Why are certain things considered sins (e.g. homosexuality)?

[Apple Of Sodom]

I understand that there are some things that are considered sins that logically should be - they do harm to others. I think we can all agree, atheist or theist, that murder is a sin (or wrong, or whatever word you want to use.) Same with theft. But what makes homosexuality such a sin? I understand the bible says it is a sin, but why? What does it hurt?

Don't say it is unnaturaly because homosexuality occurs in nature. Why, specifically, is homosexuality a sin? This is not troll bait either. I was raised in a Christian home and have mostly traditional, Christian aligned values. I am pretty heterosexual so it isn't a pesonal struggle. I simply never understood why being gay was so sinful, other than because the bible says to stone queers.

 

[highland145]

reserved.

 

[chimaxi83]

This should be a fun thread.

 

[vi edit]

In a nutshell, any form of sexual gratification that isn't intended to conceive children is a sin. Or so was beat into my head through Catholic Sunday School.

 

[smackababy]

The real reason is likely because 2000 years ago the thought that the race might be in trouble if everyone only had sex with their same sex might have been seen as a valid reasoning for attempting to restrict that behavior. A lot of the religious practices are rooted in some kind of safety measure for the species. Look at Islamic / Muslim food laws. They make a lot of sense if you consider the climate of food storage at the time.


To expand, I think religion is just the greatest appeal to authority argument you can make. Saying "well, some expert in food preservation said so" doesn't really get people going. Saying "the almighty powerful creator says so, and if you don't do it, he will damn you to a place of eternal torture." is more likely to get some people to do it. Most of them are too stupid for their own good and need someone to force them. Making up stories about invisible people caring what they eat is as good as reason as any.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Because a book said so.

 

[dank69]

Masturbation is a sin because it harms kittens.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

In a nutshell, any form of sexual gratification that isn't intended to conceive children is a sin. Or so was beat into my head through Catholic Sunday School.

Why would sexual gratification be considered a sin at all? I think we could make the thread about that instead of something so divisive as homosexuality.

The new question - why do most religions prohibit sexuality between consenting adults? Fundamentally, what is wrong about having sex? Why does a book say it is wrong?

 

[waggy]

In a nutshell, any form of sexual gratification that isn't intended to conceive children is a sin. Or so was beat into my head through Catholic Sunday School.

/this. end of thread.

most religions think any form of sex without the intent to conceive is a sin. so sex for pleasure, oral sex, anal sex and masturbation is a sin.

also a blurb in the bible says something about men laying down with men..or some silly shit.

 

[DesiPower]

Because the laud said so

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

/this. end of thread.

most religions think any form of sex without the intent to conceive is a sin. so sex for pleasure, oral sex, anal sex and masturbation is a sin.

also a blurb in the bible says something about men laying down with men..or some silly shit.

I suppose I am looking for someone religious who truly feels it is a sin to tell me why, other than because a book said so. I get the rationale behind a lot of them. God says not to curse his name and I even understand that. Respect your father and mother is simply good advice. Don't kill, don't covet, all of those make sense. But why is it wrong to masturbate, or even have impure thoughts? What is wrong with being gay, fundamentally?

Showerthought: maybe 2000 years ago everyone was a one roper with a terribly long recovery time. Waste your load and you have to wait two weeks before you can go again. Therefore, you waste it on a dude or some chick's mouth and you can't make the babies. Similar to the Islamic laws about food. There was a sperm shortage back in the day maybe?

 

[Exophase]

Sin implies some kind of religious specification, not a mere synonym for an immoral act. I don't think atheists use the word very much and if they do they're probably using it figuratively or just incorrectly. From the first define on Google:

"an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law."

So a sin is a sin because a presumed deity says it's again their law. If you believe in God and believe he is all knowing and all judging then you don't really need a further explanation, but I guess one could see it as God having a particular intention for people (in this case procreating) and the sinful act being in disobedience or even mockery of God's intentions.

Now, if you don't believe in a genuine divine law, or at least not one that says not to be gay, that puts things in a different light. Then I guess your question is, why did this taboo enter this religion? No one could really say for sure, but there are lots of possible factors. Like seeing homosexuality as a threat to sexual competition somehow, or believing that gay people will influence everyone to become gay and cause a breakdown in procreation. Then again, a lot of people just have a hard time tolerating people that don't conform to how they live their life and the models they've seen for how others lives their lives. People fear what they don't understand.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The parts of the Bible that ban homosexuality are raised above other Bible taboos (that modern Christians completely ignore) because it makes some people feel icky. They are simply cherry picking parts of the Word of God to legitimize their prejudice against people that make them feel that way.

And honestly it could be much much worse.

I mean, the entire Southern Baptist faith is based on illiterates who made up what they thought should be in the Bible based on their personal icky feelings. That is why the modern Southern Baptist religion is one of the most popular ones in America (the standards were lower so it spread faster). That is also why the have dumb rules like a ban on alcohol even though Jesus turned water into wine.

So at least the modern bigot Christian actually uses real parts of the Bible to backup their beliefs. Maybe eventually all that socialist Jesus stuff will sink in if they keep actually reading the words.

 

[Exophase]

Showerthought: maybe 2000 years ago everyone was a one roper with a terribly long recovery time. Waste your load and you have to wait two weeks before you can go again. Therefore, you waste it on a dude or some chick's mouth and you can't make the babies. Similar to the Islamic laws about food. There was a sperm shortage back in the day maybe?

Yeah, probably not 😛

To add to what I said in the post above.. ultimately I think the best explanation is rooted in gender roles. Back then (and in some places today, sadly), women were viewed as little more than sex instruments, baby makers, and caretakers to be transferred from their fathers to their husbands. So if you're getting your sexual needs satisfied by anything outside of your wife that pretty strongly diminishes her principle value. And if you're letting women have sex with each other that's giving them way too much freedom.

That, and I do suspect there's at least some physiological basis that causes men to often be sexually repulsed by other men as to opposed to just sexually disinterested (there could be some explanations for why it worked out this way - I also speculate that it's more true for men than women). And like poofyhairguy said, people equate icky with wrong.

 

[squarecut1]

OP, you ask a deep question which is miles beyond the scope of an internet forum. I'd suggest discussing this with someone qualified in any of the three Abrahamic faiths.

 

[nehalem256]

Why would sexual gratification be considered a sin at all? I think we could make the thread about that instead of something so divisive as homosexuality.

The new question - why do most religions prohibit sexuality between consenting adults? Fundamentally, what is wrong about having sex? Why does a book say it is wrong?

Sex has consequences. And in fact sex often has consequences that impact other people.

Knowing this it should be obvious why society has frequently chosen to regulate how/where/with who sexual activity is acceptable. As religion tend to provide a set of rules to live by. It should be obvious why this rulebook extends to sexual activity.

 

[nehalem256]

That, and I do suspect there's at least some physiological basis that causes men to often be sexually repulsed by other men as to opposed to just sexually disinterested (there could be some explanations for why it worked out this way - I also speculate that it's more true for men than women). And like poofyhairguy said, people equate icky with wrong.

They don't seem all that repulsed in prison 😛

And if you look at places like Ancient Greece I think you would find that what you are saying isn't universally true. But more of a social construct.

 

[Platypus]

sigh

 

[waggy]

I suppose I am looking for someone religious who truly feels it is a sin to tell me why, other than because a book said so. I get the rationale behind a lot of them. God says not to curse his name and I even understand that. Respect your father and mother is simply good advice. Don't kill, don't covet, all of those make sense. But why is it wrong to masturbate, or even have impure thoughts? What is wrong with being gay, fundamentally?

why is it wrong? Because the Bible say's its wrong.

 

[SlickSnake]

Being gay was percieved as a sin 2000 years ago because the gay men kept themselves cleaner and looked more attractive than the women did. Remember that a woman got married and became the property of the man. She didn't care how she looked or how clean she was. In fact, she probably hated her husband so much in her arranged marriage of servitude, that she stayed as unclean as possible just to keep her husband from getting too excited and doing her too much.

So her husband went down to the public baths a lot and instead had fun with a cute boy toy that got paid to scrub his back and other parts. So it was perceived as a sin just because he wasn't spending all his time banging his dirty, ugly toad of a wife who most likely hated him.

 

[squarecut1]

We are lay people. You wouldnt ask a question about chemistry to a plumber. Only someone properly qualified in theology and its principles can address this issue in the depth and detail it deserves

 

[nehalem256]

Being gay was percieved as a sin 2000 years ago because the gay men kept themselves cleaner and looked more attractive than the women did. Remember that a woman got married and became the property of the man. She didn't care how she looked or how clean she was. In fact, she probably hated her husband so much in her arranged marriage of servitude, that she stayed as unclean as possible just to keep her husband from getting too excited and doing her too much.

Except back in the day if a wife didn't stay clean her husband could beat her

So her husband went down to the public baths a lot and instead had fun with a cute boy toy that got paid to scrub his back and other parts. So it was perceived as a sin just because he wasn't spending all his time banging his dirty, ugly toad of a wife who most likely hated him.

Sounds like the issue is that the husband hated his wife and would rather spend time with his boytoy.

Your story also has something interesting to say about the idea that being gay isn't a choice.

 

[02ranger]

I'm not sure why it was seen as a sin to begin with, but I know I've heard the argument about homosexuality being found in nature before. The way the pastor answered that argument was that, when Adam and Eve sinned, the world became corrupted, including animals, so even the animals do things against their original nature. Part of the support for that is a verse in Isaiah (I think) that says the lion and the lamb shall lie down together, which they took to mean they're putting their old nature behind them and returning to what God originally intended.

Note: I'm not saying I believe the arguments I posted, just that that's what I've heard given for an explanation.

 

[Phoenix86]

We are lay people. You wouldnt ask a question about chemistry to a plumber. Only someone properly qualified in theology and its principles can address this issue in the depth and detail it deserves

Yeah, next time I'm at a bar and want to know what's going on with a team I'll just shut up and query an expert instead.

To the OP's question, I think the simplest answer is because it was seen as unhealthy/unnatural. There's a whole list that basically says "don't fuck your family members", or rather, incest leads to bad things so don't do it. There's another section that says to cut your hair and beard. The sections that talk about food are basic food safety things, some based on misinformation, but that's the intent. Don't eat bottom feeders/carrion animals, etc.

Of course this is all old testament stuff. If you want to preach that, you better preach ALL of it. Some of the old testament stuff is way out there, so yeah....

 

[SlickSnake]

Except back in the day if a wife didn't stay clean her husband could beat her

Sounds like the issue is that the husband hated his wife and would rather spend time with his boytoy.

Your story also has something interesting to say about the idea that being gay isn't a choice.

More like he was forced into an arranged marriage by his parents just like she was and he was actually gay himself. So he didn't care if she was clean or not, much less beat her for being dirty. After all, she was the maid, cook, nanny, stall cleaner, ecetera, so I doubt spending a day at the spa was something she could take time out to do very often. Unless she was rich, of course. Then she had servants to tend to her feminine needs, even if the husband wasn't interested.