Responding to the claim "Bible Hardly Ever Mentions Homosexuality."

If Bible says so little about homosexuality, then why do Christians make a lot of fuss about it?

One of the most frequent critiques Christians hear today, especially those who hold to a traditional understanding of biblical ethics, is this: "Why do Christians make such a big deal about homosexuality when the Bible hardly ever talks about it?" The implication behind this statement is that if the Bible rarely mentions something, then it must not be very important, and Christians should just move on.

At first glance, this argument might seem persuasive. Yes, it’s true that homosexuality is not the main focus of the Bible. The Bible is not a catalog of sins, nor does it center its message around sexual ethics alone. But the idea that infrequent mention equals moral insignificance is not only a poor standard of interpretation, it is also inconsistent with how we view other moral issues. In this article, I want to explore why this particular argument fails, and why Christians have not invented the controversy around homosexuality but are responding to a modern challenge to biblical teaching.

1. The Controversy Was Not Created by Christians

First and foremost, we need to recognize that this entire controversy was not dreamed up by evangelical Christians. The reason there’s such sustained attention on this topic, particularly from those holding to historic Christian teaching, is because in recent decades, there has been an aggressive push not only to legalize same-sex relationships, but also to legitimize them within the Church and biblical interpretation. In other words, it’s not Christians who brought this up but it’s the culture that changed its view and then turned around and demanded the Church do the same.

So, when Christians respond to that pressure, they are not obsessing over homosexuality. They are simply refusing to remain silent as biblical truth is redefined. It's unreasonable to demand that we stop talking about it when others continue to challenge the historic Christian position.

2. It Wasn’t Controversial in Biblical Times

Another key point is this: the reason the Bible doesn’t frequently address homosexual behavior is that it wasn’t a controversial sin within the Jewish or early Christian communities. There is no evidence from biblical history that homosexual behavior was ever tolerated or accepted among the people of God. It was understood to be outside God’s design.

The Bible spends more time discussing idolatry, greed, religious hypocrisy, or pagan worship, not because these were worse sins, but because they were common among God’s people. The sins the Bible emphasizes tend to be the ones the people were struggling with. By contrast, no one in ancient Israel or the early Church was arguing that same-sex relationships were good or should be celebrated. They weren’t trying to reinterpret Leviticus 18 or Romans 1. So the Bible didn’t need to say much, but what it did say was clear, and it was enough.

If we flip the argument on its head, then the Bible talks even less about bestiality, incest, or child abuse. Are we to conclude those sins are morally insignificant? Of course not. The frequency of mention does not equal the seriousness of the sin.

3. The Bible Is Not Silent. Rather, it’s Clear!

Despite claims to the contrary, the Bible is not at all silent on the subject of homosexual behavior. In fact, it speaks with remarkable clarity in both the Old and New Testaments.

In the Mosaic Law, homosexual acts are explicitly condemned as contrary to God’s design (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13). In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul refers to homosexual behavior as a vivid example of human rebellion and moral breakdown (Romans 1:26–27). It appears again in "vice lists" which are catalogs of behaviors that are incompatible with the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9–10; 1 Timothy 1:10). Moreover, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19) has traditionally been understood, in both Jewish and Christian interpretation, as partly illustrating God's judgment on sexual perversion, including homosexual behavior (see also Jude 1:7).

Taken together, these passages form a consistent witness. They are not obscure, and they are not isolated. The Bible’s position on homosexual practice is part of its broader moral framework rooted in creation, covenant, and holiness.

4. Even Some Revisionist Scholars Agree

Interestingly, even some scholars who advocate for affirming same-sex relationships today admit that the Bible, taken on its own terms, condemns homosexual behavior. For example, Dutch scholar Pim Pronk, who identifies as gay and is sympathetic to gay rights, acknowledges: “Where homosexual activity is mentioned in Scripture, it is always condemned. Rejection is a foregone conclusion.”

Similarly, Dan O. Via, who has debated on this issue with conservative scholars, freely admits that the biblical texts that explicitly deal with homosexual acts condemn them without qualification. While these scholars may argue for reinterpreting the Bible based on modern understandings or experiences, they do not pretend that the Bible itself affirms homosexual relationships.

This is a telling point that even among those who disagree with the traditional view, there is often no dispute about what the Bible actually says.

5. Jesus Didn’t Ignore It. In fact, He Affirmed the Standard!

Another popular claim is that “Jesus never mentioned homosexuality.” But this is misleading on two counts.

First, Jesus did reaffirm the biblical model of marriage: “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female... Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Matthew 19:4–6). This is a direct endorsement of the creation account and a heterosexual union as God’s design for marriage.

Second, Jesus condemned “sexual immorality” (porneia), a term widely understood in Jewish and Greco-Roman literature to include all forms of illicit sex, including homosexuality. New Testament scholar James R. Edwards notes that porneia in Greek usage referred to a range of sexual sins, not just adultery or prostitution but also homosexual activity.

And finally, this is an argument from silence, and a weak one at that. Jesus didn’t deliver a sermon against child abuse or bestiality either, yet no one would argue He was neutral on those sins. Why didn’t He address homosexuality directly? Because no one in His audience was trying to defend or promote it. It wasn’t controversial in first-century Judaism. Everyone knew where the line was.

Conclusion

So, is the argument “the Bible hardly ever mentions homosexuality” a good reason to dismiss or delegitimize what the Bible says about it? No, it’s not. That claim misrepresents how biblical ethics work and how Scripture addresses moral issues. Christians are not singling out homosexuality out of obsession or prejudice. We are responding to a modern challenge with ancient truth.

The biblical witness, while not extensive, is clear, consistent, and morally authoritative. And while our culture may shift its views, the Word of God does not. The Church must speak the truth in love, but it must speak the truth nonetheless.

Source: What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung