Homosexuality and God Essay

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. In use since the 1990s, the term LGBT is an adaptation of the initialism â€Å"LGB†, which itself started replacing the phrase gay community beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the community in question felt did not accurately represent all those to whom it referred. The initialism has become mainstream as a self-designation and has been adopted by the majority â€Å"sexuality and gender identity-based† community centers and media in the United States and some other English-speaking countries. The term LGBT is intended to emphasize a diversity of â€Å"sexuality and gender identity-based cultures† and is sometimes used to refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual or cisgender instead of exclusively to people who are homosexual, bisexual, or transgender. To recognize this inclusion, a popular variant adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer and/or are questioning their sexual identity as â€Å"LGBTQ†, recorded since 1996. In Malaysia, LGBT rights are partially recognized. LGBT individuals encompass all races and ethnicities, religions, and social classes. Sexual orientation and gender identity questions are not asked on most national or State surveys, making it difficult to estimate the number of LGBT individuals and their health needs. Research suggests that LGBT individuals face health disparities linked to societal stigma, discrimination, and denial of their civil and human rights. Discrimination against LGBT persons has been associated with high rates of psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, and suicide. Experiences of violence and victimization are frequent for LGBT individuals, and have long-lasting effects on the individual and the community. Personal, family, and social acceptance of sexual orientation and gender identity affects the mental health and personal safety of LGBT individuals. It is important to recognize the difference between sexual orientation and sexual behavior as well as the differences among sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender role. Sexual orientation is the affectional or loving attraction to another person. It can be considered as ranging along a continuum from same-sex attraction only at one end of the continuum to pposite-sex attraction only at the other end. Heterosexuality is the attraction to persons of the opposite sex; homosexuality, to persons of the same sex; and bisexuality, to both sexes. Sexual orientation can be seen as part of a continuum ranging from same-sex attraction only (at one end of the continuum) to opposite-sex attraction only (at the other end of the continuum). Sexual behavior, or sexual activity, differs from sexual orientation and alone does not define someone as an LGBT individual. Any person may be capable of sexual behavior with a person of the same or opposite sex, but an individual knows his or her longings—erotic and affectional—and which sex is more likely to satisfy those needs. It is necessary to draw a distinction between sexual orientation and sexual behavior. Not every person with a homosexual or bisexual orientation is sexually active. A person’s sexual orientation does not tell us if she/he is sexually active or does it define her /his specific sexual behaviors. Similarly, sexual behavior alone does not define orientation. A personal awareness of having a sexual orientation that is not exclusively heterosexual is one way a person identifies herself or himself as an LGBT person. Or a person may have a sexual identity that differs from his or her biological sex—that is, a person may have been born a male but identifies and feels more comfortable as a female. Sexual orientation and gender identity are two independent variables in an individual’s definition of himself or herself. Sexual identity is the personal and unique way that a person perceives his or her own sexual desires and sexual expressions. Biological sex is the biological distinction between men and women. Gender is the concept of maleness and masculinity or femaleness and femininity. One’s gender identity is the sense of one’s self as male or female and does not refer to one’s sexual orientation or gender role. Sex refers to the biological characteristics of a person at birth, while gender relates to his or her perception of being male or female and is known as the gender role. Gender role refers to the behaviors and desires to act in certain ways that are viewed as masculine or feminine by a particular culture. A culture usually labels behaviors as masculine or feminine, but these behaviors are not necessarily a direct component of gender or gender identity. It is common in our culture to call the behaviors, styles, or interests shown by males that are usually associated with women â€Å"effeminate† and to call the boys who behave this way â€Å"sissies. Women or girls who have interests usually associated with men are labeled â€Å"masculine† or â€Å"butch,† and the girls are often called â€Å"tomboys. † Transsexuals are people with the biological characteristics of one sex who identify themselves as the opposite gender and have had some type of surgical alteration and/or hormone treatments that changes their bodies’ appearance in alignment with their identity. While understanding the various concepts used in sexual orientation in general, it is very imperative to define in specific details definition of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) accordingly. Lesbian which is originally a Greek word, is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an adjective, to describe characteristics of an object or activity related to female same-sex desire. Lesbian as a concept, used to differentiate women with a shared sexual orientation, is a 20th-century construct. Gay is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward/between males. Gay is a word (a noun or an adjective) that primarily refers to a homosexual person. The word â€Å"gay† arrived in English during the 12th century from Old French gai, most likely deriving ultimately from a Germanic source. The term was originally used to refer to feelings of being â€Å"carefree†, â€Å"happy†, or â€Å"bright and showy†; it had also come to acquire some connotations of â€Å"immorality† as early as 1637. The term’s use as a reference to homosexuality may date as early as the late 19th century, but its use gradually increased in the 20th century. In modern English, gay has come to be used as an adjective, and as a noun, referring to the people, especially to men, and the practices and cultures associated with homosexuality. By the end of the 20th century, the word gay was recommended by major LGBT groups and style guides to describe people attracted to members of the same sex. Bisexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward males and females. The term is especially used in the context of human sexual attraction to denote romantic or sexual feelings toward men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the heterosexual–homosexual continuum. People who have a distinct but not exclusive sexual preference for one sex over the other may identify themselves as bisexual. Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles. Transgender is the state of one’s â€Å"gender identity (self-identification as woman, man, neither or both) not matching ones â€Å"assigned sex† (identification by others as male, female or intersex based on physical/genetic sex). †Transgender† does not imply any specific form of sexual orientation; transgender people may identify as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, polysexual, or asexual; some may consider conventional sexual orientation labels inadequate or inapplicable to them. The precise definition for transgender remains in flux, but includes: â€Å"Of, relating to, or designating a person whose identity does not conform unambiguously to conventional notions of male or female gender roles, but combines or moves between these. † â€Å"People who were assigned a sex, usually at birth and based on their genitals, but who feel that this is a false or incomplete description of themselves. † â€Å"Non-identification with, or non-presentation as, the sex (and assumed gender) one was assigned at birth. A transgender individual may have characteristics that are normally associated with a particular gender, identify elsewhere on the traditional gender continuum, or exist outside of it as â€Å"other†, â€Å"agender†, â€Å"Genderqueer†, or â€Å"third gender†. Sexuality and gender have different impacts in each culture’s laws, attitudes, and organizations. More secular and â€Å"modernized† societies often h ave more favorable treatment of LGBT individuals than societies which value tradition and religious piety. However, accurate generalizations are difficult to make; even within Malaysia, attitudes towards LGBT individuals vary from person to person. Cultural differences in LGBT issues have wide-ranging effects. Other cultures may have different ways of expressing affection—for example, in India, it is common for same-sex friends to hold hands without any assumption of a romantic connection—or of categorizing gender and sexuality—for example, in parts of Latin America, a man is not considered gay if he engages in same-sex intercourse as the insertive artner. Thus, American English terms and conceptualizations of LGBT issues may not directly translate. The visibility of LGBT individuals and organizations varies by culture. Some cultures have an underground LGBT scene where LGBT individuals are tolerated as long as they remain mainly closeted, whereas other cultures may have a more open and organized community of LGBT individuals. In addition, some cultures may provide legal protection for LGBT individuals and recognize their partnerships, while other cultures may criminalize same-sex intercourse. Globally in some country; For example in Malaysia, Cross-dressing(Gender identity/expression) is not technically a crime. However, transgender individuals have often been arrested by police officers under the civil laws governing â€Å"public indecency†, and if they are Muslim, can be further charged by religious officers under Sharia Laws for â€Å"impersonating† women. For example, in 1998, Forty-five Muslim transvestites were charged and convicted in court for dressing as women, and twenty-three more transgender persons faced similar fines and imprisonment in 1999. Finally, there may be major differences within the LGBT community in a specific culture; for example, in parts of southeastern Asia it is considered culturally acceptable for a man to have sex with a feminine transgendered man, while there are no such provisions for women having sex with transgendered women. Homosexuality: The Christian Perspective (LESBIAN, GAY & Bisexuality) In a world of moral confusion and ethical compromise, the principles for which the Holy Bible stands, is directing the Christians in the right path to God and the way of life. The Christian point of view is based solely upon the Bible, the divinely inspired Word of God. A truly Christian standard of ethics is the conduct of divine revelation, not of statistical research or of public opinion. For the Christian, the Bible is the final authority for both belief and behaviour. The Explicitly the Bible teach about homosexuality can be considered as basic because, if we accept God’s Word on the subject of homosexuality, we benefit from His adequate answer to this problem as seen in Christianity. This project is concerned only with the Christian or biblical view of homosexuality. The Bible has much to say about sex sins in general for a view in Homosexuality in Christian perspective. First, there is adultery. Adultery in the natural sense is sexual intercourse of a married person with someone other than his or her own spouse. It is condemned in both the Old and New Testaments (Exodus 20:14; I Cor. 6:9, 10). Christ forbids dwelling upon the thoughts, the free play of one’s imagination that leads to adultery (Matthew 5:28). Second, there is fornication, the illicit sex acts of unmarried persons which is likewise forbidden (I Corinthians 5:1; 6:13, 18; Ephesians 5:3). Then there is homosexuality which likewise is condemned in Scripture. The Apostle Paul, writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, declares that homosexuality â€Å"shall not inherit the kingdom of God† (I Corinthians 6:9; 10). Now Paul does not single out the homosexual as a special offender. He includes fornicators, idolators, adulterers, thieves, covetous persons, drunkards, revilers and extortioners. And then he adds the comment that some of the Christians at Corinth had been delivered from these very practices: â€Å"And such were some of you: But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of our God† (I Corinthians 6:11). All of the sins mentioned in this passage are condemned by God, but just as there was hope in Christ for the Corinthians, so is there hope for all of us. Homosexuality is an illicit lust forbidden by God. He said to His people Israel, â€Å"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination† (Leviticus 18:22). If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them† (Leviticus 20:13). In these passages homosexuality is condemned as a prime example of sin, a sexual perversion. The Christian can neither alter God’s viewpoint nor depart from it. In the Bible sodomy is a synonym for homosexuality. God spoke plainly on the matter when He said, â€Å"There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel† (Deuteronomy 23:17). The whore and the sodomite are in the same category. A sodomite was not an inhabitant of Sodom nor a descendant of an inhabitant of Sodom, but a man who had given himself to homosexuality, and the unnatural vice for which Sodom was known. Let us look at the passages in question: â€Å"But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house around, old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men hich came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold 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. (Genesis 19:4-8)† The Hebrew word for â€Å"know† in v erse 5 is yada`, a sexual term. It is used frequently to denote sexual intercourse (Genesis 4:1, 17, 25; Matthew 1:24, 25). The message in the context of Genesis 19 is clear. Lot pled with the men to â€Å"do not so wickedly. † Homosexuality is wickedness and must be recognized as such else there is no hope for the homosexual who is asking for help to be extricated from his sinful way of life. Romans 1:24-27; I Timothy 1:10 and Jude 7. If one takes these Scriptures seriously, homosexuality will be recognized as an evil. The Romans passage is unmistakably clear. Paul attributes the moral depravity of men and women to their rejection of â€Å"the truth of God† (1:25). They refused â€Å"to retain God in their knowledge† (1:28), thereby dethroning God and deifying themselves. The Old Testament had clearly condemned homosexuality but in Paul’s day there were those persons who rejected its teaching. Because of their rejection of God’s commands He punished their sin by delivering them over to it. The philosophy of substituting God’s Word with one’s own reasoning commenced with Satan. He introduced it at the outset of the human race by suggesting to Eve that she ignore God’s orders, assuring her that in so doing she would become like God with the power to discern good and evil (Genesis 3:1-5). That was Satan’s big lie. Paul said that when any person rejects God’s truth, his mind becomes â€Å"reprobate,† meaning void of sound judgment. The reprobate mind, having rejected God’s truth, is not capable of discerning good and evil. In Romans 1:26-31 twenty-three punishable sins are listed with homosexuality leading the list. Paul wrote, â€Å"For this cause God gave them up into vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. † (Romans 1:26, 27). These verses are telling us that homosexuals suffer in their body and personality the inevitable consequences of their wrong doing. Notice that the behaviour of the homosexual is described as a â€Å"vile affection† (1:26). The Greek word translated â€Å"vile† (atimia) means filthy, dirty, evil, and dishonourable. The word â€Å"affection† in Greek is pathos, used by the Greeks of either a good or bad desire. Here in the context of Romans it is used in a bad sense. The â€Å"vile affection† is a degrading passion, a shameful lust. Both the desire (lusting after) and the act of homosexuality are condemned in the Bible as sin.