Embraced by God...

Leviticus 18:22; 20:13:

The careful art of lying with a man

The debate: Does Leviticus’ “Holiness Code” apply to Christians today?  If so, should gay men be rounded up and killed?

Leviticus 18:22

You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.  (NRSV)

Leviticus 20:13

If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them.  (NRSV)

Deep thoughts:  At first sight, these passages in Leviticus are impressive—death to fags!  If true, should gay-bashers be deputized and sent forth to end the queer menace to society?  I guess anything short of killing us is an act of mercy on the homophobes’ part, right?  But on second thought, let’s consider some other options:

Some scholars argue these verses only refer to male temple prostitutes—who  knows, they may be right (see discussions of Deuteronomy 22 and 23).  Other scholars claim the Holiness Code rejected male-male sexual activity as being religiously “unclean” (i.e., things the Jews decided not to do for religious reasons—like their strict dietary prohibitions), but they didn’t actually view male-male sex as inherently sinful.  Another powerful argument is that these rules merely reflect the primacy of procreation in tribal societies—only relationships that helped build the numerical strength of the tribe were allowed, for these were warrior peoples who lived or died by their fighting capabilities.  It is likely the twelve tribes of ancient Israel feared wasting semen, not homosexuality.

Yet, even if these verses actually attempt to address the morality of male-male sex, honesty demands us to remember that such laws were only written in distinction from Israel’s supposedly immoral Gentile neighbors.  In making such a distinction, these verses would be talking about male-male sex in the Greco-Roman world, not modern San Francisco.  As such, these verses are likely to be only condemning some or all forms of pederasty (refer back to: "Homosexuality" in the Greco-Roman world vs. today).

Regardless of the above discussion, whatever these verses once meant to the ancient nation of Israel does not carry over to Christians today, for our morality is guided by Jesus’ twofold Law of Love—not culture-bound religious rules (see: “The Big Debate: Was Judaism's Law Abolished or Embraced by Jesus and His Church?”):

1)     Love God with all your heart and strength

2)     Love all people everywhere—one’s “neighbor”—as you love yourself

This Law of Love isn’t against the Bible; rather, it simply acknowledges the truth that Jesus is now our ultimate Law.  All Scripture must now be seen through the lens of Christ—and in this and all things the Spirit is now our guide. The Old Testament is still of great value as a source of inspiration, but now we are guided by the principles of the Law, not the letter of it.  We are free to love God wholeheartedly and our neighbor as ourselves.  As we do these things, we have fulfilled the law--that’s Jesus’ promise to us.  Can we err?  Of course, but the Spirit is our guide, and God continually opens our eyes to the ever expanding possibilities within a life filled with love.

Bottom line: We can debate what these verses may have meant to their Israelite audience long ago, but whatever we conclude, these verses don’t carry over to Christians today, because Jesus’ teachings are principle driven, not rule-bound.  Today’s Christians can only begin to understand God’s Word to us if we view the entire Bible through the lens of Christ and his Law of Love, not our ancestors’ tribal limitations.