This is a question a lot of people are asking, and the mere phrasing of it makes me realize how clever the acronym truly is. The acronym combines enough things so that (unless you are voicing full-throated agreement) the question is difficult to answer simply. The way the question in the title is phrased almost seems like it’s a “yes” or “no” question. However, it’s not. It’s not a “yes” or “no” question because it’s a question about eight different topics.
Imagine if I asked you if your family is against LSDQCR+? And imagine I said that it means: Lying, Stealing, Divorce, Questioning, Cancer, Resting, and other things.
Now, go ahead. Answer. Yes or no. Are you for or against that?
You’d probably say, “Well, I think lying and stealing are bad. And, uh, divorce is wrong most of the time, and then I don’t even know what “questioning” means? What are they even questioning? And then cancer… that’s sorta’ weird to throw in there. I mean, cancer is bad, but it’s not even a choice that anyone makes; it’s a medical condition. And then the word “resting,” I mean, that doesn’t even fit with the other categories. Rest is a good thing most of the time. Lastly, what in the world does the “+” stand for? How could I possibly tell you if my family is for or against something as undefined as +?
That’s what it feels like for me to try to answer the question, “Is the Bible anti-LGBTQAI+?” However, let me try my best.
I guess the first distinction I would make would be to distinguish between whether this is supposed to be a list of people or behaviors.
If it’s a list of people, then I’d say the Bible is pro-LGBTQIA+. God cares about all of those people. Jesus is pro-lesbian in the sense that He died in the place of lesbians so that they could be saved. The same goes for trans people, intersex people, and the people included in the “+.” Jesus loves, and gave His life for, all kinds of sinners.
Now, if it’s a list of behaviors, then I’d say the Bible is against most of them. The L is condemned in Romans 1:26. The G is forbidden in 1 Corinthians 6:9. The B is wrong only in the cases when the person is doing something in contradiction to verses like Romans 1:26 and 1 Corinthians 6:9.
(All of the above matches the biblical idea that God intended for sex to be a human-producing, union-causing activity that combines the two complementary sexes together and creates a family out of them.)
Most often, the T seems to simply be a rejection of God’s design as described in Genesis 1:27.
I don’t know what the Q means. If it means “questioning,” I guess I’d need to know: “Questioning what? Questioning how?” It seems to me that it’s not wrong to ask questions in general, however to question (in the sense of rejecting) God’s word in any of the above passages is, of course, wrong. Sometimes, people say it means queer. If so, what does that mean? If queer is mostly another way to say L, G, B, or T, then yes, that would be a wrong behavior for the same reasons those other letters describe wrong behavior.
The I stands for “intersex” which is a rare medical condition. I do not believe it is sinful to be born with this abnormality.
And then we get to the A. In this case, the A usually means asexual – a person with very little or no sexual attraction to other people. If that’s what it means, then there is nothing wrong with that. Not everyone needs to have sex/get married/bear children (see Matthew 19:11-12 & 1 Corinthians 7:8-9.) I’ve literally never met anyone who thinks that A is sinful.
And that leaves the + sign, which should be a red flag to anyone who is trying to think through this issue. How could anyone possibly affirm or condemn a behavior as vague as a plus sign? Just imagine this conversation:
Imagine if I asked you if your family is against LSDQCR+? And imagine I said that it means: Lying, Stealing, Divorce, Questioning, Cancer, Resting, and other things.
Now, go ahead. Answer. Yes or no. Are you for or against that?
You’d probably say, “Well, I think lying and stealing are bad. And, uh, divorce is wrong most of the time, and then I don’t even know what “questioning” means? What are they even questioning? And then cancer… that’s sorta’ weird to throw in there. I mean, cancer is bad, but it’s not even a choice that anyone makes; it’s a medical condition. And then the word “resting,” I mean, that doesn’t even fit with the other categories. Rest is a good thing most of the time. Lastly, what in the world does the “+” stand for? How could I possibly tell you if my family is for or against something as undefined as +?
That’s what it feels like for me to try to answer the question, “Is the Bible anti-LGBTQAI+?” However, let me try my best.
I guess the first distinction I would make would be to distinguish between whether this is supposed to be a list of people or behaviors.
If it’s a list of people, then I’d say the Bible is pro-LGBTQIA+. God cares about all of those people. Jesus is pro-lesbian in the sense that He died in the place of lesbians so that they could be saved. The same goes for trans people, intersex people, and the people included in the “+.” Jesus loves, and gave His life for, all kinds of sinners.
Now, if it’s a list of behaviors, then I’d say the Bible is against most of them. The L is condemned in Romans 1:26. The G is forbidden in 1 Corinthians 6:9. The B is wrong only in the cases when the person is doing something in contradiction to verses like Romans 1:26 and 1 Corinthians 6:9.
(All of the above matches the biblical idea that God intended for sex to be a human-producing, union-causing activity that combines the two complementary sexes together and creates a family out of them.)
Most often, the T seems to simply be a rejection of God’s design as described in Genesis 1:27.
I don’t know what the Q means. If it means “questioning,” I guess I’d need to know: “Questioning what? Questioning how?” It seems to me that it’s not wrong to ask questions in general, however to question (in the sense of rejecting) God’s word in any of the above passages is, of course, wrong. Sometimes, people say it means queer. If so, what does that mean? If queer is mostly another way to say L, G, B, or T, then yes, that would be a wrong behavior for the same reasons those other letters describe wrong behavior.
The I stands for “intersex” which is a rare medical condition. I do not believe it is sinful to be born with this abnormality.
And then we get to the A. In this case, the A usually means asexual – a person with very little or no sexual attraction to other people. If that’s what it means, then there is nothing wrong with that. Not everyone needs to have sex/get married/bear children (see Matthew 19:11-12 & 1 Corinthians 7:8-9.) I’ve literally never met anyone who thinks that A is sinful.
And that leaves the + sign, which should be a red flag to anyone who is trying to think through this issue. How could anyone possibly affirm or condemn a behavior as vague as a plus sign? Just imagine this conversation:
YOU: Mario, what is it that Christians should believe?
MARIO: Oh, that’s easy. Just believe the Bible plus.
YOU: Ok, but what does that mean? The Bible plus what?
MARIO: Just plus. You just gotta’ believe in the Bible plus. The plus stands for all the other stuff.
YOU: What other stuff?
MARIO: Anything else I haven’t mentioned yet.
You’d think that I’m not shooting straight with you. Similarly, I think it’s impossible to answer if Christianity is for or against the + at the end of the LGBTQIA acronym, because that term remains purposely undefined.
In summary: Yes, several of the letters in that acronym represent things that the Bible says are aberrations from God’s will regarding sexuality. The Bible also teaches us about the God who sent His Son to die on the cross for sin, and that He will save every person who turns to Him as Lord and Savior. This would include every letter in that acronym plus hundreds of other letters that could symbolize hundreds of other things that people do in order to worship things other than God, doubt God, and rebel against Him. Praise the Lord for His graciousness.
In summary: Yes, several of the letters in that acronym represent things that the Bible says are aberrations from God’s will regarding sexuality. The Bible also teaches us about the God who sent His Son to die on the cross for sin, and that He will save every person who turns to Him as Lord and Savior. This would include every letter in that acronym plus hundreds of other letters that could symbolize hundreds of other things that people do in order to worship things other than God, doubt God, and rebel against Him. Praise the Lord for His graciousness.
Note: A special thank you to Jeremy Richards for getting me to think about this recently, and to Josh Allan for pointing out how much the Q, I, and A really make for a more difficult discussion about this.
