The Bible and Homosexuality
By Rev. Mona West, Ph.D.
Lesbians and gay men face discrimination because of societal attitudes. Unfortunately, theseattitudes are often taught by churches and, sadly, the Bible is frequently used as a weapon to“bash” lesbians and gays. It is important to remember that such hurtful things are not a reflection ofChrist, or the way God wants the church to be, or even what the Bible really says.Only a small number of passages in the entire Bible reference same-sex sexual activity (six out ofsixty-six books of the entire Bible). Obviously this topic was not of great concern to the biblicalwriters. Yet these verses have been used to justify hatred, condemnation and exclusion of God’slesbian and gay children.The word ‘homosexuality’ is a modern term and did not exist during biblical times. Biblical writershad no concept of sexual orientation or sexual development as we understand those today.Therefore, passages that reference same-sex sexual activity should not been seen ascomprehensive statements concerning homosexuality, but instead should be viewed in the contextof what the ancient world that produced the Bible understood about sexual activity.Sexuality in the Mediterranean WorldBiblical scholars have employed the social sciences to study the relational and gender patterns ofthe ancient Mediterranean world—the world that produced the Bible. Professor Mary Tolbertsummarizes that research with the following words:The single most important concept that defines sexuality in the ancient Mediterraneanworld, whether we are talking about the kingdoms of Egypt or of Assyria or whether we aretalking about the later kingdoms of Greece and Rome, is that approved sexual acts neveroccurred between social equals. Sexuality, by definition, in ancient Mediterraneansocieties required the combination of dominance and submission. This crucial social andpolitical root metaphor of dominance and submission as the definition of sexuality restedupon a physical basis that assumed every sex act required a penetrator and someone whowas penetrated. Needless to say, this definition of sexuality was entirely male—notsurprising in the heavily patriarchal societies of the Mediterranean.In these societies sexual acts between men did happen, but they happened in order to showdominance of one group of men or a man over another, especially during times of war. It was notuncommon for men who had conquered a foreign army to rape them in order to show they weredominant and of a higher status.The Story of Sodom in Genesis 19This understanding is helpful when we read the story of the city of Sodom, Lot, and the visitors (orangels). The men of Sodom want to ‘know’ (yadah - a Hebrew word that can mean sexualintercourse) the foreigners who have come to Lot’s house. In essence they want to rape them inorder to show their social and cultural dominance over them.This story is not a condemnation of homosexuality, but is a story about rape and inhospitality. Inother biblical texts (Ezekiel 16:49, Luke 17:28-29) Sodom’s ‘sin’ is not identified as homosexuality,rather, their sins were pride, failure to help the poor, and lack of hospitality to foreigners.Leviticus“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” (18:22)“If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; theyshall be put to death; their blood is upon them.” (20:13)These verses are part of the Holiness Code in the Old Testament book of Leviticus (chapters 17-26) that attempted to spell out ways the people of Israel would act differently than theirMediterranean neighbors. In light of the previously mentioned sexual practices of Israel’sneighbors, it becomes clear that this prohibition in Leviticus was an attempt to preserve the internalharmony of Jewish male society by not allowing them to participate in anal intercourse as a form ofexpressing or gaining social and political dominance. These verses in no way prohibit, nor do theyeven speak, to loving, caring sexual relationships between people of the same gender.The Writings of the Apostle Paul“So do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived!Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards,revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).“The law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless andsinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers,fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the soundteaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God” (1 Timothy 1:9-11).There are two major issues to consider when one approaches these passages: translation andsexual practices of Greek culture. A comparison of these verses in several translations of the Bibleindicates that there is some confusion about how to translate two Greek words in these lists ofvices Paul has enumerated. The two words are arsenokoitai which is rendered in varioustranslations as “homosexuals,” “sodomites,” “child molesters,” or “perverts” and malakoi which isrendered in various translations as “catamites,” “the effeminate,” or “boy prostitutes.”These Greek words are difficult to translate in the context of these passages. Malakoi is acommon term and means “soft.” It can refer to clothing (Matthew 11:8) or moral matters, meaning“undisciplined.” Arsenokoitai is a rare word and is made up of arseno meaning “man,” and koitaimeaning “bed, lying, or having sex with.” When put together the word may mean “maleprostitutes.”When these words are placed in the context of Greek culture in which Paul was writing, thepassages have very specific meanings. As we have seen earlier, the Mediterranean world had adefinition of sexuality that was based on dominance/submission and unequal status. Greek culturefine tuned that definition with regard to status. Proper sexual relations occurred between peoplewhose status was unequal. In addition there was a practice in ancient Greek culture known aspederasty in which younger men were socialized and educated through a close relationship with anolder man. These older men were the boys’ (age 12 or 13) patrons and, often, their lovers. Theserelationships were seen as the key to raising up the next generation of city leaders and there werestrict rules about how long the relationship should last and the roles of families within theserelationships. Evidently there was some abuse happening in these relationships and young boyswere being exploited and kept by the patron well after the boy had grown into adulthood (whichwould have made him an equal, hence violating the code of sex only among unequals).These abusive relationships are what the apostle Paul is referencing, not mutually loving andcaring relationships between people of the same sex.Romans 1:26-27“For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged naturalintercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse withwomen, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with menand received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.”By now it should be clear that these verses must be read in the cultural context of theMediterranean world that understood socially acceptable sexual behavior to happen only one way:among unequals with the dominant partner always an adult male.It is also important to read these verses in Romans within their larger context. At the beginning ofhis letter to the church in Rome (where he had not yet visited) Paul was attempting to lay out forthe Roman church his theology of grace (all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; but arejustified by the gift of grace in Christ Jesus, 3:23). He is writing to a Jewish and Gentile audience.In chapter one he tries to demonstrate the Gentiles’ need for God by pointing out behaviors thatkeep them alienated from God. In chapter two he does the same thing for his Jewish audience.Paul’s reference to natural and unnatural sexual acts must be taken in light of Mediterraneansexuality. He is not attempting to give an ethical teaching concerning homosexuality. He is tryingto meet his Gentile audience on their own terms; using the example of some people who are notupholding the dominant/submissive model as an opportunity to talk about all persons’ need for thesaving grace of Jesus Christ.Issues of Biblical AuthorityWhen dealing with matters of biblical interpretation one always needs to keep in mind the role ofthe authority of the Bible in matters of faith and practice. While the Bible is an important witness tothe relationship between God and humanity, it is not the ultimate revelation of God—Jesus Christ,the Word made flesh, is. We must guard against what some scholars have called bibliolatry—making an idol out of scripture.One way to guard against bibliolatry is to realize that while the Bible may be at the center ofmatters of faith, it must also be in ‘conversation’ with tradition, experience and reason. These foursources of faith have become known as the Wesleyan quadrilateral, so named after their originatorJohn Wesley, founder of the Methodist heritage.We must read and interpret scripture with the aid of the history and tradition of the Christianchurch. We must also bring reason—philosophical and rational thought--to bear on applications ofscripture to real life situations. And last and most importantly, scripture must be weighed alongsidehuman experience—especially the experience of God’s grace.It is time we stopped making an idol out of the Bible. It is time we bring philosophical and rationalthought—especially what the sciences have told us about sexual orientation and identitydevelopment—into conversation with the Bible. It is time we listen to the experiences of God’s gayand lesbian children who know with all their hearts that God has created them just as they are.ResourcesBrooten, Bernadette (1996). Love Between Women: Early Christian Responses to FemaleHomoeroticism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Helminiak, Daniel (1994). What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality. San Francisco: AlamoSquare Press.Scroggs, Robin (1983). The New Testament and Homosexuality. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.Tolbert, Mary (2002). “Homoeroticism in the Biblical World: Biblical Texts in Historical Contexts.”Paper delivered at Lancaster School of Theology, published on the web at www.clgs.org.Wink, Walter (1999). Homosexuality and the Christian Faith: Questions of Conscience for theChurches. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.