Having grown up in The Church I've heard a lot of talk about homosexuality. Many people talk about how wrong and unnatural it is to be gay. Bible verses are quoted (and misquoted) to support "gay bashing". In all honesty I'm not sure what the bible actually says about homosexuality but it certainly doesn't seem very clear at all. The passage of scripture most often used to condemn homosexuality isn't about homosexuality at all (in my opinion); it's a passage about hospitality.
The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. "My lord's", he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning." "No." they answered, "we will spend the night in the square." But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baked bread without yeast, and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom -both young and old- surrounded the house. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them." Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."
This was Genesis 19: 1-8, the passage most often used to refute homosexuality. In order for me to believe this was about homosexuality I'd have to believe the point to be "it is better to rape a woman than to rape a man". I certainly can't support that interpretation of this passage. So, it has to mean something else entirely. In order to understand what I think the meaning is we have to understand a little something about the culture of the day.
In those days, from my understanding, hospitality was highly valued. I almost want to say hospitality was valued above all else. For Lot to welcome strangers into his home meant he was taking responsibility for them. He became responsible for finding them food, providing shelter, and keeping them safe until they left his home. He obviously took this responsibility very seriously, so seriously that he offered up his daughters so as to protect his guests. I don't condone what Lot did in offering his daughters as an exchange; and I think anyone who does is maybe missing the point of the story. It's not that it was right or acceptable for him to throw his kids to the wolves, he was following a cultural practices based on values of the day.
With this having been established I will say there are other places in the bible which suggest it might be wrong to be gay. They are not very clear, however, so I am not at all comfortable using them as a way to ostracize gay people from my circle of friends. I also don't believe being gay is a choice. I don't choose who I'm attracted to so I have no reason to believe anyone else is able to do that either.
In Mark 2: 16 Jesus is rebuked by the pharisees for "eating with tax collectors and sinners". Many times Christ sets the example of interacting with and befriending the "undesirable" people with whom he meets. He chooses to build his fellowship not with the "religious right" but with ordinary people: people who are trying to figure things out, those who don't have all their 'ducks in a row'. We ought to be following his example and building friendships with many different kinds of people. If it is "wrong to be gay" we should be building a community welcoming to gay people because Christ ate with sinners. If it isn't wrong to be gay we need to be building a community welcoming to gay people because they aren't doing anything wrong. Either way we need to be welcoming to everyone!
So, what's justice got to do with it? Everything! Many people contemplate suicide daily because they feel alone in the world, or think others don't understand them. We as Christians can not continue to push people out of our lives and call it Christ like. Anyone who feels alone needs to have friends in their lives.
I believe Christians focus on homosexuality because it is an easy target. For those of us who have never been attracted to someone of the same gender its easy to choose that as the "unforgivable sin", many of us have nothing to lose by being vehemently against homosexuality. Gossip, slander, and jealousy tend to be issues all of us struggle with from time to time. In order to make sure others are forgiving of us we have to be forgiving of them but when it comes to issues which affect only a number of people the backlash can be unbearable. It's difficult to be understanding of something one cannot relate to. One of the many dangers here is that if we are wrong and homosexuality isn't a sin we are denying countless people a chance at true love. I intend to explore this topic in greater detail in future blogs so I'd love your thoughts as I continue to form my own.
