KarMel
Scholarship 2008
|
Essay “Same-Sex
Marriage: The Ethics of Homosexuality in Christianity” By Cori
Cahoon |
Desciption of Submission: “This essay is a
comparision of different interpretation of Bible scripture and how each
scripture relates to same-sex marriage.” - Cori
|
Marriage is an important aspect in
the lives of people in the western religions of Christianity, Judaism, and
Islam. All of these religions have the monotheistic belief in God and all
come from the same original line of Abraham. However, recently the western
religions have made it apparent that homosexuality is not tolerated in both the
Old and New Testaments and have forbid the marriage of homosexual couples
creating a huge conflict in Christian churches. The controversy surrounding
this marriage centers on the interpretations of the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, Leviticus contains
one of the strongest supported passages against homosexuality. Leviticus 18
states “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.
You shall not have sexual relations with any animal and defile yourself with
it, nor shall any woman give herself to an animal to have sexual relations
with it: it is perversion,” (New International Version, Lev. 18.22-23). The
church argues that there is no clearer passage in the Bible about
homosexuality than this passage. They believe that it clearly states
homosexual intercourse is an abomination and a perversion. However, supporters
of homosexuality claim that the author is addressing the sin of having sex all
together, both heterosexual and homosexual sex. Also, “these are purity
regulations designed to keep the holy The most controversial passage
about homosexuality is in Samuel and is considered one of the greatest love
stories in the Bible. This story is about Jonathan and David and the very
special and close relationship that they have with each other. Samuel states
“Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul,”
(18.3). The passage continues on to say that “Jonathan made David swear again
by his love for him; for he loved him as he loved his own life…and they
kissed each other, and wept with each other…,” (20.18, 41). After Jonathan
dies David states that he is “distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
greatly beloved were you to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the
love of women,” (2 Sam. 1.26). The Christian church claims this love is
strictly a platonic love, nothing is explicitly said about whether their love
was sexually explicit or not. They believe “their love for each other was
deep, but innocent,” (John). Furthermore, it was common for men in other
cultures to occasionally walk about holding hands as an indication of
affection and trust for each other. This did not imply that these men where
romantically involved. Supporters of homosexuality believed that there was
intimacy between Jonathan and David much farther than a platonic love. They
made a convent with each other similar to that of the covenant a man makes
with a woman in marriage. The intimate love that Jonathan and David had for
each other compares to the love experienced between a man and a woman. No
where in this text is this love improper or that God disapproves of it. The
supporters do not believe that the sexual activity of David and Jonathan is
important because what is important is this love was accepted by God. In the New Testament, Paul
describes, in Romans, about the relationship between God and his people. Paul
specifically makes a point to describe the homosexual relationships occurring
at the time. “Their women exchanged
natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving
up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one
another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own
persons the due penalty for their error…they were filled with every kind of
wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit,
craftiness, they are gossips, slanders, God-haters, insolent, haughty,
boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, foolish, faithless,
heartless, ruthless. They know God’s decree, that
those who practice such things deserve to die – yet they not only do them but
even applaud others who practice them,” (Rom.1:26-27, 29-32). Christian
churches take this passage as Paul describing the ungodliness, wickedness,
and idolatry of homosexuality. Supporters of homosexuality believe this
passage is about the proper relationship between God and his created people.
They believe Paul is describing the “relationship between an older man over a
younger boy,” (John). He is not condemning the Romans for tolerating
homosexuality; instead, he is saying that all people are in desperate need of
God. The issue of homosexuality and
marriage has become more and more complicated over the years as new
interpretation of the Old and New Testaments continue to be examined. This is
because the text was originally translated from ancient Greek to English and
there is constant controversy over how the Greek words translate into
English. The only solution to this problem is to allow homosexuals to have a
union or marriage regardless of what the Bible states. Since the Bible and interpretations
vacillate back and forth between homosexuality being ungodly and acceptable,
the resolution needs to be made with out the assistance of the Bible. As
religions evolve, so do the practices and teaching they preach, marriage is
no exception to this evolution. Marriage originally began as a covenant
between a man, woman, and god; however, now marriage is a legal status that
allows the individuals to gain benefits only married couples are entitled to,
such as making medical decisions, inheritance, taxation, and Social Security.
In |