GAY SEX AND THE BIBLE
For thousands of years, some people have used the Bible* (that is, the Hebrew Scriptures, or 'Tannach') to put down others. The oppression of black people by white and the subjugation of women by men are two examples which, thankfully, are less acceptable now than in earlier times. But, the Bible is still often used to justify hating gay people. However, the text, when read with care, no more supports gay bashing than racism or sexism.
I don't expect confirmed bigots to be persuaded by anything here, but people of good will who are bothered by what others claim is in the Bible may find this page helpful.
The verse most commonly cited is Leviticus 20:13 "And a man who lies with a male as one would with a woman both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon themselves."
First, note that the verse says nothing about lesbian sex, so cannot be a general ban on homosexuality. Also, a minor point - the word 'abomination' (Hebrew - to'eh'va) is used to describe eating certain foods, having sex during the menstrual flow, or even remarrying a divorced spouse. So anyone who thinks these acceptable yet condemns gay sex, is, at the least, inconsistent.
The key phrase is "lies (shachav) with a man as with a woman." It you take the verse literally, sex between two men who are both standing is permitted. If you don't take it literally, then you are interpreting in a non-literal way, and are inconsistent if you criticize someone else for making a non-literal interpretation.
Moreover, from an anatomical viewpoint, it is impossible for a man to have sex with another man the way men have sex with women. So again, if this verse is strictly literal, it cannot be a general prohibition against gay sex.
Tannach uses various terms to indicate sexual activity. Some, such as "knowing" or "uncovering the nakedness of" indicate an active/passive act of penetration or its immediate precursors. But 'shachav' seems to refer to more than just penetration. 'To lie with' implies some degree of reciprocal relationship -- at the very least the activity of getting into the horizontal position with someone else.
A sad fact of Biblical times is that marriage often involved no choice on the woman's part. Unions were often arranged solely by the man and the woman's father. As a result, a common way for a man to lie with his wife was with her not being able to refuse.
Could this be what the Bible refers to -- that any sex between two men be completely consensual and not, like between a man and a woman, have any compulsion? .
Whatever the intended meaning of this verse, the literal words do not forbid gay sex. Homophobes should dampen their enthusiasm to blame their intolerance on the Bible.
With the marriage of gay people being sanctioned in San Francisco and elsewhere, many complain that homosexual unions are not sanctioned by the Bible. Similar arguments have been advanced to forbid interracial marriages, which puts the opponents of gay marriage in a bind. If they object to gay marriage but not interracial marriage, they are being inconsistent. But if they object to gay marriage and interracial marriage both, they are bigots.
It's worth while to consider just what the Bible does sanction. Here , only slightly tongue in cheek, is what a constitutional amendment based on Biblical principles might look like.
A. Marriage in the United States shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women. (Gen 29:17-28; II Sam 3:2-5)
B. Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines, in addition to his wife or wives. (II Sam 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chron 11:21)
C. A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed. (Deut 22:13-21)
D. Marriage of a believer and a non-believer shall be forbidden. (Gen 24:3; Num 25:1-9; Ezra 9:12; Neh 10:30)
E. Since marriage is for life, neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any State, nor any state or federal law, shall be construed to permit divorce. (Deut 22:19; Mark 10:9)
F. If a married man dies without children, his brother shall marry the widow. If he refuses to marry his brother's widow or deliberately does not give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe. (Gen. 38:6-10; Deut 25:5-10)
SODOM AND THE BIBLE
Self proclaimed moralists like to refer to gay sex as the 'sin of Sodom,' and warn that if our society does not discriminate in some way against gay people, then we will be destroyed like that city was destroyed. The Genesis story speaks of the people of Sodom as not being righteous, and in Chapter 19, we find two examples of this:
5 And they called to Lot, and said to him: 'Where are the men that came to you this night? Bring them out unto us, and we will 'know' them.'.
Lot then offers his virgin daughters instead, and the Sodom people say:
9 And they said: 'Stand back.' And they said: 'This one fellow came in to live here, and he will hand down judgments; now it will be worse with you, than with them.' And they pressed on the man Lot, and approached to break the door.
Obviously there is a lot of unrighteousness going on here, but which parts were the cause of Sodom's destruction? It's easy to make assumptions, but Genesis never specifies. However, the prophet Ezekiel does specify:
Chapter 16: 49 Behold, this was the sin of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters; nor did she extend a hand to the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.
Now, if you want to take this at its literal word, the sin of Sodom was being prideful, relaxing with enough to eat and not offering help to those who needed it. In short, Sodom fell because they didn't care about others. The story of the threatened rape of Lot's angelic guests is just another example of this; they were ready to violate a crucial part of the relationship with others, i.e. respect for guests.
If you want to interpret the 'abomination' as referring to gay sex, there is some wiggle room. Just remember, that isn't what Ezekiel says. The prophet says that the sin was inconsideration.
Actually, we are guilty of that same sin. We have a growing problem with obesity, while elsewhere people, including children, suffer from starvation. And we don't care.
Let Zvi know what you think.
Check out MESSIAH AND TANNACH
AND ZVI'S HOME PAGE
Revised 8/06
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* I'm sure there are those who could discuss the Talmudic regulations about gay sex, but I'm not one of them. Likewise, I leave it to others to analyze statements in the Newbie Testament, the Koran, and other scriptures. The Hebrew scripture is the one most often quoted, and the one with which I am most familiar. (Back to top).
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