On Homosexual Desire

A Few Propositions and Clarifications

In discussions regarding what the Bible says about homosexuality, homosexual behaviour is often distinguished from homosexual attraction or desire. The former is regarded as sinful, whereas the latter not necessarily so. At least in my experience, in discussions regarding homosexuality, this translates to an emphasis on homosexual behaviour, with little said about homosexual attraction. There’s some justification to this. Scripture itself, in speaking about homosexuality, explicitly prohibits the former, but does not speak on the issue in terms of attraction or desire. Still, such discussions of homosexuality might give the impression that homosexual attraction isn’t worth considering at length. One might come away from such discussions thinking that it’s “okay” to be a Christian while also being same-sex attracted. Unfortunately, this might be said of my past discussions on the topic, but I will try to rectify that here. Here I offer some thoughts on the nature of homosexual desire, hoping that I can provide even a bit of clarity on the topic, which might be useful to you.

(Note: In the following, I will mainly speak in terms of “desire,” instead of “attraction” and “temptation,” where I consider desire to be a phenomenon of which attraction and temptation are specific forms.)

(1) Homosexual desire need not involve committing a sin.

James makes a distinction between sin and the desire which produces it:

14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (Jas. 1:14–15)

Just because someone has an erotic desire for persons of the same sex, it doesn’t necessarily follow that he is thereby committing a sin simply for having that desire. A person might take no pleasure in it, he might not seek to fulfill it, and he might even be resisting it.

(2) Homosexual desire can lead to committing a sin.

Even if having the desire does not necessarily involve committing a sin, it can become a temptation and lead to sin (Jas. 1:14–15). It might lead to sin in the form of outward behaviour (i.e., some physical homoerotic act). However, even if such outward behaviour does not occur, the desire can lead to inward sin. Such inward sin usually precedes any outward behaviour that does occur. Jesus himself, using lust as an example, shows that sin occurs in the heart, prior to or in the absence of any corresponding outward behaviour:

27 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matt 5:27–28)

This inward sin involves taking pleasure in what the desire is for (e.g., taking pleasure at the possibility of having a particular sexual encounter with another person of the same sex). Such sin might also involve the intention to behave in such a way so as to fulfill the desire by outward physical means, or one’s fantasizing about the object of desire (when one cannot or chooses not to fulfill the desire through physical means).

(3) To the extent that an instance of homosexual desire is the result of factors outside of one’s control, one is not culpable for having such desire.

Homosexual desire or temptation might be the effect of sexual abuse or trauma, parental neglect, biological factors, demonic influence, and so on, all of which can be largely out of one’s control.

(4) To the extent that an instance of homosexual desire is the result of one’s own sin or folly, one is culpable for having (or causing) such desire, or for having such desire to the level of intensity that one experiences.

Someone who isn’t attracted to the same sex initially might become so attracted through his own choices and is culpable for doing so (e.g., a teenage boy who looks at gay pornography for the first time out of curiosity, which results in a subsequent attraction to other boys). And someone who has erotic same-sex desires is culpable for strengthening such desires by fulfilling or fantasizing about them.

(5) Homosexual desire, by its nature, tends toward sin.

Homosexual desire has its end or fulfillment in homosexual behaviour. However, the New Testament condemns homosexual behaviour, presenting it as unnatural, as a violation of God’s plan for creation (Rom. 1:18–27; see also this post). There are no circumstances in which homosexual behaviour is morally permissible. Contrast this with erotic heterosexual desire, where there are at least some circumstances where the fulfillment of such desire is not only not sinful, but positively good. Suppose that John and Elizabeth desire each other. It would be sinful if John and Elizabeth were to fulfill their erotic desire by fornicating, but it would be good if they did so after having married each other.

Given the nature of homosexual behaviour, even if having homosexual desire does not necessarily involve committing a sin, homosexual desire, by nature, always tends toward sin. Because it tends toward sin, we can speak of homosexual desire as sinful, even if the person who has such desire does not sin.

(6) The Christian ought to be wary of homosexual desires and temptations, and he ought to be ready to resist and mortify them.

While a Christian can have homosexual desires and not sin, it does not mean that it is “okay” for a Christian to have such desires, as if the presence of such desires presents no danger to the soul of the Christian. Because homosexual desires tend toward sin, they must be watched, resisted, and put to death, lest they give way to sin.¹

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1 Much thanks to Matt for the discussion which led to the writing of this post.