15AR20-22

AR 20:22 - The gay rejection of Old Testament prohibitions

Apologia Report 20:22 (1,251)

July 1, 2015

In this issue:

ADDICTION - "a strong argument against the disease model of addiction"

HOMOSEXUALITY - "same-sex marriage legalizations are ultimately influenced by the Christian Right's response to the AIDS epidemic"?

+ responding to the claim that Old Testament prohibitions against homosexuality are "culturally relative and antiquated"

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ADDICTION

The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease, by Marc Lewis [1] -- "Neuroscientist Lewis ... presents a strong argument against the disease model of addiction, which is currently predominant in medicine and popular culture alike, and bolsters it with informative and engaging narratives of addicts' lives. According to Lewis, addiction is neither a choice nor an inherent malady; rather, it is innate to human behavioral biology, a natural adaptation that begins in the brain. After a section introducing Lewis's theory, the bulk of the book shows the concept in action through detailed, intimate case studies. Even when presenting more technical information, Lewis shows a keen ability to put a human face on the most groundbreaking research into addiction. Likewise, he manages to make complex findings and theories both comprehensible and interesting. The focus is primarily on drug dependency, to the extent that readers will wish Lewis had given more explanation of how behavioral addictions (those not tied to substances) fit into his theory. And while therapy is consistently shown as instrumentally restorative, Lewis devotes few pages to describing how the cycle of addiction is broken. Nonetheless, this book, written with hopeful sincerity, will intrigue both those who accept its thesis and those who do not." Publishers Weekly, May '15 #4.

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HOMOSEXUALITY

After the Wrath of God: AIDS, Sexuality, and American Religion, by Anthony M. Petro [2] -- writing for Library Journal (Jun '15 #1, p108), Charles Seymour (Grand Canyon Univ., Phoenix) reports: "In Petro's (religion, Boston Univ.) debut book, the author argues that the recent wave of same-sex marriage legalizations are ultimately influenced by the Christian Right's response to the AIDS epidemic. The author traces this history in three main chapters, initially focusing on C. Everett Koop, a pediatric surgeon who rose to prominence as surgeon general during the Ronald Reagan administration. Kopp was an evangelical who recommended faithful monogamy as the best prophylactic (though he did, to the chagrin of some of his coreligionists, also disseminate information about condoms). In later chapters, Petro explores how Cardinal John O'Connor of New York fought against condom distribution programs in local schools as well as a gay-rights ordinance in his defense of traditional Catholic ethics. Petro maintains that the potential of AIDS activist group 'ACT UP' to counteract this conservative trend was weakened by their members' portrayal in the media as sacrilegious extremists. VERDICT With clear prose that is free of theoretical jargon, this account is a suitable purchase for public and academic libraries, though the latter may find the narrative a bit journalistic for this very reason."

"Does the Levitical Prohibition of Homosexuality Still Apply Today?" by Sean McDowell -- summarized: "Many critics are quick to reject the Levitical prohibition against homosexuality as culturally relative and antiquated. But careful examination shows that God condemned pagan nations for committing the same 'abominations' and that the prohibition is rooted in the Genesis creation narrative, implying that it is a universal moral principle."

McDowell begins with the difficulty often faced in the question that goes right along with the title: "And isn't Leviticus full of other prohibitions we ignore, such as sowing a field with two kinds of seeds, or wearing a garment of two kinds of material (Lev. 19:19)?"

Among other important sources, McDowell cites Near Eastern studies specialist Donald J. Wold, author of Out of Order: Homosexuality in the Bible and the Ancient Near East [3], who "provides four supporting reasons for seeing Leviticus 18 as an independent unit within the larger Holiness Code: '(a) the sexual nature of all the crimes listed, (b) the position of the curse at the end of the chapter so as to encompass the entire series, (c) the position of the statement *I am the Lord your God* at the beginning and end of the chapter, and (d) the rationale of impurity for all the crimes.' ...

"Close analysis reveals that the warnings not to commit the sins of the people in the land ... frame the entire chapter. Israel is to avoid the evil practices of pagan nations who were 'vomited' from the land because of their iniquity (v.25). God warns the Hebrew people that they too will be 'vomited' if they commit the same abominations. ...

"The fact that God threatened to judge pagan nations *and* Israel for committing the sins listed in Leviticus 18 is the first key to its wider application. ...

"The second key is the implication that Leviticus 18 is contrary to nature. ...

"The third key that the Levitical position on homosexual behavior still applies is that the New Testament also repeats the prohibition against homosexual behavior (Rom. 1:26-27; I Cor. 6:9-11; 1 Tim. 1:8-10). There is not a single passage in the Old or New Testaments that positively portrays homosexual behavior of any sort."

McDowell addresses the argument made in the book Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate, by Justin Lee [4], which "discounts the modern application of Leviticus 18:22 because of its association with cult prostitution."

Anticipating another contextual objection, McDowell also addresses the question: "If the practices mentioned in Leviticus 18 are universally wrong, then what about having sex with a menstruating woman (v.19)?" Christian Research Journal, 38:2 - 2015, pp44-9.

We should also consider using such exchanges to remind those who oppose us that there are other non-negotiable prohibitions in the Old Testament which remain binding today. Ever hear of the Ten Commandments?

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease, by Marc Lewis (PublicAffairs, 2015, hardcover, 256 pages) <www.goo.gl/sblumy>

2 - After the Wrath of God: AIDS, Sexuality, and American Religion, by Anthony M. Petro (Oxford Univ Prs, 2015, hardcover, 312 pages) <www.goo.gl/L4N9km>

3 - Out of Order: Homosexuality in the Bible and the Ancient Near East, by Donald J. Wold (Cedar Leaf, 2009, paperback, 240 pages) <www.goo.gl/hDlUMY>

Also consider this review of the book: <www.goo.gl/X4af3w>

4 - Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate, by Justin Lee (Jericho, 2013, paperback, 272 pages) <www.goo.gl/ulRdhf>

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