Christianity and Homosexuality

I was watching an interview the other day with a well known Christian televangelist and the question of homosexuality came up.  If you ever want to make a minister squirm, ask him about homosexuality on a national television program.

It was immediately clear that this pastor was very uncomfortable as he reluctantly expressed that according to the Bible homosexuality is a sin.  He was then asked if he tells gay members of his church that they are living in sin, to which he expressed that he doesn't really talk about that from his pulpit.  He was then asked if he chose to be straight and if he didn't, how can he say that people can't be born gay?  He awkwardly avoided the question and was saved by the comercial break.   

I think one of the big dividing lines between homosexuality and Christianity comes down to the issue of choice.  Christians tend to be resistant to the idea that people can be "born gay."  To concede this would be to eliminate the personal responsibility of intentionally choosing to sin and severely shrink the platform for which to condem this "sinful" activity.

I think much more common ground could be reached if the church and society really understood what the word "sin" really means when pertaining to the Bible.  In our English language, we interpret the word "sin" to mean evil or bad.  But in the New Testament, the word "sin" actually means to "miss the mark" or "to wander off path."  Those definitions are significantly different than "evil."  I find the definition of "missing the mark" to be rather significant.  If I'm shooting an arrow at a target and miss, does that make me an evil, horrendous person?  I would certainly hope not.  My intention was to hit the target but the reality was that something else happened.  Something unintended.

When we look at the human body it is pretty clear that we primarily come in two models: male and female.  It is also pretty clear that there are parts of those bodies that were made to fit together in certain ways for the purpose of reproduction.  So, naturally it would make sense that the "intention" would be for men and women to be attracted to each other.  But, what if something happened in the development of an individual that caused them to become attracted to the same gender?  Would that person be disgusting, evil, and perverse?  Or is it possible that something simply "missed the mark."

As people we can look at the majority of us and see we are designed to have two arms and two legs.  But what if someone was born without a leg?  Would we call that person horrible and terrible?  Certainly not!  But it could be said that something happened in their development that "missed the mark" causing them to be born without something they were originally designed to have.

The real issue here is that we have misdefined the word "sin" in our language and in doing so have done incredible damage to people.  To tell someone that they are an evil sinner because they chose to be gay could be like telling the guy without a leg that he is an evil sinner because he chose to be born without a leg.

So, in the end, according to the Bible, is homosexuality "sin?"  The answer would be yes, it is sin, meaning it is something other than what was intended.  Is homosexuality evil or terrible according to the Bible?  Not if we correctly interpret the word "sin."  As usual the Bible got it right but religion got it wrong.