Level 4
Statements Against Same-Sex Marriage
Leviticus 18 & 20
Leviticus 18:22 “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”
Leviticus 20:13 “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”
This section will show with multiple considerations that Leviticus contains a universal prohibition of male-male erotic activity.
Dr. Gagnon points out that commands have a definite prescriptive or proscriptive function unlike stories which are descriptive in nature (Robert A. J. Gagnon, The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics; page 111, Abingdon Press Nashville, 2001).
The larger context of Leviticus 18:22 is that of forbidden sexual relations that prohibit incest (18:6-18) as well as prohibits adultery (18:20), child sacrifice (18:21), and bestiality (18:23). The universality of these prohibitions can be seen in the fact they continue to be viewed as valid today. This is true not only of our society, but of most societies in the world.
Dr. Gagnon lists the following translations of the Hebrew term used: “abomination,” “an abhorrent thing,” and “something detestable, loathsome, utterly repugnant, disgusting.” This particular term indicates how repulsive God sees those acts. (Ibid. page 113.)
God considered this a very serious matter as He assigned death as the penalty for anyone caught in this kind of act.
Middle Assyrian Laws contained a prohibition of homosexual rape. The commands in Leviticus are not qualified in that manner. They prohibit all homosexual acts in an unqualified and absolute manner. If God had only wanted to prohibit those acts which were the pinnacle of self-indulgence and at the expense of others, as Professor Brownson proposes, He would have qualified the prohibitions of Leviticus. Leviticus also does not excuse either participant in the act.
Even though it was acceptable in many cultures in ancient times for one man of one social status to engage in homosexual acts with men of lower status, that is not the case here. The Hebrew word used is the word for “man,” not the word for “your neighbor” which could be taken to be one of equal status or from the same region or clan.
“The prohibitions against homosexual intercourse are as absolute as the injunctions against incest and adultery. It simply does not matter how well homosexual conduct is done; what matters is that it is done at all. Arguing that non-exploitative forms of homosexuality might have been accepted is like contending that the Holiness Code was only opposed to exploitative forms of incest.” (Ibid. pages 347-348.)
What is unbiblical about homosexual acts is the fact that they violate the creation order of the distinction between the genders. Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 speak explicitly of this gender dis-complementarity as is evident in the words “as though lying with a woman.” This phrase is the best indication we have of what the primary concern was. It was behaving toward another man as if he were a woman by making him the object of male sexual desires. (Ibid. pages 135-136.)
Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 both use the very basic terms of “lie with” to describe what they are prohibiting. If it was concerned only with prohibiting same-sex erotic acts that included violence the Spirit could have inspired words indicating rape or pederasty or some such form. Instead, very neutral terms were used. This tells us that Leviticus is prohibiting all forms of same-sex erotic acts.
Paul’s position is consistent with Leviticus. The two are in agreement. (Ibid. page 117.)
There is clear evidence to support the belief that Paul formulated his prohibitions of homosexual acts basing them on the Levitical prohibitions. Paul’s stand against incest in I Corinthians 5 closely follows the wording of Leviticus 18:6-18. In particular here compare “father’s wife” in 1 Corinthians 5:1 with the Septuagint version of Leviticus 18:7-8. When Paul says that homosexual acts along with other sins are “worthy of death” in Romans 1:32 he may well have had Leviticus 20:13 in mind. The word translated “indecency” or “indecent exposure” in Romans 1:27 is used 24 times in the Septuagint version of Leviticus 18:6-19; 20:11, 17-21 to describe a variety of prohibited sexual acts. The word translated “uncleanness” or “impurity” in Romans 1:24 is also found in Leviticus 18:19; 20:21, 25 in the Septuagint. In the vice list of 1 Corinthians 6:9 the word Paul used for those who take other males to bed, arsenokoites is a compound word formed by using the words found in Leviticus 18:22; 20:13 for “male” and “lying” in the Septuagint. (Ibid. pages 121-122, 315.)
These close ties between Paul’s statement on homosexuality in Romans and the prohibitions in Leviticus, along with any absence of qualifiers on Paul’s part indicate that he also viewed God’s prohibitions of homosexual acts to be relevant to all such acts.
Response
Responses are needed to this material and will be incorporated as time permits.
This material is being included in Levels 3 and 2 based largely on an examination of Dr. James Brownson’s book over the last six years. To provide a more complete presentation responses need to be added to this material contained here. Although incomplete as it presently stands, this material is being filled in as quickly as possible. Contributions to this section will help to speed up the development and advancement of this material.
Included In Section 3
As this currently stands, this material is included in Level 3. This determination, of course, is subject to future insights gained on this passage.
This material can be found in Level 3 by clicking here.