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Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable (Leviticus 7: 22). This is the quote that most often justifies Christian homophobia. This essay will show that everyone, is this is what they believe, is welcome into the kingdom of God no matter what their sexual preferences are. The Gay and Lesbian community should be welcomed into the house of God instead of being turned away for being openly homosexual.
This subject is the cause of some controversy between the church and the Gay and Lesbian community. The Church seems to think that being homosexual is a choice the individual makes in order to directly defy Gods wishes, The Christian homosexual position when carefully examined can be exposed for what it is at its very core: an attack upon the integrity, sufficiency, and authority of scripture, which for the Christian church is an attack upon the very nature of our Holy God! (P 3 Scroggs). Others think that it is just a phase that everyone goes through, and once you fulfill your homosexual desires you can truly be heterosexual again (Moberly). Some people have evidence that the words in the Bible were translated wrong from Hebrew to Greek and then to English. They believe that this should be made known and made right. The Christian Church is ruled by patriarchy, it was men who wrote the bible and interpret the words of God.
This goes to show how men have been telling us what to think say and feel since the beginning of time. They convey their own prejudices into the bible and tell Christens that this is what they should believe or it is a sin against God. These are some of the main points that will be the foundation of this essay. Patriarchy is the foundation of the Christian Church. The Church was founded by men, ran by men, and ruled by male ideologies. Until recently men were the only ones who were allowed by the church to be Ordained Priests.
It was not until the mid to late 1960 s that women were permitted to attend divinity school and studied seminary classes that prepared them for ordination. Years after Vatican II, theologians, canon lawyers, and biblical critics all interrogated the tradition and found no persuasive reason why woman should not be ordained women enrolled in divinity schools and studied at seminaries in astonishingly large numbers and so were prepared intellectually and psychologically for ordination Catholic women had vocations to be priests-intersected with a crises in the priesthood itself: with fewer men being ordained and many leaving the priesthood to marry, there seemed to be a real need to consider womens ordination (p 680). But eventually they decided against the ordination of women with no real explanation except that it has been the tradition of the church since the beginning. Men want to continue to rule the church with their ideas of patriarchy such as no ordained women priests, and no homosexuals are sons or daughters of God. The Christian church believes that homosexuality is a choice that people make in order to defy the word of God. Although some people have other ideas about what homosexuality really is.
Elizabeth R. Moberly, author of Homosexuality: A New Christian Ethic, says that she doesnt think that homosexuality is wrong. She says that homosexuality is just a phase that everyone goes through and you have to act out all of your homosexual desires before you can truly be heterosexual. Therefore she believes that you cannot condemn someone for being homosexual because everyone has homosexual desires, some are just stronger desires than others (Moberly).
Others have proof that you cannot choose your sexual preference; it would be like choosing your skin color. It is natural; you have no choice in the matter. Something neither chosen nor changeable; heterosexuals who have made their peace with homosexuals have often done so by accepting that premise. The very term sexual orientation implies biology (p 117 Skier).
Some people have come to terms with the fact that homosexuality is not a choice or a preference, it a biologically made certainty. To ask homosexuals to hide or change their sexual orientation would be asking them to hide who they really are in order to please the church. Coming back to the phrase Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable (Leviticus 18: 22), and If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads (Leviticus 20: 13). According to these verses the act of homosexuality is punishable by death, this seems to be a very serious offence. Other offences punishable by death, according to the bible are sins such as cursing ones parents adultery, incest and intercourse with a menstruating woman (p 44 Helminiak).
In this the 20 th century how can we conceder these serious offences? If the Christian community would see such a thing as cursing ones parents as they see homosexuality there would be no Christian community. Also, the list in 1 Corinthians includes adulterers, thieves, and the greedy. 1 Timothy includes that of liars and perjurers. Then why is the sin of homosexuality seen in todays society as so terrible they cannot be ordained and a sin such as greed is not given a second thought when they are considered for ordination.
There are also some people who believe that the bible does not oppose homosexuality; this point will be shown throughout this essay. The book The New Testament and Homosexuality by Robin Scroggs suggests that the bible does not oppose homosexuality. In the case of Leviticus he says that the bible isnt dealing with homosexuality in general. He suggests that the answer to the condemnation objection is to the wasting of male semen. The condemnation of male homosexuality acts must be seen in the context of the procreative ethic which it served.
since today wasting of semen may not considered sin at all, the contemporary relevance of the law in nullified (p 13 Scroggs). Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph. D. , author of What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality says that the translation of the words man-lying-with-man was translated from Hebrew to Greek wrong.
The Hebrews had no word for homo genital behavior therefore it was translated as the man who lies with a male the lying of a woman this phrase could have been translated one of two ways. The first being lying of a male and the second lying with a male. One is interpreted as any homosexual act and the other as an act of male prostitution. This author believes that the sin is not the act of homosexuality but is the act of male prostitution.
These are some ways of interpreting this bible verse. The story of Adam and Eve is often used to defend homophobia among Christians. The saying that is most often used for this purpose is that God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. They conclude from this story that man and woman were made in Gods image together and this is the way that God intended. But nowhere in this story does it condemn same-sex relations. The point of this story is often overlooked, it was to paint a picture of a sad and sinful state and to insist that this was not Gods doing.
God created the good in the world but people misuse creation, so life becomes hard. Genesis is a lesson about religion, Gods way and our sin, not a lesson about sexual orientation. Nothing in those two chapters suggests that heterosexuality, in contrast to homosexuality, was a concern in the authors mind. People may argue that it is not what the Bible says, but what it doesnt say. Since the Bible does not actively support homosexuality, it must be that the Bible condemns it. But this conclusion is not very logical.
It is simply that we do not know the actual opinion on the subject. Some scholars actually point out positive instances of homosexuality in the Bible. 1 Samuel 18: 1 - 4 shows the affection on the part of the prince, Jonathan, toward the Shepherd boy, David: The soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. The story goes on to say that King Saul finds out about the relationship between Jonathan and David and calls it perverse and refers to Jonathan a bastard. King Saul says that Jonathan has brought him shame with his nakedness, which implies to sex in biblical times.
When Jonathan and David part it demonstrates intense sorrow: David rose from beside the stone heap and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. He bowed three times, and they kissed each other and wept with each other; David wept more. Then Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, since both of us have sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord s...
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