marriage
A denominational task force asked for 1000-word inputs about civil unions and Christian marriage. I sent this:
I strongly support marriage for faithful, monogamous people who are gay.
It’s part of the story of Jesus, who was continually in trouble for moving beyond the letter of the ritual purity laws:
~ "Go and learn what this means: 'I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.' "[Hosea 6:6] -- defending the disciples' plucking grain on the Sabbath [Mtt.12:7].
~ "The Sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the Sabbath" -- similar situation [Mk.2:27].
~ "He looked around at them in anger... deeply grieved at their hardness of heart" -- preparing to heal the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath. [Mk.3:5].
He continually pushed beyond religious taboos:
~ His hometown synagogue tried to throw him over a cliff for pointing out that God sent a prophet to help unclean Gentiles although many Israelites needed help. [Lk.4:26-27]
~ He declared all things clean. [Mk.7:19]
He alerted us to be open to new understandings:
~ "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth." [John 16:12-13]
Paul passionately defended us Gentiles from being forced to observe the purity laws:
~ "You senseless Galatians! You were running a good race! Who cut in on you? What matters is faith, working itself out by love!" [Gal.5:7,6]
~ "The commandments...are summed up in this one rule: 'Love your neighbor as yourself’.... Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." [Rom.13:9-10]
I believe the church is living an Acts 10-11 moment -- like Peter, shocked to see “unacceptable” people exhibiting the gifts of the Spirit:
~ “...the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning....So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?" [11:15-17]
I believe the exegetical case against the marriage of faithful, monogamous Christians who are gay is extremely weak.
1. Sodom is profoundly inapplicable. Applying the principle of scripture interpreting scripture, the 60-some accusations against Sodom include "grinding the face of the poor," "arrogance," etc. The lone mention of sexual sin is that of going after different flesh -- the flesh of angels -- "sarx hetero" [Jude v.7], with zero hint of "same" flesh, "sarx homo." When Jesus mentions Sodom, the subject is towns that do not welcome the disciples. Sodom is a story of male gang rape, not by the wildest stretch of imagination a story of our members who are gentle, constructive members of their communities -- and gay.
2. “Man-bedders.” “Arsenokoitai” is not known in Greek prior to Paul [I Cor.6:9, I Tim.1:10]. Some think it coined from the Greek translation of Leviticus 18:22 (next). It is quite a stretch to call a gay woman a "man-bedder." More, it is deeply incongruous to place the inspirational people I know, who are gay, in the list of "idolaters, thieves, greedy, slanderers...." More realistic possibilities are “prostitutes” or “pederasts.” Applying the "rule of faith": Chrysostom, who vehemently opposed homosexual acts, does not mention them when treating these passages.
3. "With a male you shall not lie the lyings of a woman" [Lev.18:22 & 20:13] This pair of verses belongs with either the surrounding purity laws or the surrounding moral laws. Anthropologist Mary Douglas details how, in ancient Israel, purity distinctions between "clean and unclean," acceptable and "abominable," make sense from the perspective that everything must be totally one thing or the other. No fuzzy boundaries -- like no garment with two kinds of thread. Further, for a male to "lie the lyings of a woman" would be thought degrading. (I remember boys' rituals at elementary school to prevent getting "girl germs"!)
4. Paul’s language in Romans 1:26-7 supports a purity meaning, because he does not use his many terms for moral sin, but terms for uncleanness -- "dishonor" and "shamelessness." Here occurs the only mention of females in all these arguments -- they act “against nature,” meaning "contrary to custom" in Paul's day; and historically, non-procreative sexuality. Later in Romans, God too is said to act “against nature,” in grafting us Gentiles onto the root of Israel. Ironically, 1.26-7 is part of Paul's rhetorical device to convince Jewish and Gentile Christians to respect one another’s consciences on questions of ritual purity like food -- or, I believe, the gender of one's spouse. Further, this passage has the feel of lust and orgy, not the chaste, monogamous, productive lives of the same-sex couples I know.
Please study Calvin on clerical celibacy, as he argues passionately
[Institutes II.viii.42-3 etc.]:
~ “It is not good for the human to be alone.” [Gen.2:18]
~ “It is better to marry than to burn with desire.” [I Cor.7:9]
Genesis 1 speaks of male and female procreation: “Be fruitful and multiply.” (We have succeeded!) Genesis 2 shows companionship is the basis of marriage. A plain reading shows God first turned to the animals to find a helper for Adam, “but no suitable helper could be found.” When God presents Eve, Adam does not exclaim At last! someone different from me! -- but exclaims over her humanity: “This at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!”
An inspiring gay couple graced my ordination service. A dear and gifted 20-something cousin just let the family know she is gay.
May PC(USA) refuse cover to extremists who could say to her, as a churchman did to that couple: "We should take you out in the field and shoot you!" When we see people full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, may the word be: "...if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"
....Elizabeth
Minister Member-at-large
Served as chaplain in hospice and long-term care before family caregiving intervened.
~~~~~~~
To: civilunion.marriage@pcusa.org
Date: August 16, 2009
Subject: Support faithful, monogamous marriage for people who are gay
I strongly support marriage for faithful, monogamous people who are gay.
It’s part of the story of Jesus, who was continually in trouble for moving beyond the letter of the ritual purity laws:
~ "Go and learn what this means: 'I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.' "[Hosea 6:6] -- defending the disciples' plucking grain on the Sabbath [Mtt.12:7].
~ "The Sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the Sabbath" -- similar situation [Mk.2:27].
~ "He looked around at them in anger... deeply grieved at their hardness of heart" -- preparing to heal the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath. [Mk.3:5].
He continually pushed beyond religious taboos:
~ His hometown synagogue tried to throw him over a cliff for pointing out that God sent a prophet to help unclean Gentiles although many Israelites needed help. [Lk.4:26-27]
~ He declared all things clean. [Mk.7:19]
He alerted us to be open to new understandings:
~ "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth." [John 16:12-13]
Paul passionately defended us Gentiles from being forced to observe the purity laws:
~ "You senseless Galatians! You were running a good race! Who cut in on you? What matters is faith, working itself out by love!" [Gal.5:7,6]
~ "The commandments...are summed up in this one rule: 'Love your neighbor as yourself’.... Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." [Rom.13:9-10]
I believe the church is living an Acts 10-11 moment -- like Peter, shocked to see “unacceptable” people exhibiting the gifts of the Spirit:
~ “...the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning....So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?" [11:15-17]
I believe the exegetical case against the marriage of faithful, monogamous Christians who are gay is extremely weak.
1. Sodom is profoundly inapplicable. Applying the principle of scripture interpreting scripture, the 60-some accusations against Sodom include "grinding the face of the poor," "arrogance," etc. The lone mention of sexual sin is that of going after different flesh -- the flesh of angels -- "sarx hetero" [Jude v.7], with zero hint of "same" flesh, "sarx homo." When Jesus mentions Sodom, the subject is towns that do not welcome the disciples. Sodom is a story of male gang rape, not by the wildest stretch of imagination a story of our members who are gentle, constructive members of their communities -- and gay.
2. “Man-bedders.” “Arsenokoitai” is not known in Greek prior to Paul [I Cor.6:9, I Tim.1:10]. Some think it coined from the Greek translation of Leviticus 18:22 (next). It is quite a stretch to call a gay woman a "man-bedder." More, it is deeply incongruous to place the inspirational people I know, who are gay, in the list of "idolaters, thieves, greedy, slanderers...." More realistic possibilities are “prostitutes” or “pederasts.” Applying the "rule of faith": Chrysostom, who vehemently opposed homosexual acts, does not mention them when treating these passages.
3. "With a male you shall not lie the lyings of a woman" [Lev.18:22 & 20:13] This pair of verses belongs with either the surrounding purity laws or the surrounding moral laws. Anthropologist Mary Douglas details how, in ancient Israel, purity distinctions between "clean and unclean," acceptable and "abominable," make sense from the perspective that everything must be totally one thing or the other. No fuzzy boundaries -- like no garment with two kinds of thread. Further, for a male to "lie the lyings of a woman" would be thought degrading. (I remember boys' rituals at elementary school to prevent getting "girl germs"!)
4. Paul’s language in Romans 1:26-7 supports a purity meaning, because he does not use his many terms for moral sin, but terms for uncleanness -- "dishonor" and "shamelessness." Here occurs the only mention of females in all these arguments -- they act “against nature,” meaning "contrary to custom" in Paul's day; and historically, non-procreative sexuality. Later in Romans, God too is said to act “against nature,” in grafting us Gentiles onto the root of Israel. Ironically, 1.26-7 is part of Paul's rhetorical device to convince Jewish and Gentile Christians to respect one another’s consciences on questions of ritual purity like food -- or, I believe, the gender of one's spouse. Further, this passage has the feel of lust and orgy, not the chaste, monogamous, productive lives of the same-sex couples I know.
Please study Calvin on clerical celibacy, as he argues passionately
[Institutes II.viii.42-3 etc.]:
~ “It is not good for the human to be alone.” [Gen.2:18]
~ “It is better to marry than to burn with desire.” [I Cor.7:9]
Genesis 1 speaks of male and female procreation: “Be fruitful and multiply.” (We have succeeded!) Genesis 2 shows companionship is the basis of marriage. A plain reading shows God first turned to the animals to find a helper for Adam, “but no suitable helper could be found.” When God presents Eve, Adam does not exclaim At last! someone different from me! -- but exclaims over her humanity: “This at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!”
An inspiring gay couple graced my ordination service. A dear and gifted 20-something cousin just let the family know she is gay.
May PC(USA) refuse cover to extremists who could say to her, as a churchman did to that couple: "We should take you out in the field and shoot you!" When we see people full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, may the word be: "...if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"
....Elizabeth
Minister Member-at-large
Served as chaplain in hospice and long-term care before family caregiving intervened.
~~~~~~~
To: civilunion.marriage@pcusa.org
Date: August 16, 2009
Subject: Support faithful, monogamous marriage for people who are gay
Labels: civil unions, glbt, marriage
posted by Elizabeth. | 8:57 PM
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