Religion permeates our society. Religion informs much of the discussion in the political arena. As I am writing this, conservatives and liberals are arguing over whether health care plans should be obliged to offer contraceptive coverage; the argument arises because the Roman Catholic hierarchy believes that contraception is morally wrong. As gay people, we have a stake in religious arguments in which values around sex are emphasized, because they affect the political arguments. Jay Michaelson's useful book Gay vs. God can inform the understanding of queers and their allies about why religion should value sexual diversity.
The book is divided into three parts. In the first Michaelson points out that the core message of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures are about love, integrity, dignity, justice, and partnership. In the second part Michaelson examines the scriptures used to condemn sexual minorities, and in the third part he argues that inclusion of sexual minorities is good, not bad, for religious values.
Early on, Michaelson points out that "there are those who feel called to celibacy. . . . But to be compelled to such abstinence--or worse (and more likely) a life of furtive encounters, deceptions, tawdry alliances, lies, and endless self-recriminations--is fundamentally incompatible with the concept of a loving God" (p. 18). Further, "if God loves us, he would never want the closet. . . . There is no reconciling a loving God with the closet" (p. 17). For that reason alone, "coming out is the beginning of an authentic spiritual life, not the end of it" (p. 21-22).
No verse exists in a vacuum. As Luther pointed out, we must examine a scripture in the context of The Scripture. Part I of Michaelson's book sets the context for studying the terror texts.
In Genesis 2:18 God declares that it is not good to be alone. After creating animals, God creates Eve as a human companion for Adam. Nothing in Genesis points to Eve being created solely, or even primarily, as a means to produce children. She is there as a companion to Adam. Yes, Steve could be Adam's companion, just as well as Eve. Sexuality, whether homo or hetero, is an expression of what makes us most human.
Scripture calls on us to love our neighbors. Love does not dishonor others; it trusts, hopes and perseveres (I Corinthians 13:4-8). Love does no harm to its neighbor (Romans 13:10). From these verses and others, it should be apparent that "Leviticus does not shape the boundaries of compassion; compassion shapes the boundaries of Leviticus" (p. 28).
Michaelson points out that sexual diversity is natural and part of God's creation. Literally hundreds of species exhibit homosexual behavior. We can ask legitimately why homosexuals exist, but the answer to whether they exist is clearly "yes." The book is, as the author declares near the end, "not an inquiry into why God has made people gay. Only the most naďve believer would pretend to know the purpose of every quirk of creation--or perhaps the most arrogant" (p. 154). As a famous button went, "if God didn't make homosexuals, there wouldn't be any." Homosexuality, Michaelson correctly says, is neither a choice nor a changeable pathological condition. So, as the old chant goes, "We're here, we're queer, get used to it."
So, wouldn't society and homosexuals be better off if queers weren't so visible? If we suddenly somehow walked back into our closets, we would be sinners, because we would be bearing false witness against ourselves, disobeying the eighth of the ten commandments. "Homosexuality," Michaelson writes, "is not a lifestyle, but the closet is a death-style" (p. 42). If gay people are called to any religious rite, it is coming out. Coming out is a rite of vulnerability, a time when we declare our sacred worth.
Part II examines the terror texts. Michaelson does not pretend that his reading of the texts are the only possible ones. Leviticus 18:22 can be read as forbidding all same-sex behavior on the part of men and women, as forbidding idolatrous sex, or anywhere in between. But if we put it in the context of "the hundreds of verses and insights of conscience about the holiness of love, or human dignity, or honesty, or justice" (p. 56), we must choose the narrowest reading.
Michaelson carefully examines each of the texts, and delineates narrow readings that cannot be taken to forbid homosexuality. For example, the Hebrew word toevah, which is used 108 times in the Hebrew Bible, is translated as "abomination" in Leviticus 18:22. But it doesn't mean that at all. The word as used in the holiness code of Leviticus consistently refers to idolatry. It is, in fact, about ritual purity. The Canaanites had qedeshim, male and female sacred prostitutes who enacted the role of god or goddess in a sexual ritual. Hebrews were forbidden to participate in such rituals. Michaelson in turn examines the story of Sodom and texts from Romans and Timothy to show how they can, but do not have, to be read to condemn homosexuality.
Part 3 examines why inclusion of homosexuals is good, not bad, for religious values. The subheadings for the chapters pretty well summarize the purpose of this section:
* Equality for LGBT people is good for families, marriage, and sexual ethics.
* The growth of religious values is good for individuals and religious communities.
* Sexual diversity, like other forms of diversity, enriches religious lives and communities.
The book includes helpful notes and an excellent bibliography.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to be prepared to discuss religion and homosexuality.
God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality by Jay Michaelson (Beacon Press, Boston, 2011 ISBN 978-0-8070-0159-2)
