What is Wrong with Saying that Homosexuals Will Go to Hell?
Back in 2021, professional baseball pitcher Matt Dermody sent a tweet declaring that homosexuals will go to hell. At the time he was playing in Japan, and the message went largely unnoticed. But it resurfaced last month [June 2023] when the Red Sox called him up to start against the Cleveland Guardians, ironically, just a week before the Pride Celebration night at Fenway Park in support of the LGBTQ community.
Here is the full quote of the tweet:
#PrideMonth. Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell. That is not my opinion, but the #Truth. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9. May we all examine our hearts, ask Jesus to forgive us, and repent for our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!
The tweet has since been deleted. But Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer, Chaim Bloom, supported Dermody, saying that he did not realize that his statement would be hurtful and defending his right to free speech. “If we’re committed to creating an inclusive environment,” Bloom said, “it’s not right for us to police what people believe.” (Bloom did not, however, explain how accepting homophobic intolerance promotes an inclusive environment.)
Dermody is not the only professional athlete to publicly condemn homosexuality. Australian rugby player Israel Folau posted a similar tweet, saying “drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, thieves, atheists, idolaters, Hell awaits you. Repent! Only Jesus saves.” And former NFL coach Tony Dungy has made similar remarks.
So, what’s wrong with saying that homosexuals will go to hell? After all, Dermody is merely expressing his sincere religious convictions. It’s not just his opinion; it is stated in the Bible. And aren’t one’s religious beliefs supposed to be off limits to criticism? That is essentially the stance of Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy who said, “We cannot dictate the religious beliefs or political views of our players and employees.”
Dermody might say that he is only repeating what is stated clearly in the Bible. But it is not clear that Paul was condemning homosexuality in his first letter to the Corinthians. The actual words used in the original Greek — μαλακος and ἀρσενοκοῖτης — do not mean “homosexual” because ancient Greek speakers did not have labels for sexual preference. (Though I would not be surprised if Dermody thinks the Bible was written in English.) The first word literally means “soft.” Some insist that in the context it refers to effeminate men, but more likely it refers to people with soft morals. The other word seems to be a neologism. At any rate, if we are to interpret the Bible literally, then we cannot say it condemns homosexuality because it does not literally say “homosexual.”
In the context of the letter, it is more likely that Paul was decrying the pagan practice of temple prostitution. (That was a real thing. Google it.) That is the most likely meaning of the made up word ἀρσενοκοῖτης. On this interpretation, Paul was admonishing those who might desecrate places of worship, just as Jesus has expelled the money changers from the Temple in Jerusalem.
It is also worth noting that Jesus himself never once condemns homosexuality. In fact, he may have even implicitly accepted it. In one story [Matthew 8 and Luke 7] a centurion comes to Jesus asking for him to heal his servant. According to some scholars, the word translated as “servant” (παῖς) probably meant same-sex concubine, companions that were popular among ancient Roman officers. Jesus offered to come to the man’s house, but the centurion suggests that he do the healing remotely. Jesus healed the warrior’s boy-toy without commenting on his lifestyle.
Dermody claims to be speaking from a Christian perspective. But his tweet was — or at least should have been — offensive to Christians as well as homosexuals. According to most versions of Christianity, it is up to God alone to decide who is saved and who is punished with eternal damnation. If Dermody is a prophet sent from God, then he should take that role more seriously and devote himself to it full-time. But if he is a baseball player and not a prophet, then he shouldn’t go around tweeting about who is or who is not going to hell.
Like many conservative Christians, Dermody is very selective in his reading of Scripture. He must have been playing hooky from Sunday school when they covered the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. I suggest he also review Jesus' many other teachings on the sin of self-righteousness: “Judge not lest ye be judged” [Matthew 7]; “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” [John 8]; “He who exalts himself will be humbled” [Luke 18]; and so on.
Dermody claims his tweet was not motivated by hate. “I’m not a homophobic [sic],” he tweeted in his defense, “As I stated in my tweet, I have love for all. The truth is love.” We can only speculate about people’s motives. But there is convincing empirical evidence that many people like Dermody who express hostility towards gays are suppressing their own homosexual desires.
Motives aside, Dermody’s claim that his tweet was not hateful is unconvincing. Clearly, he was not simply making a prediction about the afterlife; he was also suggesting that homosexuals ought to be punished with eternal damnation. That does not strike me as particularly loving. The same goes for Folau, who equated gay people with liars, thieves, and adulterers.
Besides, the Bible forbids many things. Why do people like Dermody focus on same-sex relations and not the many other practices disapproved of in the Scriptures? For example, the Bible clearly condemns charging interest on loans [Exodus 22, Deuteronomy 23, Luke 6]. If these conservative Christians are motivated by faith and not hatred, then they should also declare that bankers are going to hell.
Maybe we should not expect Dermody to be an expert on Koine Greek or Biblical scholarship. He isn’t even that good of a baseball player. In his one start for the Red Sox, he was yanked after giving up three runs in four innings and sent back to the minors. That might be a good thing for Dermody. A successful Major League pitcher can expect to earn upwards of $5 million per year; and the Bible clearly states that “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” [Luke 18].
How do I know that God does not punish homosexuality with eternal damnation? Because God is supposed to be all-knowing and just. A just God would not punish people for doing things that are not morally wrong. And an all-knowing God would know that there is nothing morally wrong with homosexuality.
Some Christians might say that it is God who decides what is morally right and wrong, not humans. That, however, mistakenly assumes that morality is determined by someone’s arbitrary choice, either ours or His. No one decides what is morally right or wrong, just as no one decides whether there is a highest prime number. (There isn’t.)
Humans can determine right from wrong without God providing us with a list of dos and don’ts. The Bible itself teaches that. When Cain killed his brother, Abel, he was punished by God, and rightfully so. But God had never said the killing was wrong. He expected Cain to figure that out himself.
