"Why didn't Jesus teach about homosexuality? If he was against it like you people are, surely he would have said so. Obviously Jesus had no problem in accepting homosexuality because he remained silent about it".
This comment from a spokesperson for the homosexual community (a person who was quite passionate in his support of same-sex marriage) came as no real surprise to me. Given that much of the opposition to same-sex marriage is coming from the so-called "religious right", it is only to be expected that the advocates of same-sex marriage would seek to discredit their opponents by appealing to the Bible to support their own position.
The particular spokesperson in question is both right and wrong.
He is right in that there is no record in the Bible where Jesus specifically and directly used the word "homosexual" or "homosexuality". However, arguments from silence are tenuous at the best of times. For example, Jesus did not teach about capital punishment. Does this necessarily mean that He did not have a position on this subject?
But this spokesperson is wrong in that Jesus did teach on the subject of marriage and, in doing so, He made His position on homosexuality and same-sex marriage very clear.
Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: "Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for any reason?" "Haven't you read the Scriptures?" Jesus replied. "They record that from the beginning 'God made them male and female.' And he said, 'This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.' Since they are no longer two but one, let no one separate them, for God has joined them together." "Then why did Moses say a man could merely write an official letter of divorce and send her away?" they asked. Jesus replied, "Moses permitted divorce as a concession to your hard-hearted wickedness, but it was not what God had originally intended. And I tell you this, a man who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery — unless his wife has been unfaithful." Matthew 19:3-9 NLT
The immediate subject in that exchange had to do with divorce. But in taking a stand for both the nature and protection of traditional marriage, Jesus was also taking a position that could not accommodate the practice of homosexuality or same-sex marriage.
The whole drama on that occasion was the result of determined attempts to find loopholes that would allow Jesus' opponents to circumvent the teaching of Scripture and pursue their own agendas. Jesus called the motivation for what it was - hardness of heart.
The human condition that was on show then is the same today. As this debate over same-sex marriage gains momentum the closer we get to the Federal ALP Conference in December of this year, this will become more & more evident. The pressure on the National government of our country to change the laws and statutes of our land to accommodate and recognise same-sex marriage will be enormous.
For the advocates of same-sex marriage to appeal to Jesus' apparent silence on the subject reveals an ignorance of the Christian Scriptures that is disappointing to say the least - if not breathtakingly dishonest.
On another occasion (but on the same subject of marriage) Jesus put it this way
Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures....." Matthew 22:29 NIV
I believe this would be His judgment in this case, too.
