It is curious how "the so-called Christian churches are the first to judge". Yet the Bible speaks of false prophets in the days to come, but at the heart of the claim that the Bible is clear "that homosexuality is forbidden by God" is poor biblical scholarship and cultural prejudice read into the Bible. The Bible says nothing about "homosexuality" as an innate dimension of personality. Sexual orientation was not understood in biblical times. There are references to homosexual sexual behavior in the Bible and they are all undeniably negative. But what is condemned in these passages is the violence, idolatry, and exploitation related to the behavior, not the homosexual nature of the behavior. There are references to gender-diverse sexual behavior in the Bible that are equally condemning for the same reasons. But no one claims that the conviction was due to the fact that the behavior was between a man and a woman. There was no word in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek for “homosexual” or “homosexuality.” These words were invented towards the end of the 19th century, when psychoanalysts began to discover and understand sexuality as an essential part of the human personality in all its diversity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As a result, the Bible cannot be said to say anything about this. The writers of the Bible had neither the understanding nor the language. There is only one reference to sexual behavior between women, and that is in Romans 1:26. The context of this reference has to do with Gentiles rejecting the true God to pursue false gods; that is, idolatry. And the sexual behavior described is orgiastic, not that of a loving, mutual, caring, committed relationship. What is condemned is the worship of false gods. Sexuality is a wonderful gift from God. It is more than just genital behavior. It is how we embody and express ourselves in the world. But we cannot intimately love another person without embodying that love, without using our bodies to love. And that involves genital behavior. Sexual love is about giving and receiving pleasure with our most intimate partner. It is a means of deepening and strengthening the intimate union that exists. This can only be healthy and positive if our behavior is consistent with who we are and who we love, and when we are faithful to our sexuality and our orientation. When it comes to marriage, it's important to remember that the Bible was written in a patriarchal culture that assumed men were in control and women were subject to them. Marriage was not an equal partnership, but a matter of a man owning one or more women as property. Women provided men with companionship, children, and work. Certainly love between man and woman or women could develop, but love was not the basis of marriage. As a result, the biblical concept of marriage is not appropriate today. We no longer accept the inferiority of women and the superiority of men. We no longer accept that marriage is a real estate transaction. The concept of marriage has evolved throughout history. Today we understand it as a voluntary spiritual relationship based on love, respect, reciprocity and commitment. What really matters is the quality of the relationship, not the gender of the people involved. And marriage is not created by a religious ceremony or civil government. It is created by the people involved engaging with each other. Whether or not there is a religious ceremony to celebrate the marriage or a marriage license to legalize it, the marriage that two people make together in private is real and.