Homosexuality: A Biblical View [Paperback]

Greg L. Bahnsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1978

Bahnsen steps out of the political, legal, and social maelstrom into which Christians have been pulled and returns to the central question: What does the Bible really say? He answers accusations that the historic Christian response is judgmental and bigoted and offers a pastoral view of the Church's responsibility.

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Baker Pub Group (June 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801007445
• ISBN-13: 978-0801007446
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,209,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Homosexuality: A Biblical View, June 29, 2006

By 

cortezhill - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Homosexuality: A Biblical View (Paperback)

Bahnsen confronts the emotionally-charged issue of homosexuality and the fundamental issues related to it - individual rights and biblical authority. In the face of social pressures to allow homosexual practice without legal restraint, Bahnsen clarifies personal freedom under both the law and spiritual directives.

Bahnsen's case is solidly evangelical amid divergent attitudes toward homosexuality within the Christian church. But churches are encouraged nonetheless to accept and support homosexuals who repent and confess Christ as Savior.
--- from book's back cover

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bahnsen is a tough guy., October 14, 2009

By 

rossuk (London, UK) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Homosexuality: A Biblical View (Paperback)

Bahnsen - Homosexuality a biblical view.

He establishes homosexuality as a sin. This guy is hard, very hard, the gays will hate him. But I like him, which probably makes me homophobic (which is an "ad hominem" argument, by the way).


Published in 1978 when Bahnsen was 29, he died an untimely death in 1995 when he was only 47; he was author of 13 books and many articles, including the book "Theonomy in Christian ethics". The book is biblical and it will not bring much comfort to those who argue that homosexuality is not a sin. The book is surprisingly modern in that he refutes the very same arguments used by pro-gay apologists today to justify homosexuality. Bahnsen lays down the biblical framework to show that homosexuality is a sin; he has to do this since Jesus died for sinners not the righteous.


Ch 1 (Basic commitments) here he talks about scripture (the authority of God's revealed word) and the Law. "Many disputes over the morality of homosexuality turn on another question: will Scripture be the Christian's normative guide or must it yield that position of authority over ethics... to some other standard". He argues that the moral law is still binding now although the ceremonial law was fulfilled in Christ.

Ch 2 (Homosexuality as a sin) he discusses Genesis, Sodom, the Levitical prohibitions and Rom 1. 1 Cor 6:9 and 1 Tim 8-10 are discussed later in Ch 4. Although brief, he discusses and refutes the main objections to these passages and I found it interesting that the main gay arguments that one finds today were available even back then. These scripture passages are often called the "clobber" passages by gays, and Bahnsen wields the mallet here and in much of the book. However, Bahnsen has to teach the Law before the gospel can be heard. There is a large bibliography of the books and articles which were available then, which unfortunately are not cited in the footnotes which consist almost entirely of scripture references.

Ch 3 (The act/orientation distinction and causes of homosexuality) he argues that both the act and the orientation are sinful, because Paul also condemns homosexuals being "inflamed with desire" for each other. They are censured for having "impure lusts" and "shameful passions". This is unusual, since most people distinguish between the act and the orientation; for example a heterosexual may be tempted by sexual immorality, but not commit the act. He devotes a whole chapter on the act/orientation issue and the causes.

Ch 4 (The response of the church: hope for homosexuals). "(The church) must manifest severe disapproval of homosexuality, but like the Redeemer it must also seek out the lost and show saving concern for them". The hope for the homosexual comes in 1 Cor 6:11 ("And such were some of you" past tense). The church in Corinth had the former sexually immoral (including homosexuals), thieves, drunks and swindlers among its members.

Here he also includes a discussion of malakoi and arsenokotai (1 Cor 6:9). He fails to point out that Paul's use of the word arsenokotai comes from the Greek translation of the OT (the Septuagint or LXX) and is taken from the Levitical prohibitions, meaning that Paul thought that the Levitical prohibitions on male-male intercourse were still morally binding in his day. The standard gay response to the meaning of arsenokotai is the rather disingenuous "we just do not know what it means". Actually, it was the pro-gay theologian, Robin Scroggs, who gave us the meaning of arsenokoitai in his book in 1983 (written after Bahnsen).

Ch 5 (The response of society: Homosexual acts as criminal). This is the longest chapter in the book. Here he firstly deals, at length, with civil rights. If homosexual acts are criminal then there are no civil rights other than criminal rights. This chapter was very hard for me, as I am not an expert in civil rights, it would be a good chapter for an undergrad to study, and to refute.

Ch 6 (Conclusion). In terms of the churches relation to the homosexual "There is a difference between an admitted, practising homosexual and a repentant homosexual".

"The church cannot be true to its mission on earth and turn away from evangelising homosexuals, accepting them, when they repent, into the fellowship of believers, and nurturing their growth in sanctification. In this regard homosexuality is not a separate category of sin, as though it were unforgivable or placed the offender in a perpetual untouchable condition in the eyes of the church. The concern of the gospel is for the unrighteous--without distinction".

In short, Bahnsen establishes biblically, that homosexuality, whether in thought or deed, is a sin. He closes the loopholes that the pro-gay apologists argue; these are the same arguments that are used today to justify homosexuality. Until the case for homosexuality as a sin is established, there can be no salvation because Jesus did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

Greg, I love you, pity that we did not meet in this life.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Author says Homosexuality should be a crime!, August 27, 2011

By 

Douglas Gwinn (Pasadena) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Homosexuality: A Biblical view (Kindle Edition)

I agree with most of this book, especially chapter two, "Homosexuality As A Sin" and chapter three, "The Act / Orientation Distinction ..."

However, chapter five comes out of the author's "reconstructionism" framework. He states on page 123, "... the Christian will view homosexuality not only as a sin, but also as a crime. If homosexuality is properly taken as a crime, it cannot be thought of as a civil right in any sense." In reconstructionism, the goal for the Christian is to (help God) establish His Kingdom right here right now on earth, not have to wait for the return of Christ. Therefore, as Bahnsen believes, since the Bible teaches that homosexuality was to be punishable with the death penalty, therefore, God's moral law ought to be overlayed upon civil law in every society and homosexuality would result in capital punishment. I wish the author could have discussed civil rights (about homosexuality) without the necessity to impose the death penalty or other (unnamed by him) punishment for homosexuality.

In any event, the earlier chapters are worth reading and should remain as a valuable contribution in the GLBT debate for years to come.