Before 20 Years Ago: Clear Commands Against Same-Sex Sex?

Blog Post 9

In our previous post we looked at the Sodom story and began to look at Leviticus.  Today we conclude our study of Leviticus–and the Old Testament.

Understanding the relevance of Old Testament laws can be difficult for Christians because we still do follow some of the laws in the Old Testament.  Why we do follow some and not others?  The reason is that we learn from the rest of Scripture, particularly the New Testament, that certain laws have enduring application.  These laws are clear and enduring expressions of love, which Jesus and the apostles call us to.

Scholars suggest possible ways that the laws in Leviticus against same-sex sex violated the law of love in their historical context.  How?  First, scholars point out that the laws could have been a reference to religious practices of neighboring nations in which men had ritual sex in temples with other men.  The laws would then be saying, “When you worship, don’t have ritual same-sex like the Canaanites.”

Second, other scholars point out that these laws prohibit a man from “lying with” with a man “as with a woman.”  In the Hebrew culture of that day, for a man to have sex with another man was to treat that man like a woman.  And in a patriarchal society in which women were considered greatly inferior, this would have humiliated the other man (a distinctly unloving thing to do).

Third, the laws imply that they are referring to sex without an enduring relationship.  In a culture where all men were expected to marry women, having sex with a man would be inherently promiscuous—without a committed, enduring relationship.

The faithful, loving, equal partnership—the marriage—of gay couples is very different from any of these possible meanings.  So the laws in Leviticus simply do not apply to gay couples as we understand them today.

What about the word “abomination” (the Hebrew word toevah) in the Leviticus law against men having sex with men?  Doesn’t that designation show that same-sex sexual relations are especially deplorable in God’s eyes and that these particular laws therefore endure?  No.  Leviticus calls many practices toevah that we do not see as sinful or detestable today.  These include having sex with a woman during her menstrual period (Leviticus 18:19) and a man remarrying a woman who has been divorced or widowed by her second husband (Deuteronomy 24:1-4).

Well, that’s it for Old Testament passages that the church has traditionally used to condemn same-sex couples.  Some people employ an additional argument, namely, that the Old Testament never refers to gay couples in positive terms.  Isn’t this a weak argument, though?  There are many practices that are not mentioned in the Bible that we now accept today.

Of course, for Christians the New Testament brings greater clarity to God’s work in the world—and to our understanding of morality.  So let’s turn there next.

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