Homosexuality from Religious and Philosophical Perspectives Essay

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Introduction

People have different views on homosexuality and the moral acceptability of the open manifestation of the homosexual lifestyle. This topic is controversial, and every side has a foregrounded argument based on their ethical values. For example, the proponents of open homosexuality insist that this lifestyle allows them to feel happy and contribute to human flourishing, which means there is nothing wrong with this practice. When the person hide their sexual inclinations and deny the part of their nature, they cannot be satisfied with their lives, which has a destructive impact on them and their surrounding. The opponents of open homosexuality insist that it is a sinful practice that violates the divine laws and leads to the spread of the wrong perception of relationships. It is possible to assume that people’s perspectives on homosexuality have deep cultural and religious roots, which makes the attempts to change their opinions on this issue ineffective.

Christian Perspective and Homosexuality

From the Christian perspective, a homosexual lifestyle is against God’s Moral Law. It explains the believers’ detest of the legalization of homosexual marriages and open manifestations of such relationships. The religious point of view clearly defines homosexuality as the sin of sodomy punished by God. It is written in Romans 1:26-27: “God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual 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 shameful acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error” (New International Version, Romans 1:26-27). Therefore, the Holy Scripture condemns homosexuality.

The only acceptable variant of relationships is the heterosexual married couple with intimate contact only for conception and subsequent birth to children. A faithful Christian who finds people of the same sex attractive should regard it as an evil temptation and oppose it; otherwise, they sin (Yuan 55). At the same time, there is the opinion that the Bible does not directly condemn homosexuality. This perspective is the cultural belief shared by most Christian communities (Dailey vi). Even when people insist that homosexuality is the inborn inclination a person does not choose, the Christian perspective supposes that the individual should fight this temptation to achieve holiness or at least not violate God’s laws (Grudem 861). Therefore, the religious point of view on homosexuality is quite clear, and it is not easy to persuade believers to develop the opposite attitude to the homosexual lifestyle.

Human Flourishing and Homosexuality

Not all people agree that opposing homosexual inclinations is a positive thing. The notion of human flourishing is among the significant concepts in the philosophical discourse, and it supposes the pursuit of happiness by people (Natural Law and Human Flourishing Handout 2-3). The question is whether the opportunity to fulfill all sexual desires leads to joy in the end. Many people who embraced the liberal attitude to sexuality destroyed their lives with these immense opportunities (Budziszewski 2). At the same time, it does not mean that if homosexuals are restricted in their sexual options, they will become happy or be satisfied with the heterosexual family.

Conclusion

It is essential to understand that there are various opinions on homosexuality. People with religious backgrounds disagree with the freedom to choose an intimate partner of the same sex. At the same time, other individuals understand that restricting their desires and changing their nature does not lead to happiness and human flourishing. The only critical issue is that people should decide how to live their lives, and others should be tolerant of their views.

Works Cited

Budziszewski, J. The Natural Laws of Sex. n.p., 2022. Doc file.

Dailey, Timothy J. The Bible, the Church, and Homosexuality. Family Research Council, 2004.

Grudem, W. Christian Ethics. Crossway, 2018.

Holy Bible. New International Version, Zondervan Publishing House, 1984. n.a. Natural Law and Human Flourishing Handout-2. n.p., 2022. Pdf file.

Yuan, Christopher. Holy Sexuality and the Gospel. Crown Publishing Group, 2018.

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IvyPanda. (2024, May 6). Homosexuality from Religious and Philosophical Perspectives. https://ivypanda.com/essays/homosexuality-from-religious-and-philosophical-perspectives/

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"Homosexuality from Religious and Philosophical Perspectives." IvyPanda, 6 May 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/homosexuality-from-religious-and-philosophical-perspectives/.

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IvyPanda. (2024) 'Homosexuality from Religious and Philosophical Perspectives'. 6 May.

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IvyPanda. 2024. "Homosexuality from Religious and Philosophical Perspectives." May 6, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/homosexuality-from-religious-and-philosophical-perspectives/.

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IvyPanda. "Homosexuality from Religious and Philosophical Perspectives." May 6, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/homosexuality-from-religious-and-philosophical-perspectives/.

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