Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Engaging the Text

A series of posts on what the biblical text might have to say about the morality of homoerotic behavior.

(Note: This post is a trailhead. None of these posts are new, but a trailhead post makes it easy to add a link to the series in my sidebar.)

Hm. Now that I look at it, I skipped the holiness codes in Leviticus. Ok, give me a minute ... ah, here we go:

Also, remember that you're not allowed to wear the devil's own fabric, polyester. Maybe because it's fire-retardant? I dunno.

16 comments:

scoots said...

I hope that I'm just misunderstanding you, and that that's not all the attention you're going to give to Leviticus.

That cartoon is a really typical way of blowing off Leviticus 18. But if you look at the passage (which you didn't even link to), it has at least 19 different commands, most of them concerning adultery, bestiality, and various kinds of incest. Setting aside male homosexual intercourse, almost everyone reading this blog would agree with every one of them except sex during a woman's period. (Someone cheeky might want to debate whether sex with a mother and daughter is ok.)

Granted, there are rationales given in Leviticus that we wouldn't just accept at face value, and I'm sure you'll want to bring all that out in discussion.

But since sexuality is linked to holiness in the New Testament, I think it's pretty irresponsible to blow this chapter off, especially by making fun of it. Sure, it'll reinforce the views of people who already agree with you, but it has nothing to do with the truth, and it patently has nothing to do with "engaging the text."

crystal said...

Speaking od making fun of scripture, I'm reminded of that episode of the West Wing where the president lectures a fundamentalist radio talk show host ... link :-)

Matthew said...

@Scoots -

I think that really is all the attention I'm going to give to Leviticus, but I'll be sure and link to you if you address it on your blog ... because you're right, of course. There are more complicated ways of reading it than mine, which concludes: "trying to interpret the holiness codes as universal moral laws is stupid."

The cartoon was just my cheeky way of saying so. =)

@Crystal -

Thanks for the link. I've never watched The West Wing (assuming it's still running), but I've heard it's fun to watch.

scoots said...

My apologies to Matt for my comment above –– it's one thing to say an opinion, but I did it in a pretty jerky way, especially considering other people are going to be reading it.

Anonymous said...

Polyester melts and then bonds to skin- flame retardant my a**, I will be forever scared with mauve legs thanks to polyester.

Matthew said...

So does polyester catch fire or just melt?

Matthew said...

'cause I thought if it just melted - rather than caught - it was flame-retardant.

Anonymous said...

let's put a polyester pantsuit on ya and find out. . .I'll bring the vase-. . .err. . . gasoline.

Anonymous said...

hmm...

The cadence of my previous statements seems a bit weird. I also broke one of my personal rules; I never half curse, its either butt or ass, no in between crap. I did black out for a few minutes earlier at work so who knows what could of happened.

Mr. Parker said...

My intuition leads me to suspect Shane.

Matthew said...

Or, Conor, you might just be having trouble spelling your own name.

If that IS your REAL NAME.

Globalizati said...

Some fascinating commentary on homosexuality and Chrisitanity here (especially at the end when I start to comment :-)

http://www.preachermike.com/2006/11/05/ted-haggard

Mormon(s) of another kind said...

I was speaking to this group of Mormon Polygamists who can't wait for a theocracy to be re-instaured in Utah. Gays should be stoned, they said. That's what the Bible says! OK, but then I asked what parts of the Law they will keep and which parts they will disregard. To this, one of them replied: "ALL of them. We don't pick!" Fair enough, but then I wondered about the mixed garments and the food commands and the Jewish festivals... "Oh, ALL of them but the food rules and the festivals and the mixed fabrics..." Hmm, no picking, just stoning... How interesting!

Matthew said...

Wha ... where did you run into a group of Mormon polygamists?

Or did they run into you?

Richard Beck said...

Matthew,
I saw this the other day and thought you would like it:

http://faith-theology.blogspot.com/2007/01/twelve-propositions-on-same-sex.html

MR. X said...

I don't think we should get our sexual morality from a book written in the dark ages.

www.whyihatejesus.blogspot.com/