense that God is at work.

9. "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Philippians 3:8). Whereas once I felt deprived of the "freedom" to act on my homosexual desires, I now count those experiences and momentary pleasures "as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8 TEV). That which I have given up is so little compared to what I have gained. My overriding feelings are not ones of being ‘deprived’ or ‘punished,’ but rather of being progressively liberated, gentled, and strengthened.

Suggested Resource: Bob Davies and Lori Rentzel, Coming Out of Homosexuality, Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1994. -- A practical handbook designed to help the individual who struggles with his or her sexual identity become spiritually whole and free from sexual bondage. The book features strategies for healing that have been developed and used around the world. Davies is executive director of Exodus International, an organization that offers specialized counseling to homosexuals in the United States.

How to Minister to Homosexual People

1. See a PERSON, not a homosexual. We're not a clean-up campaign; we're ambassadors of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). How would you approach ANY person you felt needed Christ? There's nothing particularly special about homosexuality in God's eyes. Homosexuals are looking for love just like anyone else, Jesus is the answer for all their needs.

2. Remember that the gospel means "good news." Be sure to present a Savior who saves, not a code of ethics. God wants to redeem the whole person, not just his sexuality.

3. Know what you are offering. You are offering Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You are NOT offering heterosexuality. There is a difference between FEELING homosexual feelings and ACTING out homosexual behavior. When that person makes a commitment to Christ he must come into agreement with God that homosexual behavior is sin. You are initially offering him power to come into celibacy. His homosexual feelings are not going to change overnight. That will come with time and the care and concern of friends, and the quality of his own continued surrender to Christ.

4. Actively, patiently love that person. Words can be so empty. Demonstrate your love by listening, by calling, by confronting when necessary, by sitting together in church. Love is an action verb.

5. Don't be afraid to hear some colorful language and "gory" details. Some folks don't know how to express themselves in any way but street language. Listen with love and respond as Jesus tells you. Love them where they are at.

6. Don't be afraid to say "I love you." Don't be afraid to touch or to hold hands in prayer. We all need that physical affirmation of love from one another. Homosexuals confuse sex and intimacy. They need people who can model the appropriate place of touch and love language. They need to learn the place of physical affection outside the context of sexual involvement. They won't rape you. If your intentions are misunderstood, explain yourself, but don't back away. If you don't know what you should do, say so.

7. Share your life. Be transparent. Many coming from a homosexual background are surprised to realize that "regular folks" also wrestle with sexual temptation, loneliness, rejection, hurt, etc. That helps them put their lives in perspective.

8. Present the whole of the Word of God. Jesus wants to set them free from lying, bitterness, pride, rebellion -- you name it. Homosexual behavior and fantasy is only part of it.

9. Point them away from their sin. Let them see Jesus, the answer to all their sins. Don't make homosexuality the focal point of your relationship. Stay away from homosexual and ex-homosexual jokes. It will only push them toward their homosexual lifestyle. For the same reason, avoid calling them ex-gays. They are WHOLE people in Christ. They are Christians!

10. Tell them about homosexuals that have found Christ -- groups like Exodus, Harvest, and Love in Action. Share Scripture like 1 Corinthians 6:11 ("...and such were some of you...") as well as testimonies of others who have come out of homosexuality.
    

Help for the Homosexual

Support Groups

Books

See also:

• Being gay is not wrong!
• When Someone You Love is Gay.
• Questions about masturbation, homosexual thoughts, and eternal life.

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