What does the Bible say about homosexuality?

The Bible is silent about homosexual orientation, and there are only a handful of biblical references which clearly prohibit homosexual practice. Sadly the church and many Christians have tended to elevate homosexual practise into an imaginary 'premier league' of sins, whereas the Bible simply speaks of it as just one expression amongst many of our fallen, sinful human nature. The emphasis throughout the Bible is on ruling out any and all sexual practice which takes place outside of an exclusive heterosexual marriage between one man and one woman.

The key biblical reference is Genesis 2:24, which speaks of heterosexual marriage as being a re-uniting of man and woman in a 'one-flesh' emotional and sexual relationship; this verse is reinforced by Jesus and the Apostle Paul in the New Testament (e.g. Matthew 19:5-6 and Ephesians 5:31-32). Jesus is shown in the gospels as reaching out in mercy and compassion to those who have strayed sexually from God's ways, and gently urging them to repentance (e.g. John 4 and John 8).