Homosexuality in the Bible
Submitted by J on December 14 2001 04:23:13
In reply to For J...A Thankyou and a Reply... submitted by Chris on December 10 2001 14:29:05
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Dear Chris, You asked for my thoughts on the following: If we are not meant to be alone, and God wishes us to have a close and personal relationship with another person (and “woman” is the correct Biblical person with whom God intends a man to have this with…), then what about those of us who cannot do this because we are attracted to something else entirely? I would answer your last clause “then what about…” by rejecting the third premise that “woman” is the correct Biblical person with whom God intends a man to have this with, at least in any sense in which the first two chapters of Genesis are used to disqualify same gender relationships. Such is an argument from both silence and a paradisiacal existence that no longer exists for any of us, and is interpreted differently depending on bias. A Christian who views same gender relationships as sin will interpret the Genesis story of Adam and Eve as a positive model of sexual intimacy between a man and a woman exclusively, whereas a Christian (such as myself) who does not view same gender relationships as sin will interpret the same story as a positive model of sexual intimacy between two people, regardless of gender. Both of us approach the model from a certain bias, which proceeds from our understanding of homosexual relationships in light of Scripture. Perhaps this would be the place to start (an examination of homosexuality in the Bible). Passages dealing with this subject fall into three main categories: historical references (Genesis 19:4-9; Judges 19:22-26), legal references (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13), and Pauline references (Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10). Indeed, neither the Bible nor humanity’s scientific knowledge provides an answer to “how” or “why” people have different sexual orientations. Theories abound, one of which is my own (specific to BL) which I don’t believe I have heard put forth before – but it is just that, a theory, and likely improvable as well. Just like you, I believe we need to deal with the facts that we know, not dwell on what we do not or cannot know. That said, related to the above topic of homosexuality in the Bible, I believe the issue of orientation is quite relevant and deserves a very close and sensitive look. Let me know if this is the avenue you think we should take next in our ongoing discussion about celibacy. Look forward to hearing from you – until then, take care and God bless you, my friend. Love in the Lord, J |
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