Leviticus and Homosexuality:
Keeping God's Law In Perspective
By: Rev. Timothy Shirley
Virginia-Highland Baptist Church
Atlanta, GA
The Bible clearly and succinctly states in Leviticus 18:22 that "You
shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination," and
in Leviticus 20:13, "If a man lies with a male as with a woman both
of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their
blood is upon them." What's the old saying? The Bible says it -- I
believe it, that settles it! Leviticus also teaches us that women are unclean
during their menstrual cycle, that defecating within the camp was unacceptable
lest God step in it while walking in the evening, and a woman giving birth
to a male child is considered unclean for a week -- for a female child two
weeks. Is this the inerrant Word of God? Not even the most fundamentalist/literalist
would claim all of the Levitican Law is the inerrant word of God. For the
rest of us, it's not even worth debating.
This is not to say, however, that Leviticus and the other books concerning
the Law should be excised from the canon nor that it is not relevant or
that it has not place in contemporary Christendom. Throwing out the baby
with the bathwater is never an appropriate response in the world of biblical
interpretation. There is much in Leviticus, as well as the other books containing
commentary .. the Law, that is not only practical, but was necessary for
the health of the tribe. Therein lies the issue for Leviticus, et.al. --
it must be understood and interpreted within the framework of its own particular
cultural milieu.
The book of Leviticus is a product of its culture. Not only that, it
is a commentary of the Law as represented in the Ten Commandments. The writers
were not scientists nor historians writing from expertise, but were persons
of faith -- priests, writing from the unique experiences that they encountered.
They were problem solvers in a era where simplistic, yet decisive, actions
were necessitated by illnesses and controversies that arose withing the
camp of the tribe of Israel. They were cultic people who were forced to
make quick and sudden decisions as need arose. For twentieth century Christians
to use these formulas as criteria for ethical and moral decision making
would be naive at best, heresy at worst. The priests used the tools of knowledge
at their disposal, just as we are required to use the tools of knowledge
available to us. Today, we can benefit from thousands of years of learning!
Bottom line -- the arguments suggesting and concerning homosexuality
in Leviticus as well as in all of scripture, must be treated equally. The
Bible is not a cafeteria, there can be no picking and choosing! The rules
of interpretation must be consistent across the board. Therefore, the Leviticus
text must be critiqued as a whole, and not willy-nilly in order to defend
or condemn a particular point of view. A verse taken out of its context
is never an appropriate rule of measure for doing biblical exegesis and
interpretation with integrity. This is especially so with the Book of Leviticus.
A little common sense never hurt either!