Homosexuality
In my intellectual repertoire of controversial topics, there are quite a number that like to reappear from time to time. They cycle through my thoughts for updates every couple years, and for a few days, or weeks, or months, I'll admit that they become utter obsessions for me. Among these topics are infamous theological/philosophical debates like Evolution, and Predestination vs. Free Will, and Women's Roles/Feminism, and Logic vs. Emotion. Less pressing controversial matters like My Chemical Romance or Brittany Spears or Public vs. Private schools pass through, too, but they don't tend to stay for quite as long.
Of late I have rediscovered a certain controversial debate which seems relevant in a surprising number of social contexts. From politics, to church, to universities, to families, the debate over homosexuality has been causing a stir for a good long time. I hadn't tackled the topic since 2008, so when it occurred to me to jump into it again, I went on another research spree and typed up some thoughts to be picked apart by the more conservative people I know. (I like to make sure I don't run away with crazy liberal ideas, however convicted I am.) Because I believe it an important conversation and would appreciate continued feedback, I'll publish the essay here. Enjoy.
_______________________________________________________________________________
I. Addressing the Bible:
I'll go over the main Bible passages in conflict in order.
A. Imagine the story of Sodom and Gomorrah like this (words whose gender I changed are bolded):
"They called to Lot, 'Where are the women who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.' Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, 'No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two sons who have never slept with a woman. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these women, for they have come under the protection of my roof.' 'Get out of our way,' they replied. 'This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.' They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door."
Simply change their actions so that they are no longer homosexual, and are they still repulsive? Yes, absolutely. It's perverse sexual activity: rape. What's wrong about these actions is not the fact that the sexual perversion is homosexual, it's that it's a sexual perversion.
B. Leviticus calls homosexuality an "abomination" in two passages that are extremely often quoted and referenced by Christians (18:22, 20:13). These verses are surrounded by other commandments forbidding all kinds of things: in the same chapter, even seafood is condemned. There are tons of OT laws like this that no longer apply in the new covenant (Acts 10:9-48), though reason for their existence never changes. So why were these laws there in the first place? The Jews were called to be distinct and separate from the gentiles, who were doing horribly perverse things with homosexuality. (Once again, it's about the perversity and not the homosexuality. Pretty common theme here.) Contemporary cultures practiced “sacred prostitution,” pedophilia, indulged themselves in all kinds of sex... One way to combat this was to prohibit a form of relationship that the people of that day almost certainly wouldn't have used for anything other than lustful purposes (II.E). From a historical perspective, it doesn't seem like people would enter into relationships for such impractical reasons as we do today.
Few would dispute that romantic relationships in general have changed with time. Marriage was arranged and formal and pragmatic. Two people didn't meet and feel attracted and start going out and get married- we all know it worked a little differently. Population growth isn't exactly necessary, either- there are plenty kids to adopt. Infertile people get married, old people get married, people who don't want kids get married; no one stops them or believes it immoral. And if gays really do want their OWN kids, sex is unnecessary- there's in-vitro fertilization. What marriage is for is to live in love with another person, learning more about them and about God's love for us; for an undying dedication to another human being. These things can be achieved in a healthy homosexual marriage.
C. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says, “Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Firstly, people have told me in the past that homosexuality is addressed as a unique sin here because it's identified as separate from other adultery (see I.D.2), but adultery and the homosexual acts mentioned both fall under sexual immorality. Secondly, look at the list of sins homosexuality is grouped with. The kinds of motivation one would have for those things (adultery/drunkenness/slander especially) is a total loss of self-control, caving to one's primal desires, being unwilling to pursue righteousness. Many Christian homosexuals face persecution, rejection, abuse, etc. because of their sexual orientation: I'd argue that it's generally-speaking less of a caving-to-one's-desires thing for these people. There are many, many homosexuals that DO follow that lifestyle for lustful/animalistic reasons, but there are many heterosexuals that do as well.
D. Romans 1:24-31 says: “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.”
Firstly: Everything about this passage screams that the only reason people were having homosexual affairs is because they fell into lust. It was unnatural (26-27), it was idolatry (25), it was completely flesh-based (24), it contained no fidelity, and most importantly, NO LOVE (31). This IS repulsive. A Christian homosexual relationship would not look like this.
Secondly, there weren't exactly very many unmarried adults at this time. You married young and were expected to stay married. People would have had to go 1. outside of their marriages to pursue 2. lustful activities... Regardless of sexual orientation, this is disgusting. I'll reapply what I said in the first point: change the gender of the object(s) of lust and it's still repulsive.
_______________________________________________________________________________
II. Addressing Other Points of Conflict:
A. Even if an action isn't wrong, it can make us feel dirty, disgusting/disgusted, and upset if we're not comfortable/used to it. For example: bad table manners or gender-specific courtesy in a culture where they really matter, or eating weird foods like snakes or bugs. I wouldn't say it's a sin to pick your nose, but I would feel offended by someone that constantly did it in my presence and would avoid it myself for moral reasons. Homosexuality is similar: it's not a sin- I'd argue it can be beautiful when it's not abused- but many people find it so strange and have been taught for so long that it's repulsive that they simply can't get over the mental block.
B. People cannot “cope” with homosexuality the same way they might cope with “other sin.” Though an individual may retain some tendencies to fall back into sin, they can move on from it and begin to change, learning to do what is right. People that claim to be ExGay were either straight all along, or are deceiving themselves because they are bi or a regular gay person trying to repress his/her true sexuality. It is unhealthy for people who do not have romantic/sexual attractions for the opposite sex to try to invent them (if you object, try imagining romantic/sexual attraction for the same sex, or for a family member... that's the perversion we're trying to avoid). And most people are grieved by the thought of lifelong celibacy. These are the only two alternatives to gay marriage for these people. Though celibacy is honorable, it is not for everyone, and marriage is an important, beautiful thing. It should make no difference in present-day America whether a person is married to a man or to a woman, regardless of their own sex.
C. Many people fail to understand that attraction may be romantic first and sexual second. Correct me if I'm wrong, but people normally do not feel twitterpated and then immediately want to get into their crush's pants. That's ridiculous. Sexual orientation is not only indicated by sexual desire, but also by romantic desire (which I believe is a necessary predecessor to righteous sexual desire).
D. In anticipation of a response to II.C: No, love is not twitterpation. Often love emerges from twitterpation, but it's something much deeper, containing the “fidelity” that was absent in the earlier passage from Romans. Love is attached to no emotion, no feeling- as is so often said, Love is a verb. It requires work, dedication, and perseverance... (None of this changes when the love is done homosexually.)
E. I touched on this in the second paragraph of I.B, but I'd like to revisit the point more specifically: the reason homosexuality is so prevalent now and didn't use to be, why people were perfectly fine with being in heterosexual relationships before and now are not, is neither due to some strange genetic mutation nor some psychological craze passing through society. I am no scientist, but I know enough of biology to say that we all have tons of genetic information that never gets expressed because of our surroundings. This can have monumental impacts: it accounts for physical differences in identical twins and determines which of any number of personality traits of ours could get activated (alcoholism, anger, petty little habits). I would be inclined to believe homosexuality falls under the same category. Since it is morally neutral outside of an individual or cultural worldview, whether or not people have these kinds of desires- not just homosexual desires, but righteous homosexual desires- simply depends on the way they were raised.
I don't mean that people raised believing it's wrong won't be homosexual, but that people raised with a certain conception about love, marriage, dedication, etc. would apply the implications of these various conceptions outside of what they've been taught. The human mind naturally tries to eliminate inconsistencies in its worldview. Today, the purpose of marriage (eg. partnership, companionship, dedication, love, learning about God's love for his bride) can be completely fulfilled with members of the same sex, so the door has opened for people to want relationships like that. This door was not open when the Bible was written, so the writer of Leviticus was absolutely right in calling it "abominable." Present-day homosexuality is totally different than ancient homosexuality, so it simply can't be equated with the sin discussed in these few occasions in the Bible.
_______________________________________________________________________________
What this all comes down to is that romance, sex, and marriage are intended as a special, holy thing between two people who are passionately in love. If the Bible doesn't condemn it, I see no reason to oppose it, because any natural reason that could've existed is irrelevant in today's world (or at least the contemporary American world). If gays have disproportionately disturbed minds, it's only because they've received so much hate, so much judgement, so much persecution and so little acceptance. I don't believe the fact of an individual's sexual orientation should be made a big deal. It is my hope that one day, people will be able to say the words “I'm gay,” or "I'm bi," or "I'm lesbian," and be given the same reaction as if they'd said the words “I'm straight.” This is not about making the GLBT community special: it's about erasing the lines dividing people.
Of late I have rediscovered a certain controversial debate which seems relevant in a surprising number of social contexts. From politics, to church, to universities, to families, the debate over homosexuality has been causing a stir for a good long time. I hadn't tackled the topic since 2008, so when it occurred to me to jump into it again, I went on another research spree and typed up some thoughts to be picked apart by the more conservative people I know. (I like to make sure I don't run away with crazy liberal ideas, however convicted I am.) Because I believe it an important conversation and would appreciate continued feedback, I'll publish the essay here. Enjoy.
_______________________________________________________________________________
I. Addressing the Bible:
I'll go over the main Bible passages in conflict in order.
A. Imagine the story of Sodom and Gomorrah like this (words whose gender I changed are bolded):
"They called to Lot, 'Where are the women who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.' Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, 'No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two sons who have never slept with a woman. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these women, for they have come under the protection of my roof.' 'Get out of our way,' they replied. 'This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.' They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door."
Simply change their actions so that they are no longer homosexual, and are they still repulsive? Yes, absolutely. It's perverse sexual activity: rape. What's wrong about these actions is not the fact that the sexual perversion is homosexual, it's that it's a sexual perversion.
B. Leviticus calls homosexuality an "abomination" in two passages that are extremely often quoted and referenced by Christians (18:22, 20:13). These verses are surrounded by other commandments forbidding all kinds of things: in the same chapter, even seafood is condemned. There are tons of OT laws like this that no longer apply in the new covenant (Acts 10:9-48), though reason for their existence never changes. So why were these laws there in the first place? The Jews were called to be distinct and separate from the gentiles, who were doing horribly perverse things with homosexuality. (Once again, it's about the perversity and not the homosexuality. Pretty common theme here.) Contemporary cultures practiced “sacred prostitution,” pedophilia, indulged themselves in all kinds of sex... One way to combat this was to prohibit a form of relationship that the people of that day almost certainly wouldn't have used for anything other than lustful purposes (II.E). From a historical perspective, it doesn't seem like people would enter into relationships for such impractical reasons as we do today.
Few would dispute that romantic relationships in general have changed with time. Marriage was arranged and formal and pragmatic. Two people didn't meet and feel attracted and start going out and get married- we all know it worked a little differently. Population growth isn't exactly necessary, either- there are plenty kids to adopt. Infertile people get married, old people get married, people who don't want kids get married; no one stops them or believes it immoral. And if gays really do want their OWN kids, sex is unnecessary- there's in-vitro fertilization. What marriage is for is to live in love with another person, learning more about them and about God's love for us; for an undying dedication to another human being. These things can be achieved in a healthy homosexual marriage.
C. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says, “Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Firstly, people have told me in the past that homosexuality is addressed as a unique sin here because it's identified as separate from other adultery (see I.D.2), but adultery and the homosexual acts mentioned both fall under sexual immorality. Secondly, look at the list of sins homosexuality is grouped with. The kinds of motivation one would have for those things (adultery/drunkenness/slander especially) is a total loss of self-control, caving to one's primal desires, being unwilling to pursue righteousness. Many Christian homosexuals face persecution, rejection, abuse, etc. because of their sexual orientation: I'd argue that it's generally-speaking less of a caving-to-one's-desires thing for these people. There are many, many homosexuals that DO follow that lifestyle for lustful/animalistic reasons, but there are many heterosexuals that do as well.
D. Romans 1:24-31 says: “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.”
Firstly: Everything about this passage screams that the only reason people were having homosexual affairs is because they fell into lust. It was unnatural (26-27), it was idolatry (25), it was completely flesh-based (24), it contained no fidelity, and most importantly, NO LOVE (31). This IS repulsive. A Christian homosexual relationship would not look like this.
Secondly, there weren't exactly very many unmarried adults at this time. You married young and were expected to stay married. People would have had to go 1. outside of their marriages to pursue 2. lustful activities... Regardless of sexual orientation, this is disgusting. I'll reapply what I said in the first point: change the gender of the object(s) of lust and it's still repulsive.
_______________________________________________________________________________
II. Addressing Other Points of Conflict:
A. Even if an action isn't wrong, it can make us feel dirty, disgusting/disgusted, and upset if we're not comfortable/used to it. For example: bad table manners or gender-specific courtesy in a culture where they really matter, or eating weird foods like snakes or bugs. I wouldn't say it's a sin to pick your nose, but I would feel offended by someone that constantly did it in my presence and would avoid it myself for moral reasons. Homosexuality is similar: it's not a sin- I'd argue it can be beautiful when it's not abused- but many people find it so strange and have been taught for so long that it's repulsive that they simply can't get over the mental block.
B. People cannot “cope” with homosexuality the same way they might cope with “other sin.” Though an individual may retain some tendencies to fall back into sin, they can move on from it and begin to change, learning to do what is right. People that claim to be ExGay were either straight all along, or are deceiving themselves because they are bi or a regular gay person trying to repress his/her true sexuality. It is unhealthy for people who do not have romantic/sexual attractions for the opposite sex to try to invent them (if you object, try imagining romantic/sexual attraction for the same sex, or for a family member... that's the perversion we're trying to avoid). And most people are grieved by the thought of lifelong celibacy. These are the only two alternatives to gay marriage for these people. Though celibacy is honorable, it is not for everyone, and marriage is an important, beautiful thing. It should make no difference in present-day America whether a person is married to a man or to a woman, regardless of their own sex.
C. Many people fail to understand that attraction may be romantic first and sexual second. Correct me if I'm wrong, but people normally do not feel twitterpated and then immediately want to get into their crush's pants. That's ridiculous. Sexual orientation is not only indicated by sexual desire, but also by romantic desire (which I believe is a necessary predecessor to righteous sexual desire).
D. In anticipation of a response to II.C: No, love is not twitterpation. Often love emerges from twitterpation, but it's something much deeper, containing the “fidelity” that was absent in the earlier passage from Romans. Love is attached to no emotion, no feeling- as is so often said, Love is a verb. It requires work, dedication, and perseverance... (None of this changes when the love is done homosexually.)
E. I touched on this in the second paragraph of I.B, but I'd like to revisit the point more specifically: the reason homosexuality is so prevalent now and didn't use to be, why people were perfectly fine with being in heterosexual relationships before and now are not, is neither due to some strange genetic mutation nor some psychological craze passing through society. I am no scientist, but I know enough of biology to say that we all have tons of genetic information that never gets expressed because of our surroundings. This can have monumental impacts: it accounts for physical differences in identical twins and determines which of any number of personality traits of ours could get activated (alcoholism, anger, petty little habits). I would be inclined to believe homosexuality falls under the same category. Since it is morally neutral outside of an individual or cultural worldview, whether or not people have these kinds of desires- not just homosexual desires, but righteous homosexual desires- simply depends on the way they were raised.
I don't mean that people raised believing it's wrong won't be homosexual, but that people raised with a certain conception about love, marriage, dedication, etc. would apply the implications of these various conceptions outside of what they've been taught. The human mind naturally tries to eliminate inconsistencies in its worldview. Today, the purpose of marriage (eg. partnership, companionship, dedication, love, learning about God's love for his bride) can be completely fulfilled with members of the same sex, so the door has opened for people to want relationships like that. This door was not open when the Bible was written, so the writer of Leviticus was absolutely right in calling it "abominable." Present-day homosexuality is totally different than ancient homosexuality, so it simply can't be equated with the sin discussed in these few occasions in the Bible.
_______________________________________________________________________________
What this all comes down to is that romance, sex, and marriage are intended as a special, holy thing between two people who are passionately in love. If the Bible doesn't condemn it, I see no reason to oppose it, because any natural reason that could've existed is irrelevant in today's world (or at least the contemporary American world). If gays have disproportionately disturbed minds, it's only because they've received so much hate, so much judgement, so much persecution and so little acceptance. I don't believe the fact of an individual's sexual orientation should be made a big deal. It is my hope that one day, people will be able to say the words “I'm gay,” or "I'm bi," or "I'm lesbian," and be given the same reaction as if they'd said the words “I'm straight.” This is not about making the GLBT community special: it's about erasing the lines dividing people.
I have rebuttle for addressing the Bible ready for you tomorrow. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting that you take it this way.
-Yaakoub
"in 1991, a neuroscientist in San Diego named Simon LeVay announced he had found a key difference between the brains of homosexual and heterosexual men. LeVay showed that a tiny clump of neurons of the anterior hypothalamus— which is believed to control sexual behavior—was, on average, more than twice the size in heterosexual men as in homosexual men."
ReplyDeleteJust an interesting thought.
http://www.phenomenologycenter.org/course/gaygene.htm
ReplyDelete