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Many years ago I was asked to speak to a church's congregation and
community members about why gays should not be ordained to the clergy. At
that time, reading such Scripture verses as Romans 1:20-32 and 1 Corinthians
6:9-10, as well as verses in the Old Testament ostensibly pertaining to
homosexuality, I fully believed that gays should not be ordained. I would
never make that speech today! Indeed, I'm deeply ashamed that I did give
that speech.
When studying anything, let alone Scripture, consideration of context is
crucial! The context of prohibition against homosexual behavior in the Old
Testament was that people were to be fruitful and multiply; the Messiah would
come through the fruit of procreation, though be born of a virgin. In the
New Testament, the context of prohibition is against any behavior that
supplants God as an object of worship.
The Apostle Paul was addressing male cult prostitution and sexual
intercourse as homage to various pagan deities that existed in the Roman
world at that time. There is no evidence to indicate that he was referring to
loving, monogamous relationships between people of the same sex. Moreover,
even in the Old Testament, the sin of Sodom was not homosexuality, but
homosexual gang rape and inhospitality.
In our era, we don't see the importance of hospitality. However, in the
harsh environments that existed in the ancient world, hospitality was
essential, as it could be a matter of life and death, and if it was denied,
it was a grievous matter.
Moreover, when Sodom is discussed in Scripture, homosexuality is never
mentioned as its sin. Here is the evidence of that fact, for which I'm
indebted to the web site christianlesbians.com:
Old Testmaent References:
- Deuteronomy 29:17-26 -- Idolatry and images to false gods.
- Deuteronomy 32:32-38 -- Idolatry.
- Isaiah 1:9-23 -- Murder, greed, theft, rebellion, covetousness.
- Isaiah 3:8-15 -- Mistreating the poor.
- Isaiah 3:11-19 -- Arrogance.
- Jeremiah 23:10-14 -- Adultery, lying by priests and prophets.
- Jeremiah 49:16-18 -- Pride of the heart.
- Jeremiah 50:2-40 -- Idolatry and pride.
- Lamentations 4:3-6 -- Cruelty and failure to care for the young and poor.
- Ezekiel 16:49-50 -- "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom,
pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her
daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And
they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them
away as I saw good."
- Amos 4:1-11 -- Oppression and mistreating the poor.
- Zephaniah 2:8 -- Pride.
New Testament References:
Luke 17:26-29 -- No specific sins mentioned.
2 Peter 2:6 -- Living after ungodliness.
Jude 1:7-8 -- Fornication after strange ("other") flesh. (Could be related to
Genesis 6:1-2)
"Jesus declared that He hadn't come to do away with a portion of the
Law but to fulfill all the Law (Matthew 5:17-18). Paul in Romans 10:4 says
that 'Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to all who believe' and
in Romans 7:6 tells us that we have been released from the Law and are dead
to that which had us bound. If a portion of the Law remains in effect then
all the Law must remain in effect." (christianlesbians.com)
Paul was writing to the believing Jews of Rome and in Chapter One of
the book of Romans he is describing the progressive descent into sin of the
unbelieving Gentiles. You can't look at Chapter One without relating it to
Chapter Two where Paul admonishes the Jews that if they pass judgment on even
these behaviors, they are in fact condemning themselves. Paul's purpose was
to show us all from which Christ redeemed us!
In a fascinating book, recommended to me by Larry Judkins, entitled,
Same-Sex Unions In Premodern Europe, by the historian John Boswell (Vintage
Books, Random House, 1995), he delineates how some same sex unions were even
blessed by clergy in the Church. There are many same sex unions that are
delineated in this book, but I'll just quote one passage to give you a flavor
of the topic.
"... the church of Saint John of the Latin Gate, in which some Portuguese
some years before had entered into a strange 'brotherhood'. Two males
married each other at Mass, with the same ceremonies we use for our
marriages, taking Communion together, using the same nuptial Scripture, after
which they slept and ate together. Roman experts said that since sex between
male and female could be legitimate only within marriage, it had seemed
equally fair to them to authorize these ceremonies and mysteries of the
church." (p. 265)
In reading Scripture we must take account of what it says, what it
means, its subtext, its context, what we bring to the text, and what we take
out of the text. Our cultural lenses and personal prejudices frequently
blind us to what Scripture is saying, much as they blinded those who used
Scripture to justify slavery, segregation, and subjugation of women inside
and outside of the Church.
I wish I had had this insight at the time I was asked to make that
speech, but I didn't. Thank God I have it now, and I'm deeply sorry for
having made that speech.
Copyright ©1999 by the author
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Books:
Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality : Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century
John Boswell
Openly Gay, Openly Christian : A Gay-Friendly Approach to Scripture
Samuel Kader
Steps To Recovery From Bible Abuse
by Rembert Truluck
Want more books?
Visit the Whosoever Bookstore
Websites:
Jerry S. Maneker
Christian Lesbians.com
Also In This Issue:
Mixed Blessings
Deliverance
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