I recently heard the argument that the same Law of Moses that outlawed homosexuality, outlawed shrimp; therefore the law about homosexuality is no longer valid. Then again, there are Fundamentalist Christians who hold up signs saying "God hates gays (Leviticus 20:13)." So when I think about the debate going on in our decade, I think about these two sides, and I realize that I need to dig into the scriptures on my own in order to get to the bottom of the issue.
I already looked at the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and discovered that the most of the writers of the Bible who used that story for illustration, did so by ignoring the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah and focused on the sins of their day. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah served as a warning, not against homosexuality, but against the sins of neglecting the poor, idolatry, out-of-control sexual passions of any type, recruiting people away from the church, rejecting the gospel, and so on.
In this blog I am going to look into what the Law of Moses said about homosexuality and compare it to other sins that were sexual or moral in nature. I am not concerned with what the Bible says about shrimp, because as we shall see, for many Christian theologians (those who study the bible), as far as the Law and its authority over us is concerned, rules about shrimp are unrelated to homosexuality.
CHRISTIANS AND THE LAW OF MOSES
There are different views about the Law of Moses and how it relates to Christians today. On the one hand we have Christians who believe that it is completely abolished in Christ and therefore has no hold on us whatsoever. Other Christians try to follow certain Laws they consider binding upon us (Church of God with Garner Ted Armstrong, Senenth Day Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, and a few others).
A very popular view (the Calvinist view) claims the Law is broken down into three categories:
1. Civil Law - These were judicial laws that were binding only for Israel and only as long as Israel continued to be a nation.
2. Ceremonial Law - These were holidays, sacrifices and the like which were abolished in Christ because they were symbolic rites directing us to Christ. Once Jesus fulfilled their purposes, they were no longer in effect.
3. Moral Law - Because moral laws reflect the nature of God, they are still in effect for us today.
This is the way John Calvin broke down the Law of Moses. Many Christians who are not Calvinist unconsciously follow the rule that says moral laws apply to us, but others can be ignored.
It is this Calvinist point of view that most often claims that Leviticus' rules against homosexuality are still in effect for us today, and some would go so far as to say that homosexuality should be a capital offense.
Looking up the two most used passages from the Law of Moses, I decided to place them in their contexts, by showing other sins that were likewise called abominations or else fall under the judgment of death. For simplicity, I have left them in their original male centered language; but the laws applied to both men and women.
LEVITICUS 18:22
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.
The Immediate Context
Leviticus 18 is a list of abominations whose roots come out of Egypt. The intention of the Law was to separate Israel from the common practices of the land in which they lived and from which they came. The following is a list of abominations (from chapter 18) that were outlawed:
1. Having sex with (uncovering the nakedness of) relatives:
a. Dad or mom.
b. Step mom.
c. Sister, step-sister, half-sister.
d. Grand-daughter.
e. Uncle or aunt.
f. Daughter-in-law.
g. Mother and daughter.
2. Having sex with certain non-relatives:
a. Two sisters.
b. Any woman having her period or shortly after.
c. Someone else's wife.
d. Other men (homosexuality).
e. An animal.
3. Sexual offerings and offspring dedicated to Moloch.
LEVITICUS 20:13
If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
The Immediate Context
There are several acts that call for the death sentence in Leviticus 20:
1. Offering your children to Molech (there is debate as to whether or not this refers to human sacrifice).
2. Cursing parents.
3. Sex with someone else's wife.
4. Sex with step-mom.
5. Sex with daughter-in-law.
6. Sex with mother and daughter.
7. Sex with the same gender (homosexuality).
8. Sex with an animal.
9. Any psychic or fortune teller.
There are other crimes in Leviticus 20 that say the offender will be cut off from God's people and from God. This may be another way to call for the death penalty, or it may be a lesser form of punishment.
1. Those who visit psychics, mediums, etc.
2. Sex with a sister or half-sister.
3. Sex with a woman having her period or shortly after.
And other punishments are given to those who do the following:
1. Having sex with an aunt.
2. Having sex with a sister-in-law.
Even though the Law of Moses calls for death penalty in certain cases and shunning in other cases, we rarely see punishment carried out in the Bible.
Some crimes deserving death that are not already mentioned:
1. Hitting parents (Ex. 21:15).
2. Kidnapping (Ex 21:16).
3. Cursing father or mother (Ex 21:17).
4. If one owns an animal that kills or injures someone; if that person does not destroy the animal, and if that animal kills somebody (Exodus 21:28-29).
5. Worship of other gods/goddesses (Ex. 22:20).
6. Working on the Sabbath (Ex. 35:2).
7. False prophesying (Deut. 13:1-10).
8. Rape if the woman already belongs to someone else (Deut. 22:25). If a woman is not already engaged or married, the one who rapes her must pay the dowry and marry her, unless the father objects - its that or the girl who was violated remained unwanted by any other pursuer (Deut. 22:28-29).
Even some of the most conservative Christians may struggle with one or two of these. In fact, many conservative Christians work on the Sabbath, and few, if any would give their daughter over to a man who raped her.
This leaves us with questions for debate: The same moral Law of Moses that forbade homosexuality forbade having sex with one's wife during her time of the month (although this may or may not have called for the death penalty); however, that same Law did call for the death sentence for a child who got too hard to handle.
On the other hand, the Law of Moses did condemn many practices that no society would accept, such as murder, kidnapping, and so on.
Finally, some have suggested that homosexuality that is condemned in Leviticus was temple prostitution. I do not see this in the context of Leviticus, although I do see it in the term "sodomy."
Looking into a culture over 2,500 years ago is very difficult. We don't have a lot of writings from that time, and what we do have was written by the elite. We don't have the thoughts and habits of the vast majority of the culture and the times. So we piece together bit by bit with the little we do have. As a result every side can take advantage of the situation and state what they want about these passages.
For example, interpretations of Leviticus 18 and 20 vary from these being laws against temple prostitution to laws against any type of homosexual behavior. Unfortunately, I don't have a great answer for either side. The best I can say is this: On the surface of things, it appears that Moses' Law was against any type of homosexual behavior; and I do emphasize - "on the surface of things."
Even if the Law of Moses forbade any form of homosexuality, one argument still remains: Is this a moral law for us today (like you shall not murder)? Or is it like some of the other moral laws that that we can ignore? Laws like the abomination of having sex with your wife during and shortly after her time of the month. Or sending my disobedient teenager to the pit to be stoned by the church?
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