Is “God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” a good argument against homosexuality?

Response

The expression, “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” is commonly used in arguments against homosexuality. While the statement is indeed accurate (see Genesis chapter 2), is it truly a valid line of reasoning against homosexuality?

Asserting, “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” presents an argument against homosexuality based on the evident purpose in God’s original design of humanity. A similar argument, articulated as “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Eve and Julie and Teresa,” has been utilized to challenge proponents of polygamy.

Reflecting on an original design holds some value in any argument. For instance, in interpreting the Constitution, it is beneficial to consider the intentions of the Constitution’s ratifiers when they endorsed the document—what was the original purpose of the Bill of Rights? In teaching against divorce, Jesus contended that “it was not this way from the beginning” «He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. », (Matthew 19:8). When Paul established the guideline that men should hold teaching positions in a local church, he also referenced God’s original design in creation: “For Adam was formed first, then Eve” «For Adam was first formed, then Eve. », (1 Timothy 2:13).

Highlighting that God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, similarly relies on God’s original design to suggest a conclusion. God’s initial command to Adam and Eve was to “be fruitful and multiply” «And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, aAnd over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” , (Genesis 1:28), and the fulfillment of this command, of course, required a male and a female. For humanity to reproduce and propagate the species, God had to begin with a male and a female—Adam and Eve.

God could not have started the world with an “Adam and Steve”; to do so would have forever limited the population of humanity to two. With that said, there is a possible weakness in the “God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” argument: it could be argued that, once humanity’s population was significantly greater than two, there would be nothing to proscribe “Adam and Steve” and “Adell and Eve” relationships, original design and later commands notwithstanding.

While the “God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” argument is a pithy one, based on God’s original design, there are stronger biblical arguments against homosexuality. The Bible consistently identifies homosexuality as sinful (Leviticus 18:22;Leviticus 20:13;Romans 1:26-27;1 Corinthians 6:9;1 Timothy 1:10). It is these passages, not the creation of Adam and Eve per se, that make the clear biblical case that homosexuality is immoral and unnatural. God indeed created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, and that fact supplements the Bible’s other, more overt arguments for why homosexuality is against God’s will.