Miriam Marvin
Homosexuality and Christianity
Sociology 360
Professor Williams
A Sin is a Sin, Unless You Are a Christian
Religion has always filled me with a multitude of trepidations, stemming from being an unwed mother to being bisexual. After being kicked out of churches for not being married to my child's father and being in a relationship with him, I learned to ask questions first. After genuinely seeking information and answers to some of my questions, I was reminded of the hypocrisy of some people involved in religion. After being told that it is okay to be open and honest I shared some of my story. I was then told that I am going to hell because of my bisexuality. "A sin is a sin, and you know that homosexuality is a sin." No, I really cannot say that I know who I love is a sin. After this exchange, I opted not to return to that church. This is not, unfortunately, the only religious group which has made this outlook very clear. Many other churches covertly convey the message that you are only "pure" and "acceptable" if you follow their rules and ideals. Systematically, Christianity engages in sin as well as creates an environment predicated upon additional sin via its condemnation (within the congregation) of homosexuality and persecution (throughout society) of members of the LGBT community.
Many Christians argue that the Bible explicitly forbids homosexuality. One such reference is Genesis 19 4-8, which is the story of the two angels of God who came down to Sodom. These angels were in Lot's house, and the men of Sodom attempted to gain entry to rape the angels. This was not only horrible because it was rape, but because it was a blatant homosexual act. According to bible.org, "homosexuality is wickedness and must be recognized as such else there is no hope for the homosexual who is asking for help to be extricated from his perverted way of life" (Strauss 2004). Two men engaging in fornication is a sin and blocks those persons engaging in said acts from the Kingdom of Heaven.
The aforementioned bible verse would seem to be stating that only homosexuals are bad and worthy of punishment. Perhaps it has been forgotten that the sodomy about to take place would have been forced by means of rape. The sin of sexual lust and desire would seem to be a far greater sin than a committed, loving relationship between two persons of the same sex. Adultery is another component to the sins of Sodom, as many of the men engaging in sex with other men were married as well. When religious arguments are made referencing this passage all of the other sins being committed simultaneously seem to be forgotten or simply not mentioned.
Leviticus 18: 22 states "You shall not lay with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination" (NKJ Bible). This verse makes it clear that two men engaging in intercourse are not only sinners, but are also an abomination. Merriam Webster's Dictionary defines abomination as "1. something abominable; 2. Extreme disgust and hatred (2012). Once this verse and the definition are connected, the verse could then be rewritten as "You shall not lay with a male as with a woman. It is extremely disgusting." This verse is very commonly used to reference the word of God forbidding homosexuality. Once the language is taken apart, it becomes apparent that hate and disgust are truly the root of evil. Hatred has destroyed nations and individuals alike, with no discrimination or regulations based upon religious beliefs or sexual orientation. According to Loren L. Johns (in regard to Leviticus 18), "The author is addressing the sin of having sex for its own sake (i.e., using another person, or animal, to meet one's own selfish sexual needs) (2009). This is another clear example of sins other than homosexuality being present and ignored and going unmentioned.
This would seem to be more than slightly correlated to the article written by John D'Emilio. In this article, the decline of the birth rate contributed to a lull in the numbers available to work. At this time, it was deemed necessary to utilize the children as viable members of the work force. During this process capitalism created the taboo of homosexuality, as non procreative sexual acts were demonized as it would not lend to the failing economy (1992). Had this never occurred, would the Christian community still argue against homosexuality? It would seem that were there no stigmas and negative views historically, there would be little to argue today.
Acts 10 references a vision which God gave to Peter, in which God stated "What God has made clean, you must not call profane". Johns summarized this passage as follows: "In this case, it took an "act of God" to get Peter to reconsider what he always knew to be true... That purity was central to God's concern...This passage is significant because it represents a Sprit-Inspired paradigm changing event that almost single-handedly reinterprets long-held convictions about will of God clearly expressed in the Bible" (2009). Anyone who has ever attended church has heard that we were all created in God's image, thus each and every person on the Earth is worthy of God's love. This author has personally been told by numerous pastors and priests that no man is without sin but all are worthy. If no man is without sin then the line was clearly drawn regarding which sins result in an eternity in hell and which can be forgiven.
Corinthians 6:9-10 states "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor the drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the Kingdom of God (NKJ Bible). It would seem rather clear that once you have engaged in a homosexual act, that is it. There is nothing left to say- you are doomed to rot in hell for eternity. Christianity has used this passage time and again to prove their point of homosexuality being a grave sin. What fails to be addressed is that this verse also covers a great deal of others, including drunkards or alcoholics. A Christian declares that being an alcoholic will land you in hell. Thieves and swindlers are in this same category, yet the church has yet to come together in arms over bank robbers and car salesman. Why is that? Because homosexuality has such a controversy surrounding it at all times, the church felt left out? According to Matt Slick, " The Bible does not support homosexuality". That was, unfortunately, the only clear opinion in this entire article. The general argument has not been whether or not the Bible supports homosexuality, only that the Bible does not outright condemn it either. It is unfair to make such a claim when there is no evidence to the contrary. The Biblical argument regarding homosexuality has always been about the inclusion of multitudes of verses demonizing and forbidding it. There has been little to no argument that there are bible verses which overtly support homosexuality.
According to Adelle M. Banks, a study was conducted in which 91 percent of non-Christians, believe that Christians have an anti-gay image (2007). Even amongst active church members, 47 percent declared it hypocritical (Banks 2007). Kinniman, as quoted by Banks, stated "When Jesus perused people, he was much more critical of pride and much more critical of spiritual arrogance than he was of people who were sinful. And today's Christians, if you spend enough time looking at their attitudes and actions, really are not like Jesus when it comes to that" (2007). These numbers clearly show that not only do non-Christians find the church to be hypocritical but the members themselves do as well. Being able to see these discrepancies is an important step forward, as previously the church was blinded to their own faults. Perhaps because of all of the focus on others' sins. Perhaps there was another idea in the background all along: If we can just project our sins onto another group of people, no one will realize they actually originated with us. Well played Christians, well played.
Taylor and Rupp discussed another aspect of this argument which is often times forgotten; the people themselves. This article discussed the women performing at 801, a very well known drag show. One tourist was quoted as saying "I think that one of the beauties of attending a show like this is that you do realize that you ... shouldn't walk out and say, 'I only like men' and you shouldn't say 'I only like women,' and it all kind of blends together a lot more so than maybe what we want in our daily lives" (2006). This is a very import aspect which this author feels is all too often forgotten or briefly mentioned. Were it not for the people involved, this would not be an argument at all. If the victims of the church's persecution were not people with feelings and thoughts all their own, this would be a non issue. This is actually a large part of the problem with the church, as they have forgotten the human aspect during the picketing against homosexual soldier's funerals.
As has been discussed by professor Meredith Williams on numerous occasions, by setting one minority group apart as the "other" the majority can then demonize, stigmatize, objectify and dehumanize these people or groups. Howard Becker discussed deviance as well. According to Becker, "Society defines deviance as the failure to obey group rules. Once we have described the rules a group enforces on its members, we can say with some precision whether or not a person has violated them and is thus, on this view, deviant" (1963). This definition seems highly applicable to Christianity, as they are the majority in terms of religion in America. This majority has created and enforced a set of rules which they then use to govern and police the behavior of all others, including themselves. It is not only homosexuals who have received the wrath of the church, but this does seem to be a popular choice as of lately. What may be the reasons for this group to be further marginalized? How can the church possibly justify these behaviors?
As Allen Johnson discussed, the answer is surprisingly simple: Privilege. The majority are a privileged group who rarely realize they have these privileges. Take for instance the majority of persons who externally clearly represent their anatomical sex. This group of persons never once has a moment of hesitation when deciding which bathroom to use as they have never experienced harassment or cruelty because of their inability to represent the social constructions of masculinity and femininity. Those persons (not only homosexuals either) who are slightly different are often either covertly or occasionally overtly harassed and questioned in regards to their choice of bathroom. Christians are regularly engaging in this same behavior as they criticize homosexuals for whom they love. Homosexuals do not picket heterosexual love or gatherings for being different from them. What, then, allows for the church to do these things? The privilege they have as heterosexual persons who rarely if ever face persecution for their choices.
The marginalized groups struggle to fight for equal rights, but also to be left alone to live their lives without being attacked and harassed for them. Domenick Scudera provided a great example of this in "My Gay Lifestyle". His blog discusses his typical 'gay' day. While there are so many activities he participates in which are no different than any other persons, because he is gay everything he does is then seen through that filter. "Gay" has become his master status- gay is all that some members of society choose to see. The church is guilty of this as well. All they (Christians as a whole) choose to see is the alleged sin in their choice of husband, wife or partner. The other contributions made to society are irrelevant and ignored in their collective minds.
Yet another aspect that seems to be forgotten by the church is this: If homosexuals are choosing to be gay, at what point did Christians get together and decide collectively to be heterosexual? While all of the choices of homosexuals are being torn apart and carefully examined for damaging the entire religious system as well as expediting the second coming of Jesus, the church has failed to see their part in it all. Becuase the church has made so clear that being actively homosexual is an unforgivable sin, those persons who are active Christians as well are forced to tell lie upon lie to cover this up, as well as covet their lover(s) as they cannot simply be open. This process has created an environment predicated upon sinning as well as perpetuating the very sins which they are advocating abolition.
It is this authors personal opinion that the church cannot claim absolution and Christ like attributes while tearing apart any person who is openly homosexual. Love is love, regardless of what anatomical sex the two persons happen to be. Would the church be against two persons born with physical defects loving each other? This too is a condition which both parties were born into. Would the church be against two people who were once married and wanted a divorce? The bible has many verses which clearly state divorce is not sanctioned by God. None of these groups are as widely persecuted by society as homosexuals, which seems to only validate the church arguing against them. Until Christians are willing to repent their sins, then they are doomed to the same fate they are using to persecute the homosexual community.
References:
Banks, Adelle M. "Study: Youth see Christians as judgmental, anti-gay". (October 2007). USA Today.
Retrieved from: http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-10-10-christians-young_N.htm
Becker, Howard "The Outsiders". Pp 5. Reprinted from "The Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance". 1963. Copyright the Free Press.
D'Emilio, John. "Capitalism and Gay Identity". Pp. 3-16 in "Making Trouble: Essays on Gay History, Politics, and The University. (1992).
Johns, Loren L. "Homosexuality and the Bible: A Case Study in the Use of the Bible for Ethics". September 2009. Retrieved from: http://www.ambs.edu/LJohns/Homosexuality.html
Johnson, Allen. "Privilege, Power, Difference and Us". In M. Konty, Boundaries: Readings In Deviance, Crime and Criminal Justice (pp. 1-18). Pearson Custom Publishing.
Scudera, Domenick. "My Gay Lifestyle". (2012). Huffpost Gay Voices. Retrieved from:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/domenick-scudera/my-gay-lifestyle_b_1063570.html
Slick, Matt. "Christianity and Homosexuality". (ND). Retrieved from:
http://carm.org/christianity-and-homosexuality
Strauss, Lehman. "Homosexuality: The Christian Perspective". June 2004. Retrieved from:
http://bible.org/article/homosexuality-christian-perspective
Taylor, Verta and Rupp, Leila J. "Learning From Drag Queens". (Summer 2006). Contexts Magazine.
Vol. 5 Issue 3, Pp. 12-17. American Psychological Association.
Webster, Merriam. "Definition of abomination". Retrieved from:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abomination
King James Version Bible
