This is the first part of a small series of articles I will be presenting on the topic of homosexuality and the Bible.
The Bible has been used to justify many forms of intolerance. During the early years of the United States, the Bible was used by some to justify slavery and the horrible treatment of anyone who was not a white male. Others have used it in order to justify persecution of people of various ideas, ethnicities, and religious beliefs. To an extreme, it has been used to justify the killing of innocent people simply because they were different, as well as genocide.
Today, one of the most widespread uses of the Bible in order to justify intolerance has come in the form of the opposition to homosexuality. This justification, by hiding behind one’s Bible, has caused Christianity as a whole to suffer. Like many atrocities committed in the name of Christianity or God, personal prejudices and ideals are at fault, not a religion or a “Holy” book. This is true in the case of homosexuality as well.
At the same time, instead of focusing on the real problem causing opposition to homosexuality, many focus on demonizing a religion that is not at fault. By focusing on Christianity, or the Bible as the reason to why individuals oppose homosexuality, the real problem is being masked. It is true that various Christians have had a tendency to use the Bible in justifying their beliefs that homosexuality is wrong or to an extreme, an abomination. However, such claims are primarily being motivated by those individuals personal biases. When the Bible is consulted, there is a different picture of homosexuality that is presented.
Most importantly, the idea of homosexuality did not exist in the time periods in which the books of the Bible were being written. The notion of sexual orientation was not developed until relatively recent times. For the writers of the Bible, the idea of homosexuality is completely foreign concept. It has only been over time, and repetition, that the idea of homosexuality has been attached to the Bible.
What we see in the Bible instead is not the condemnation of a sexual orientation, but that of an act. That act specifically being a male lying with another male as he would do so with a female (Lev. 18:22). Or, to put it simply, the act of male anal intercourse. Two chapters later, in Leviticus 22:13, one can read that the penalty for this act is death. However, this all needs to be put into a more complete perspective.
As I said earlier, these verses do not deal with homosexuality, but with an act. That act being male anal intercourse. Now, it is not only homosexuals (and in fact, many homosexuals do not engage in this act anyway. It must be remembered that females can also be homosexual) who engage in male anal intercourse. When we examine this act in the Bible, we see that it is not associated by those who would be deemed homosexuals, but it is portrayed as an act of force (rape), associated with humiliation, revenge, or subjection. Even in our present society, there are many cases in which a heterosexual male will engage in male anal intercourse. And the same motivation is still common for this act; humiliation, revenge, and subjection.
It is important to read the verses for what they are, and not to read one’s own preconceived biases into them. For centuries, that has been the problem regarding these verses. Instead of understanding what they mean, they have been used to justify one own’s prejudices. By doing so, individuals have been able to hide behind the Bible instead of just admitting to their own intolerances.
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