The propriety of homosexual behavior has been a topic of much discussion for several decades. At the bottom of the controversy in the religious community is the condemnation of homosexual behavior by the Scriptures. I conclude that one major reason why the Scriptures condemn homosexual behavior is its detrimental health effects. A review of the medical literature (focusing on males) finds that homosexual behavior has a clear detrimental effect on health, causing numerous serious (and often lethal) diseases. As a result, the average person of either sex who is involved in a lifelong homosexual lifestyle can expect to live only into the middle 40s.