Strange Flesh: The Bible and Homosexuality

171 Pages·2014·2.78 MB·English

by  Steve Wells

Published by SAB Books, LLC
Copyright 2014 by Steve Wells All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including
information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only
exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wells, Steve
Strange Flesh: The Bible and Homosexuality Library of Congress Control Number: 2014916072
1. Social Sciences–Homosexuality. Lesbianism 2. Bible–Criticism, Interpretation, etc.
4. Religion–Controversial Literature 4. Social Sciences–The Church and Marriage I. Title
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Introduction
I. The Explicit Verses
II. Sodom’s Sin
III. Gay Bible Stories
IV. Possibly Gay Bible Stories
V. Lesbians
VI. Biblical Eunuchs
VII. Paul’s Thorn
VIII. Was Jesus Gay?
IX. What about Yahweh?
X. Between the lines
XI. I want a marriage like they had in the Bible
XII. Because the Bible tells me so
Afterword by Dave Muscato
Bibliography
Sources
Introduction
Societies throughout the world are struggling with their treatment of
homosexuals and homosexuality, treatments that are to a large extent religiously
based. For most of the last two millennia, the western world has been dominated
by Christianity, a religion that is, or at least claims to be, based upon the Bible.
Since the Bible has had such a large influence on our culture, it is not
surprising that it continues to influence views on homosexuality today. And
although belief in the Bible has decreased in recent years in Europe, Canada and
Australia, it is still believed by the majority of people in the United States and in
much of the developing world.1 While the nature and extent of that belief varies
widely, all believers believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God and look to
it for guidance on the issue of homosexuality.
Many nonbelievers also view the Bible favorably, assuming that the “Good
Book” is as good as believers claim it to be. They have heard about the Golden
Rule, the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and the parable of the
Good Samaritan, and they assume that the rest of the Bible must be similar.
Nothing could be further from the truth, of course, as is evident to anyone who
has read it. But since few believers or nonbelievers have read the Bible,2 most
are unfamiliar with its views on any topic – including, of course, homosexuality.
This situation makes it easy for advocates on both sides of the homosexuality
debate to claim that the Bible says this, or the Bible says that, or the Bible says
nothing at all about homosexuality. And since each side is preaching to its own
choir, each choir tends to sing along as directed, without actually reading what
the Bible actually says. Which is a shame, since the Bible does have something
to say about homosexuality, although not nearly as much as it does about other
topics, like how to perform ritual animal sacrifices, for example.3
There are only five passages that everyone on both sides of the debate agrees
are about homosexuality, while disagreeing about their proper interpretation.
Anyone who would like to understand what the Bible says about homosexuality
should be familiar with these five. They are presented and discussed in Chapter
1: The Explicit Verses.
The Bible is filled with stories, and many of them are used by proponents in
the debate to show that God feels precisely the same way as they do about
homosexuality. Perhaps the best known and most important of these is the story
of Sodom and Gomorrah. Although this story almost certainly has a homosexual
component, the nature of Sodom’s sin is less clear and much debated. It is the
topic of Chapter 2.
There are two other Bible stories that involve homosexuality, at least to some
extent: Noah’s curse in Genesis 9 and the Levite’s concubine in Judges 19.
There are a whole host of other stories that are sometimes used in the
homosexuality debate, often in rather startling ways. These “Gay Bible Stories”
and “Possibly Gay Bible Stories” are told in chapters 3 and 4.
Although there is only one explicit mention of lesbians in the Bible (Romans
1:26-27), there are other passages and stories that are often used to either justify
or condemn lesbianism. They are presented and discussed in Chapter 5.
Eunuchs show up often in the pages of the Bible and, since they share some
characteristics with homosexuals, how they are treated in the Bible may reveal
the Bible’s attitude toward homosexuality. These biblical eunuchs are the topic
of Chapter 6.
Chapter 7 deals with the sexuality of the man who arguably had the greatest
effect on Christianity: Paul. What was the nature of the “thorn” that Satan
plagued him with? And what did Paul have to say about homosexuality?
The next two chapters are almost too embarrassing to describe. They involve
Bible stories that allegedly reveal what few of us have ever seriously, or even
jokingly, considered – that both Jesus and Yahweh are gay. These stories are
included, however, since they are often used in the debate, although often in an
indirect way, by implication, insinuation, and innuendo.
It is often said that Jesus said nothing about homosexuality.4 And that
statement is true insofar as it goes; there are no clear, direct, and explicit
statements by Jesus about homosexuality per se in any of the gospels. But he had
much to say about marriage, sexuality, and family life. These statements by
Jesus, along with similar passages from the Bible as a whole, are presented in
Chapter 10, Between the Lines.
The last two chapter titles were taken from a wonderful song by satirical
singer-songwriter Roy Zimmerman entitled, “I want a marriage like they had in
the Bible (because the Bible tells me so).”5 These chapters deal with marriage in
the Bible and the biblical laws that believers should follow if they choose to
follow the teaching of the Bible on homosexuality.
So let’s begin our search of the scriptures6 to see what the Bible has to say
about homosexuality.
NOTES
NOTES
1. Tom W. Smith, Belief about God across Time and Countries, NORC/University of Chicago, report
released on 18 April 2012,
http://www.norc.org/PDFs/Beliefs_about_God_Report.pdf
2. According to a recent (2013) survey by Barna Associates, only 20% of American adults have read
the Bible from start to finish. Jeremy Weber, “Surprising Stats on Who Reads the Bible from Start to
Finish,” Christianity Today, http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2013/june/surprising-stats-
on-who-reads-bible-from-start-to-finish.html.
3. Such bloody rituals must be important to God, judging from the number of times that he repeats their
instructions. Indeed, the entire first nine chapters of Leviticus can be summarized as follows: Get an
animal, kill it, sprinkle the blood around, cut the dead animal into pieces, and burn it for a “sweet
savor unto the Lord.”
4. Both sides agree on this, but disagree on its significance.
Theodore Jennings, Jr. says:
Legend holds that a book was published entitled Everything Jesus Said about Homosexuality. When
opened, the book consisted of nothing but blank pages. The point is well made but is also misleading.
I contend that the Jesus tradition contains a good deal that is relevant to the discussion of same-sex
erotic relationships, and that all of it is positive. (The Man Jesus Loved, 8)
While Robert Gagnon makes the exact opposite claim, saying that “the silence of Jesus on the
subject [homosexuality], combined with other factors, makes Jesus’ opposition to same-sex
intercourse historically probable.” (The Bible and Homosexual Practice, 186)
5. Roy Zimmerman, You’re getting sleepy, Metaphor Records, 2011, track 2.
6. John 5:39
The Explicit Verses
There are only five passages in the Bible that deal explicitly with
homosexuality.1 It just doesn’t come up very often. But whenever it does, it is
condemned in no uncertain terms.
Conservative Christians,2 of course, love these verses, although most
acknowledge that God went a bit too far in Leviticus 20:13. Sure, they say,
homosexuality is an abomination worthy of death, but must they really execute
all male homosexuals?3 Can’t they just wait until the “sodomites” die and let
God apply the punishment (endless torment in hell)?
Liberals hate these verses, calling them “clobber verses,”4 since they are the
verses that conservatives clobber them with. They claim, however, that none of
these verses have anything to do with the issue of homosexuality.5 Since that
obviously isn’t true, their views require some nuanced and refined explanation.
I’ll do my best to provide that for each passage below. (Verses are presented in
biblical order.) 1. It is abomination Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with
womankind: it is abomination. Leviticus 18:22
It just grosses God out for some reason. He is completely disgusted by it, like he
is with these things: Lobsters, shrimp, clams, snails, and squids Whatsoever hath
no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you. Leviticus
11:12
Four-legged fowls6
All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto
you. Leviticus 11:20
Four-footed flying, creeping things But all other flying creeping things, which
have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you. Leviticus 11:23
Creeping things Every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an
abomination. Leviticus 11:41
Whatever crawls on its belly, goes on all four, or has lots of feet Whatsoever
goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath
more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth ... are an
abomination. Leviticus 11:42
Sacrificing a blemished sheep or goat Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD
thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for
that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God. Deuteronomy 17:1
Crossdressers The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man,
neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination
unto the LORD thy God. Deuteronomy 22:5
Taking back an ex-wife after she’s been “defiled”
When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that
she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness
in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her
hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his
house, she may go and be another man’s wife. And if the latter husband
hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand,
and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took
her to be his wife; Her former husband, which sent her away, may not
take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is
abomination before the LORD. Deuteronomy 24:1-4
The work of a craftsman Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten
image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the
craftsman.... Deuteronomy 27:15
Whatever people value the most (kindness, wisdom, courage, love, money,
power, sex, and cell phones) That which is highly esteemed among men is
abomination in the sight of God. Luke 16:15
Conservatives point out that the only sexual practice that God calls an
abomination is same-sex intercourse.7 Leviticus 18 has a long list of sexual sins,
but only one is referred to as an abomination (sexual relations between males)
and this designation is repeated in Leviticus 20:13, which imposes the death
sentence for those who engage in it.
Liberal responses:
Leviticus 18:22 refers only to sexual activity between males. It says nothing
at all about lesbian sex.8
The “abomination” in this verse refers to only one type of male-male sexual
activity: the penile penetration of the anus of one male by another.9 There’s
nothing abominable about other types of male homoerotic sex.
Since the previous verse (Leviticus 18:21) condemns child sacrifice to
Molech, the context suggests that God’s main concern is with sexual
activity in idolatrous religious ceremonies.10 God is okay with sexual
intercourse between males as long as it’s not done in a pagan temple. That
would be an abomination.
The word “abomination” was used to identify ritually impure practices, like
eating pork or having sex with a menstruating woman. It had nothing to do
with morality and should not be used today to condemn homosexuals or
homosexuality.11
In this verse God is telling male homosexuals to “man up” about their gay
sex. It is an abomination to pretend like one partner is a female when both
are males.12 Come out of the closet and have sex openly as men for God’s
sake!
This verse applied to a particular place and a particular time (ancient
Israel);13 we can therefore ignore it (along with everything else we dislike
or find inconvenient in the Hebrew scriptures) today.
This verse does not condemn sexual activity between males in loving,
stable, committed relationships.14
Since the condemnation of homosexual erotic activity is only repeated a
few places in the Bible, it is not important to God and can be ignored.15
The abominations in the Old Testament are no longer relevant in light of
the New Testament’s teachings.16
God called many things abominations in the Bible that we are fine with
today. So we can safely ignore Leviticus 18:22.17
Leviticus 18:22 is simply wrong about homosexuality.18