Christians and homosexuality: perspectives and theological debates

Straight & Narrow?

Thomas E. Schmidt in his book Straight and Narrow? addresses the view of various Christian factions toward homosexuality and some of the scriptural support they offer for their view. The book is subtitled "Compassion and Clarity in the Homosexuality Debate," based on the fact that the author is not demonizing homosexuals or homosexuality while recognizing that many Christians do just that. Instead, Schmidt brings a sense of empathy to the debate while at the same time suggesting that homosexuality carries with it certain health issues and risks and that it is also a moral issue. However, Schmidt sees the homosexual as a human being with fears and needs that cannot be ignored and calls for a more compassionate airing of the issue rather than the demonization and name-calling that he finds in much of the debate. In this book, the author considers many of the arguments offered by the two major sides in the debate and then tries to reconcile them or at least show that they are not mutually exclusive unless proponents hold to a rigid and dogmatic view that allows for no other possibilities.

He begins in the first chapter by noting that the critics of homosexuality and the homosexuals themselves are human beings, "people with faces, people with names, often Christian people... [and] we must never lose sight of their individual struggles, their individual pain, their faces." The title of this chapter is "About Me, About You," showing at the outset that the author sees Christians and homosexuals as part of the same human population and also pointing out that the issue is not isolated to Christians or to homosexuals or to any one group but involves everyone. Schmidt also personalizes the issue with reference to friends of his who are homosexual and who express their particular fears and doubts, one of whom also feels that she would be ostracized from the Christian community even though she has come to grips with her sexuality and sees it as necessarily a gift from God. Schmidt does not shy away from the controversy of some clergy molesting children, and he cites a friend who was molested by a member of the clergy from his own church. Schmidt uses these stories to suggest that it is wrong to become too general or abstract, and he sees many on the Christian right as falling into this trap and so creating objective rules that are then applied to real individuals. Schmidt explains his own position as a Christian scholar and a heterosexual male. He expresses his annoyance with Christians who create a climate of fear and who fail to reconcile different views as they promulgate one rigid view of the world. His intent here is to show how much all people have in common, while the intent of some in the community is to insist that the differences are too great for any accommodation and that only one view can be allowed or can be supported by the religious community.

In Chapter 2, "What All the Fuss Is About," Schmidt notes how homosexuality has shifted from being simply a moral issue to a civil rights issue. This involves a conflict between the American principle of equality and equal protection under the law and the idea of a universal standard to evaluate behavior. The latter view is taken by many Christians, who see the requirement to judge behavior on the basis of such an objective standard. Schmidt finds that today there is a confusion about what is legal and what is moral, with the emergence of tolerance as the supreme value being one of the results. The issue has also been framed in terms of whether homosexuality is a choice or not, whether it is what people are or what people do. Tolerance increases when people are convinced that homosexuality is a biologically driven behavior and not merely a choice. Hence, the use of the term "lifestyle" by many Christian opponents of homosexuality, a way of characterizing this behavior as a choice and not a deeper reality. Schmidt says that the homosexual community itself is divided over causation but that the media more and more depicts homosexuality as a biological fact and not a choice. Schmidt has nothing to say about how this idea has become prevalent but does want to know how the idea is affecting perceptions. He finds that of course it does contribute to an increase in tolerance on one side and a sense on the other side that there is now intolerance for Christian values themselves. Christians debate within the community about the subject, though this fact is often ignored. Schmidt considers a number of Bible stories and what they mean for the community and for this sort of issue and specifically cites the passages in the Bible most often used to show that homosexuality is immoral and against God's law. He also cites ways in which translation has created this impression with imprecise language and imprecise meaning in the Old Testament, while in the New Testament, Jesus never condemns homosexuality at all. This chapter offers some support to each side in the debate but calls into question many of the claims about scriptural statements about homosexuality as an unnatural act at the same time.

Chapter 3 is entitled "Sexuality from the Beginning" and considers the meaning of sexuality in the Bible as an activity primarily linked to heterosexual marriage. Schmidt holds that the Bible combined with reason and tradition tell us today "what is good and how to understand departures from that good." The Christian view is that sexuality is for reproduction, meaning that homosexuality is not using sex as intended from the beginning. However, as Schmidt notes, sexuality is not really limited to reproduction and is deeper, "involving everything that makes us male or female." Some of the scriptural support for the Christian idea is examined along with objections that might be raised to them. In particular, Schmidt cites the problems he finds with the ideas of reproductive capacity and complementarity, ideas expressed in the Bible but not explained in detail. Schmidt states that heterosexual monogamy may not be the only way to honor God in our capacity as sexual beings, though he wants to avoid arguing from biology to morality. Schmidt considers some other philosophical structures and how they argue for what is moral and what should be accepted even if it differs from what others consider the norm. Schmidt also notes the degree to which many Christians link tolerance for homosexuality with the supposed demise of the family unit, and he says this is part of an ongoing opposition between homosexuality and heterosexuality. Supporters of homosexual rights too often resort to seeking sympathy rather than debating the issue and answering objections, just as many on the Christian right simply cut off debate with recourse to God as making the decision for everyone else. Schmidt also finds that in the New Testament, references to certain sexual acts is in terms of them being violations of marriage, with adultery and homosexuality viewed in the same way. Childlessness, celibacy, and periodic abstinence or noncoital sex within marriage are not viewed as sins because they do not involve liaisons outside of marriage. All departures from the norm of marital union are treated the same. In truth, people sin in different ways and are guilty about sexual matters in different ways. The support for marriage is seen as a social statement of the culture, though the question is more whether it is also a statement of morality inherent in the laws set down by the deity.

Chapter Four addresses Romans 1:26-27, which is more explicit about homosexuality, identified in this passage as a degrading passion by many Christian theorists. However, Schmidt says this is wrong and that in the passage, Paul is using certain images for a different purpose. In this passage, Paul wants to describe the results of the decision by the Gentiles not to worship the true God, and same-sex intimacy is used to illustrate the uncleanliness of the Gentiles. Homosexuality is thus being treated as simply a fact of Gentile culture. Schmidt cites Countryman to this effect and then points out the flaws in Countryman's argument. Schmidt describe the society of the era and considers the meaning of these sorts of images to Paul's followers. He also considers the history of the writing of the passage and how it fits into the larger context of Paul's work, finding that the passage actually reflects a threefold condemnation of Gentile vice, in terms of idolatry, a specific sexual vice, and a list of vices that are destructive to human relationships. Same-sex relations are singled out as offering a vivid image of the rejection of the sovereignty of God the Creator. Schmidt explores the passage and how it has been interpreted as well as how it might be interpreted and suggests some of the meanings intended as well as those derived by Christians with an agenda. The passage can be used to support anti-homosexuality but provides greater understanding and meaning when viewed in its proper light. He also discusses certain terms, these being epithymia, pathos, and orexis, terms that denote "the inclination of the will that leads to same-sex acts." Paul uses the terms in different passages, showing negative connotations. Other words are also examined for what they say about Paul's meaning and the view he takes toward homosexuality. The passage is thoroughly explored in this chapter, leaving the reader with some question as to how much emphasis the different ideas should really have and how much weight should be given to those statements in terms of creating and enforcing a moral code.

Chapter 5, "From Sodom to Sodom," discusses the scriptural references to Sodom and the fate of Sodom, presumably destroyed because of unnatural sex. Revisionists see the Sodomites as guilty not of homosexuality but of inhospitality, though Schmidt cites evidence that their sin was sexual in nature. The fate of Sodom has been given a lot of weight by Christians as showing God's displeasure with homosexual acts, though the fact that there is some doubt as to what precise acts are being cited in the Bible raises questions about the meaning of the destruction of Sodom and of the lessons that should be taken from the events. Schmidt considers the textual evidence and the meaning of the terms used to the people of the time, recognizing as he always does that what is most important is the meaning when the scripture was written and not the meaning imposed on the text by later generations who may be distorting the original message. Much of that message has been treated as if it had been received clearly and distinctly, when in fact it has been subject to differences in translation and interpretation over the centuries and so might not be as definitive as believed.

Chapter 6 is called "The Price of Love" and offers a medical analysis of sex acts. This chapter delves more deeply into statistics and other data regarding homosexual acts and their consequences, though in this chapter, Schmidt seems more biased than he has in other parts of the book. He presents a lot of ideas about homosexuals and their mode of life that might be questioned, concentrating more on male homosexuality than on lesbianism. He also brings in a number of related but not necessarily just homosexual behaviors, such as sadomasochism, bondage, and child molestation. He says that these practices are more common in the gay community than among heterosexuals, though it is not clear if this is true. He also describes a number of medical complications that might follow from anal sex and considers a large number of sexually transmitted diseases and their effects on the body. Again, these disease are not just homosexual diseases, but they are treated here as if they were more common in that community than in any other. Schmidt is clearly aware that most heterosexuals find homosexual acts to be distasteful, and his descriptions and discussions of these acts plays on that response to bring out a degree of revulsion in the reader. The diseases are described as if they were a penalty visited on homosexuals by God, though heterosexuals also get these diseases and even engage in many of these practices, between the sexes instead of between people of the same sex.