Does Scripture Exhort Christians to Violence Against Homosexuals?
Rev. Angus Stewart examines whether Leviticus 20:13 exhorts Christians to commit violence against homosexuals, arguing that Old Testament capital penalties were administered through Israel's judicial system and are replaced in the New Testament by church discipline (excommunication) rather than civil execution. Stewart contends that Christians' calling toward non-believers is to proclaim the gospel of grace and forgiveness, not violence, using the Corinthian incest case as an example of proper New Testament practice.
Rev. Angus Stewart In a letter in the Belfast Telegraph of 24 March, 2011, a correspondent refers to the judge’s upholding of freedom of speech in Sandown Free Presbyterian Church’s advertisement explaining Scripture’s opposition to homosexuality. Then he or she quotes Leviticus 20:13: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death,” claiming that this exhorts Christians to violence. The death penalty...