Christ and Culture in Conflict: The Gospel and the Homosexual Those who believe the gospel of Jesus Christ regards homosexuality as an evil to be condemned usually point to various scriptures in the Bible and portray the controversy today as a conflict between the gospel and a modern culture that has grown more tolerant of something the Bible condemns. Thus, in their eyes, the conflict is ‘Christ versus culture.” This paper argues that this question does indeed involve a conflict between “Christ and culture,” but asks if the defenders of tradition might have it backwards. Looking at the totality of Jesus Christ’s teachings, might not one argue that homosexuals are accepted in God’s sight on an equal basis with heterosexuals? Might not those passages in the Bible which treat homosexuality as evil be treated as the influence of ancient Israelite culture, in the same way many read cultural influences in the biblical writings which condone slavery and polygamy and assume a patriarchal social order which today we would all deplore as immoral?

William D. Russell, J. William Nicholson