Further elaboration on Leviticus 18:22

I always find it interesting when Christians use Leviticus 18:22 as a basis for their condemnation of homosexuality. (It says, "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.") I imagine that they have seen that verse in print so many times under a heading in the church newsletter that reads something like, "Ammunition for Water Cooler Discussions About the Gays," that it has become second nature to whip it out in a rapid fire discussion. And the people who use it usually attempt to let the verse speak for itself, like, "See, it says right here! Homosexuality is an abomination." As if this verse somehow encompasses the Gospel and contains all that needs to be said.

But if you want to use Leviticus as a sword in the war on homosexuality, you must also use it to campaign against:

1. Eating oysters on the half shell. (Leviticus 11:9-12) Anything living in the sea that did not have fins or scales was considered detestable. Where are the "God hates fags AND oysters" signs?

2. Letting laundry get mildewy. (Leviticus 13:47-52) If an article of clothing happened to get a spot of mildew, a priest had to be notified and material had to be isolated for 7 days. If the mildew had spread after that period, the clothing was declared unclean and had to be burned. Is anybody monitoring the dry cleaning industry?

3. Over-farming. (Leviticus 19:9-10) When harvesting a crop, a farmer could not go over his field a second time in search of things that may have been missed during the initial harvest. And it was forbidden to reap all the way to the edge of the field. There had to be leftovers for the poor and alien. At the very least, are farmers today leaving some grain at the Goodwill drop box?

4. Wearing a cotton/polyester blend. My personal favorite. (Leviticus 19:19) A shirt was acceptable as 100% Cotton, but it became unacceptable once the purity became compromised with polyester or perhaps the dreaded spandex. Next time someone throws Leviticus 18:22 at you, ask to see the tag of the shirt they are wearing. If that happens to be 100% Cotton, check the jacket.

There are many other condemnable offenses according to the Levitical Code. The point is, if you hold fast to one piece of The Law, you have to take ownership of the whole thing.

James 2:10 (NIV) says:“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." This is precisely why Jesus said, “Let him who is without sin be the first to cast a stone” (John 8:7).

If you judge or condemn someone, you may as well be doing a song and dance under a spotlight saying, “Look at me God!” because the same criteria you use to judge others will also be turned on you. It has already been established that no one can keep the Law, so in essence, by judging and condemning us, fundamentalist Christians are renouncing the idea that God’s grace through Jesus’ death on the cross is sufficient, instead opening up a big can of worms (The Law) that should have remained nailed to the cross.

And what's more, Leviticus 18:22 does not even sufficiently condemn homosexuality. It does culturally forbid male to male intercourse, although it is nearly always twisted to become a blanket statement against lesbians as well. And they accuse us of twisting. But male to male intercourse was seen as an unclean thing in the eyes of the culture, and as I mentioned in a previous blog (April 18th) , that specific act was a blending of two things not understood by the majority of society. Much in the same way oysters were not understood I suppose, but we understand the merits of oysters now. And most of us in this millenium have a comprehensive understanding of homosexual orientation. Homosexual orientation is the umbrella around someone who is both homoemotional and homosexual by nature; that is, both emotionally attracted and physically attracted to someone of the same sex. The sum of homosexual orientation is not addressed here or anywhere else in the Bible.

I'm sure Leviticus 18:22 will continue to be drawn like a sword and aimed at the homosexual masses. It's a short verse after all and it easily floats to the top of the brain. But perhaps someday we will be able to put the weapons down and approach one another with our gifts, and not the things we fear and consider to be a threat.

At our 20Something meeting this week we talked about the spiritual gifts that God has unleashed in the homosexual community. We have gifts of prayer, of healing, of faith, of wisdom, and the list goes on. And collectively--whether others deny us or not--we are part of the Christian body. To wield the sword and fearfully cut off part of one's own body is suicide. Or at the very least, it serves to decrease one's own scope and function and results in a permanent handicap. But then, God is fully capable of healing us, not of any alleged disease or affliction, but of our own insecurity.