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THE BIBLE AND HOMOSEXUALITY
© Paul K. Davis 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation
May 28, 2006
In the play "Fiddler on the Roof" the character Tevye frequently goes
on: "As it says in the good book ... blah blah blah." At one point he
comments, "As it says in the good book, when a poor man eats a chicken, one
or the other of them is sick." Finally one of the other characters,
Mordke, calls him on this, responding, "Where in the Bible does it say
that?"
I decided to ask myself the question, "Where in the Bible does it say
that homosexuality is a sin?" I consider this investigation important, not
because I believe the Bible is the final answer, but partly because I have
a lot of respect for the Bible, and partly because, as a scientist, I know
the importance of critically examining whatever evidence is brought forth.
This presentation is an account of my results and a comparison with
Tevye's response to Mordke.
Biblical passages which refer to homosexuality, or which have been
thought to refer to homosexuality, fall into three categories: first, the
account of, and references to, Sodom and Gomorrah; second the "Holiness
Code" prohibitions; and third, statements by Paul the Apostle in his
epistles. I studied each of these, though the New Testament was outside
the scope of this year's Adult Education class on the Old Testament.
Sodom and Gomorrah
The primary account of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and their
destruction, is in Genesis, chapter 19, verses 1 to 25. The Bible clearly
says that Sodom and the other cities were destroyed for their sins, but
years ago I noticed, as I assume many others have, that the Bible is quite
vague about what the sins were. In fact, the implication is that there was
no one single sin that stood out.
The notion that homosexuality was the primary sin is apparently based on
the demand, by the citizens of Sodom, that Lot, Abraham's nephew, turn his
visitors over to them, so that they might "know" them. The Hebrew word
translated "know" is sometimes a euphemism for sex, but not always. It can
also have its ordinary meaning. It is "yada`" (pardon my untaught Hebrew
pronunciation). It is spelled yowd-daleth-`ayin. It is Hebrew word number
3045 in Strong's system, which indexes the entire Bible. It is translated
"know" or "knew" 39 times in Genesis, of which only 4 have a clearly sexual
meaning.
In any event, even if the intent was a homosexual act, it was clearly
against the will of Lot's visitors, and thus would have constituted rape.
The sinfulness of rape is an entirely different matter from the question of
the sinfulness of consentual sexual acitivity, whether hetero- or
homo-sexual.
In fact, I am inclined to believe that the actual reason for the
citizens demanding the visitors was for human sacrifice. This is in
keeping with the archeological evidence of practices in this area at this
time, is in parallel with such Greek accounts as that found in "Iphigenia
in Taurus," and fits the Biblical context of God substituting a ram for the
initially intended sacrifice of Isaac.
Now, since the people of Sodom are not, in fact, accused of what is now
called "sodomy", all the other references in the Bible to Sodom, and to
"sodomites", do not constitute criticisms of homosexuality.
Holiness Code
The relevant clauses in the "Holiness Code" are in Leviticus, chapter 18
verse 22 and chapter 20 verse 13. These verses say, "Thou shalt not lie
with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination," and, "If a man also
lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an
abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon
them."
Unlike the account of Sodom, these two verses clearly refer to
homosexual acts. From reading them it is immediately obvious that they
refer only to male homosexual acts, not female, so in any case they are not
a general condemnation of homosexuality.
This "Holiness Code" is a collection of comandments incorporated into
the Torah, like the "Ten Commandments," the Kosher rules, and many others.
The Holiness Code is pretty much the strictest. Another of its provisions,
in Leviticus, chapter 20 verse 9, is, "For every one that curseth his
father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his
father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him." While I am not in
favor of cursing your parents, I find it curious that among people these
days who profess to follow the Bible, the campaign against cursing of
parents has so few adherents compared to the campaign against homosexuality.
Now, stepping forward a little bit from the Old Testament class, I note
that standard Christian understanding of the many detailed "laws" in the
Torah is that they apply only to Jews. This is based on The Acts of the
Apostles, chapter 15 verses 22 to 31, in which a general decision is made
by the apostles and elders that non-Jewish Christians are not bound by the
entire Torah, but required only to abstain from certain specific practices.
This raises an interesting tangential question, namely, why should Jews
have more rules than Christians? Isn't morality the same for all people?
The beginning of an answer to this is that fundamental morality is the
same for all people, but specific rules depend on specific circumstances.
Jesus condensed all morality to loving God and loving other people, yet he
also gave specific answers when asked questions about specific situations.
Our society has codes of ethics for various professions, which are not
considered applicable outside those professions. Regardless of one's
answer to this question, I find it strange that so many medieval and modern
Christians have taken this one law of the Torah, against male
homosexuality, so seriously, even while expecting converted Jews to eat
pork as a sign of conversion!
Now, back to the decision of the apostles and elders in the book of
Acts. The only one of the prohibited practices which is sexual is
"fornication." The word translated "fornication" is "porneias" (pardon my
untaught Greek pronunciation). This word is spelled
pi-omicron-rho-nu-epsilon-iota-alpha-sigma. It is the root from which we
derive "pornography." Sources I have consulted offer quite a variety of
meanings for this word, but the most common is prostitution, specifically
slave prostitution. My dictionary, under "pornography", explains the root
"porne" as meaning "harlot." Furthermore, my dictionary derives
"fornication" from the Latin root "fornix" meaning "brothel," and I know
that the ancient brothels were stocked with enslaved women. Within my own
standards I would consider intercourse with a slave to constitute rape, and
I agree that this is a sin, and ought to be actively opposed.
My point, however, is that no prohibition on homosexuality is in the
earliest Christian statement of universal morality.
Paul's Epistles
The relevant statements by Paul the Apostle are in Romans, chapter 1
verses 26 to 27; First Corinthians, chapter 6 verse 9; and in First
Timothy, chapter 1 verse 10.
I won't pursue these in as much detail, as the class subject was the Old
Testament, but I have covered these in more detail in my essay distributed to the students in the class.
Briefly, I believe each of these three passages is a more detailed
explanation of the list from the book of Acts. I consulted the original
Greek, and formed the conclusion that the King James translation is very
poor in these passages. I do believe Paul refers to male homosexual acts.
I do not believe he condems them across the board.
His word for homosexual is a rare word, which perhaps he invented for
the purpose. It is "arsenokoitai." I believe Paul, fluent in Greek unlike
the disciples, realized that the word "pornoi" means specifically a female
slave, and he wished to make it clear that sexual abuse of a male slave was
also wrong. Paul's fullest list, in First Timothy, is I believe best
interpreted as condemning use of female sex slaves, child molestation, use
of male sex slaves, and kidnapping.
Conclusion
Now, back to Tevye and Mordke. After Mordke asks, "Where does it say
that in the Bible?" Tevye hems and haws for a few moments, and then says,
"Well, I'm sure somewhere in the Bible it says something about a chicken."
I also found that somewhere in the Bible it does say something about
homosexuality, but not what people claim.
I also conclude that, when considering the Bible, or anything that
people are citing as evidence, check it out to find out what it actually
says, find out what the context is, both within the source, and the
cultural context, and beware of differing and shifting meanings of words: be a
Mordke.
Copies of this talk, and of my more detailed essay, are available on
request.
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