Thoughts on Christian Opposition to Gay Marriage
On April 28, 2015, Fox News reported that a prominent group of religious Christian leaders vowed: “We will not obey,” if the Supreme Court’s rule supporting same-sex marriage.[1]
Mat Staver, a Catholic deacon and the founder of Liberty Counsel, stated:
“Once same-sex marriage is elevated to the level of protected status – it will transform the face of society and will result in the “beginning of the end of Western Civilization.”[2]
While I completely disagree with these statements, I can understand why these religious leaders are making these statements. These so-called Christians feel they must support the teachings of the Bible, which forbids homosexuality.
This is my concern about their stance. If they want to claim that homosexuality is “an abomination to God,” as is stated in the Bible,[3] then these leaders should fully obey all other Biblical laws. Many of these Christians are fundamentalists who believe that the Bible is the word of God and was transmitted word for word from God. And since God is perfect, the Bible must also be perfect.[4] They feel, therefore, that they must follow what is said in the Bible 100%.
I can honor that way of thinking as long as these fundamentalist Christians follow the Bible 100%. However, that is NEVER the case. Christians ignore many Biblical laws and injunctions. They use a Bible like a menu, choosing which laws they wish to obey, leaving a long list of laws they choose to ignore. If the Bible is 100% perfect, then 100% of Biblical laws must be followed!
Many Christians fervently believe:
Marriage by God’s design is the union of one man and one woman (Genesis 2:1).[5]
Mary Kassian states:
“Marriage was defined by God in the very beginning as a one man one wife joined together ….“[6]
Ms. Kassian should read her Bible more carefully because “in the beginning,” marriage was NOT between one man and one woman; it was between one man and as many women as a man chose to have.
Abraham was married to Sarah, but he also married Hagar, who bore him a son named Ishmael. Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, had two wives, Leah and Rachel. Furthermore, King David had seven wives,[7] and his son, King Solomon, had 700 wives![8] Polygamy not only existed in biblical Judaism for centuries but also was sanctioned by the religion. The Bible contains documentation of this fact. Deuteronomy 21:15 begins: “If a man have two wives…”
From these Biblical examples, we discover the argument that God intended marriage between one man and one woman to be flawed. At some point, society deemed it better if marriage became monogamous. This was not God’s decision but man’s.
Ashkenazi Jews gave up polygamy in Europe, in the eleventh century. However, Arab Jews continued the practice right up until the twentieth century. The state of Israel banned polygamy, but made an exception for Jewish immigrants from Arab areas such as Yemen.[9]
If God truly wanted marriage to be between one man and one woman, he would have cursed Abraham and Jacob for being lustful, oversexed men who disobeyed His laws and would NOT have promoted them to become the patriarchs of the Jewish people. Furthermore, God tells Abram (Abraham):
And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”[10]
Since it is believed that God “plans” and “knows” everyone’s future, God would have known that Abraham would have two wives. Therefore, since He chose to bless Abraham instead of curse him, God must have approved of Abraham’s multiple wives, which entirely contradicts Ms. Kassian’s definition of marriage.
Let us examine some Biblical laws many people ignore in the 21st century. If fundamentalist Christians followed all of God’s commands, it would cause significant changes in 5 areas. The first one is food. Suddenly, food choices would be restricted. Christians could no longer enjoy eating cheeseburgers at McDonald’s, Red Robin, or any other hamburger restaurant. God specifically stated in Exodus 23:19:
… Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.[11]
This divine statement set the precedence for not eating dairy products and meat at the same meal. This means that God disapproves of cheeseburgers! Next, choices at Red Lobster, Legal Seafood, and other seafood restaurants would become more limited since Christians wanting to follow the instructions in the Bible would no longer be allowed to eat shell-fish and no longer would enjoy eating shrimp, lobsters, crabs, and clams.
These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat: And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.[12]
Finally, Christians could no longer eat barbequed ribs or pulled pork sandwiches because God forbid the eating of swine (pigs).
And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass.[13]
The last few words of that law would have a detrimental effect on the economy of the United States. Since footballs are made of “pig skin,” no one would be allowed to touch the football! Therefore, the NFL would be forced to go out of business. Billions of dollars would be lost from the sales of tickets, concession stands, and football memorabilia. Following all the Biblical laws would impose all kinds of difficulties upon American society.
Now, I fully understand that fundamentalist Christians would be very upset with this food restriction and claim that Paul and Cornelius eradicated these Old Testament restrictions in the New Testament. Both Paul and Cornelius had an identical vision where God permitted them to eat any animal, including swine and shellfish.[14]
Géza Vermes was a British scholar of Jewish-Hungarian origin who
“…has been described as the greatest Jesus scholar of his time.”[15]
Vermes describes the stories of Paul and Cornelius in Acts 10-11 as:
“… exceptional, theological, and possibly fictional.” … “The whole miracle-filled story smacks of legend.” [16]
I find these Bible stories very convenient, for I have never heard of two people having the same vision. Before 9/11, many people had dreams and visions that the Twin Towers would be attacked. However, their visions varied. The message was the same, but the imagery differed. It is highly unusual for two people to see the exact images in their visions.
Regardless of my opinion, Paul and Cornelius succeeded in changing or bypassing God’s biblical commandment not to eat certain animals, establishing the first precedence of changing or bypassing biblical commandments.
It should be pointed out that the Orthodox branch of Judaism follows these rules that God put forth. These Jews only eat food that is considered “kosher” (this eliminates pork, shellfish, and mixing dairy with meat). Therefore, a large number of people are still obeying these Biblical rules –– but not fundamentalist Christians.
Women’s rights are the second topic where Christians have changed their opinion and have ignored biblical commandments; the First Epistle of Paul to Timothy, Chapter 2, verse 12, clearly states:
But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.[17]
If fundamentalist Christians insist on discriminating against gay people, then be consistent and obey this New Testament edict and reinstate discrimination against women. However, removing all female teachers would send our society into total chaos since the majority of teachers in the United States are female. We would suddenly have an acute shortage of teachers if we obeyed Saint Paul’s directive. Furthermore, we would also have a shortage of police personnel since women on the police force would no longer be allowed to arrest a man.
Millions of people would be disappointed because they could no longer enjoy their favorite TV shows. For example, people would no longer be able to watch Judge Judith Sheindlin on Judge Judy or Judge Marilyn Milian on The People’s Court. Since women would be forbidden to have authority over men, female judges would no longer be allowed.
To my recollection, I do not remember Christians marching in the street carrying placards stating that women should stay at home and leave their teaching and law-enforcement careers. Perhaps this did happen in the early 20th century when women first began fighting for their equal rights, but it has not happened in the last two decades. Yet, Christians often take to the streets protesting gay rights and fighting to prevent gays from having the right to marry each other.
The third area that would have to change if we obeyed all the biblical commands is the fashion industry. If all Bible commandments were obeyed, many fabrics would have to be eliminated. No longer would hybrid fabrics be allowed. Permanent-press clothing would disappear because it is made of a mixture of cotton and polyester. The Bible clearly states:
You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together.[18]
When you weave cloth for clothing, you can use thread made of flax or wool, but not both together.[19]
The fourth area that would have to change if we obeyed biblical commands concerns disciplining children. In the Ten Commandments, God demands that children respect their parents.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.[20]
We can surmise from this commandment that children must obey their parents’ instructions and wishes. Furthermore, the Bible demands severe consequences for disobedient children.
“If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them, then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his home town. And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear of it and fear.”[21]
Obviously, this law has become obsolete, and no one is obeying it. Today, we are living in a society where a large percentage of children have no respect for their parents. Children are openly defying their parent’s instructions and even threaten physical violence towards their parents. No one is bringing these incorrigible children to the city fathers to be executed.
Obeying biblical commands would also affect a fifth topic –– sanitation. This biblical law would be the most difficult for us to obey. The Bible clearly dictates how people are to deal with bodily waste.
You shall also have a place outside the camp and go out there, and you shall have a spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn to cover up your excrement.[22]
God commanded us to go out into our backyards to poop and then take a shovel and cover it with dirt. It is an ancient pooper-scooper law! Good Christians who strive to keep God’s perfect commandments, just as He gave them, must abandon using their toilets and use a shovel instead!
Most people would argue that this is ridiculous –– indoor plumbing is much more sanitary and promotes public health. We have developed better technology, making shoveling excrement obsolete. And I agree! However, it seems humanity has created a “better method” of dealing with human waste than God had stated. Therefore, this is an example where common sense will tell us that some Biblical laws need updating or should be ignored.
Now, let us examine the reason why the following two verses are in the Bible.
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.[23]
The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.[24]
While it is true that fundamentalist Christians believe that God dictated the Bible word for word and is the exact word of God, they often forget that the original language of the Old Testament was Hebrew, NOT English. The Hebrew words of the Old Testament had to flow through the filters and beliefs of the human translators who decided on which English words to use in the Bible’s text.
In this verse, Leviticus 20:13, we need to examine how the word abomination was translated from the original Hebrew woֵrd תּוֹעֵבָה/ tôʿēḇâ.[25] The word abomination first appeared in the text of the Latin Vulgate Bible, when Saint Jerome deliberately mistranslated תּוֹעֵבָה/toevah as abomination and inserted it into the Bible’s text.
… the notion of abominatio[n] owes its force to its appearance in Jerome’s Vulgate translation of the Bible, where it corresponds to Greek [bdélugma] bdelygma and Hebrew [תּוֹעֵבָהֵ] toebah. The latter term denotes behavior that violates the covenant between God and Israel and is applied to Canaanite trade practices, idolatry, and polytheism.[26]
Many biblical scholars agree that abomination was a poor choice to translate the Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה/toebah and claim that idolatry would be a more accurate choice of words. Norman H. Snaith, in his commentary on Leviticus 18:22, states that:
“usually the word [תּוֹעֵבָה] to’ebah has to do with idolatrous actions, actions committed within the cult of other gods…. Thus homosexuality here is condemned on account of its association with idolatry.”[27]
David Day agrees also with this idea in his book entitled: Things They Never Told You in Sunday School: A Primer for the Christian Homosexual.
The Hebrew word [תּוֹעֵבָה] toevah specifically refers to idols.[28]
The ancient Hebrews were very xenophobic; they did not want to interact with their Canaanite neighbors, whose language and customs were almost identical to their own. The religious practice of communicating with God was also similar. There was one exception –– the names of the Hebrews’ God and the Canaanites’ gods differed. Furthermore, the Hebrews believed only one God existed, while their Canaanite neighbors believed in many gods. Therefore, to keep their religion pure, the Hebrews inserted as many laws into the Bible that would isolate them from the Canaanites and distinguish themselves as separate from their neighbor’s religious practices. Therefore, the Hebrew priests inserted many laws into the Bible.
Some readers might be shocked at this statement because many people still believe the Bible is the exact word of God. People who believe this do not understand how the Bible was written. The Bible (even the first five books of Moses) was not written in the time of Moses. The Rev. Harold B. Hunting, in his book, The Story of Our Bible, agrees that the priests, a class of elite rulers, invented many of the laws written in the Bible. It was not God who commanded people to obey these laws.
The earliest Bible of the Hebrews, that is, the earliest writings which were regarded as divinely inspired and sacred, were written laws and legal decisions of the priests. Half-civilized nations always put their laws under the direct sanction of the Gods, in order that evil-doers may be restrained by fear of supernatural vengeance. When the revised book of Deuteronomy was adopted by King Josiah and his people, in 622 B. C., it was regarded with special reverence on account of the wonderful impressiveness with which the laws were therein explained and enjoined upon the nation. In the course of the next two centuries, Deuteronomy was combined with earlier laws and also with an elaborate system of later priestly regulations.[29]
Richard Elliott Friedman provides evidence that priests wrote laws into the Bible. In his book, Who Wrote the Bible? we discover the priests wrote the entire book of Leviticus, except for Leviticus 23:39-43 and 26:39-45.[30]
Keeping Canaanite religious practices out of Judaism was the reason the following verses were inserted into the Bible!
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.[31]
The Hebrews were not to tattoo themselves nor take knives and cut their flesh and bleed into a grave because these were religious rites of the Canaanite religion.
The act of cutting flesh as a mourning practice was prevalent in several Ancient Near-East cultures. Examination of ancient Canaanite mourning rituals reveals one possible source for the practice.[32]
I find it interesting that fundamentalist Christians will march outside an abortion clinic to intimidate women who are seeking an abortion, yet they do not march outside tattoo parlors! According to biblical law, people who choose to get tattooed are breaking God’s law.
Furthermore, the ban on eating dairy with meat was also a practice of the Canaanite religion.
It now is known, however, that boiling a kid in milk to appease certain deities was a common Canaanite ritual.[33]
All of these abominations, religious rites of the Canaanite religion, were considered idolatrous by Hebrews, yet fundamentalist Christians have entirely ignored them. However, this final Canaanite religious practice, which the Bible mislabels as “an abomination,” has for centuries received constant attention from Christians. The Canaanites practiced sacred homosexual sex during the worship of their goddess, Asherah.
“In the temples of the Canaanites there were male and female prostitutes (‘sacred’ men and women) and all sorts of sexual excesses were practiced. It was believed that in some way these rites caused the crops and the herds to prosper.”[34]
The Bible provides evidence that sacred homosexual prostitution was part of the Canaanite’s religious worship. 2 Kings 23:7 reads:
And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.[35]
Some Bible translators use other words and phrases instead of sodomites when they translate this verse. The list would include: houses of the womanish-made men, [36] cells of the male whores, [37] the buggery places,[38] cells of the male stewes,[39] houses of the effeminates,[40] houses of the male prostitutes,[41] houses of the devotees of the fertility cult,[42] houses of the sacred males,[43] houses of the homosexuals,[44] shrines for the consecrated workers.[45]
Furthermore, the “effeminate males” usually wore women’s clothes during the Canaanite ceremony. The Bible condemns homosexuality and cross-dressing because it was practiced as a ritual in the Canaanite religion to bring abundance to the crops. The Bible did not condemn a loving relationship between two men or two women. Reading between the lines carefully, one can see that Jonathan and David had a loving (gay) relationship. These are David’s words:
I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.[46]
David was to become the ruling king of Israel. He is famous for writing the book of Psalms in the Bible. If homosexuality were such a horrific affront to God and the heinous abomination as Christians claim it to be, then God would have punished David for his relationship with Jonathan. God had no problem with it.
For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.[47]
It becomes completely baffling to me why Christians will protest against homosexuals and claim gay marriage will be the “beginning of the end of Western Civilization,” then go to their favorite burger joint and order a bacon cheeseburger, wearing their permanent-press clothing, and perhaps sporting a new tattoo.
The days of the Christian Bible Menu are coming to an end. No longer will Christians be allowed to decry homosexuality because it is called an abomination in the Bible, while they ignore so many other “abominations.” One in particular is never discussed.
And the man that committed adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.[48]
I cannot remember when Christians took to the streets to protest the millions of sinful heterosexual adulterers. The verse which condemns adultery is three verses before the verse discussing homosexuality.
On April 29, 2015, David Edwards reported:
Republican U.S. House Representative Bill Flores of Texas argued this week that violence in Baltimore could be linked to the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States.[49]
No logical reasoning can support that statement and would not support the following statement I invented.
Since God commanded that no one should touch the dead carcass of a pig,[50] and footballs are made of pigskin. Therefore, the Devil created the game of football, and the NFL players are inspiring the violence in Baltimore!
For some unknown reason, homosexuality threatens heterosexual people. For centuries, numerous illogical myths, such as the one presented by Representative Bill Flores, have been spun to create fear, discrimination, and persecution of gay people. It appears the doors are closing on all these superstitious, erroneous beliefs, but until that door is finally shut, the creators of these malicious myths are shouting louder than ever.
Gay people want the same legal rights that have been granted to the institution of marriage. If two men or two women marry each other, they are not detrimental to society. They are not causing a heterosexual man or woman to enter into an adulterous relationship. Instead, marriage will have a beneficial impact on gay couples as they live in a loving environment that all other couples enjoy.
Rev. Sidney Schwartz
Pastor of Gifts of the Spirit Church
[1] Starnes, Todd. “‘We Will Not Obey’: Christian Leaders Threaten Civil Disobedience If Supreme Court Legalizes Gay Marriage.” Fox News. FOX News Network, 28 Apr. 2015. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. <http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/ 2015/04/28/will-not-obey-christian-leaders-threaten-civil- disobed ience-if-supreme-court/>.
[2] Starnes, Todd. “‘We Will Not Obey’: Christian Leaders Threaten Civil Disobedience If Supreme Court Legalizes Gay Marriage.” Fox News. FOX News Network, 28 Apr. 2015. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. <http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/ 2015/04/28/will-not-obey-christian-leaders-threaten-civil- disobed ience-if-supreme-court/>.
[3] Leviticus 20:13.
[4] Paisley, Ian R. K., Dr. “Seven Reasons Why I Believe The Bible Is The Word Of God by Dr. Ian R. K. Paisley. From the Book, Christian Foundations.” N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2015
[5] “Bible Verses About Marriage: 20 Great Scripture Quotes.” What Christians Want To Know RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. <http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/bible-verses-about- marriage-20-great-scripture-quotes/>.
[6] “Why Is Marriage Defined as Only Between a Man and Woman?” Christianity.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. <http://www.christianity.com/theology/why-must-marriage-be-defined-as- being-only-between-a-man-and-woman.html>.
[7] 1 Chronicles 3.
[8] 1 Kings 11:3.
[9] “At What Time Did the Jews Give up Polygamy?” Answers. Answers Corporation, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2015. <http://www.answers.com/Q/At_what_time_did_the_Jews_give_up_Polygamy>.
[10] Genesis 12: 2-3 [NASB].
[11] Exodus 23:19 [KJV].
[12] Deuteronomy 14:9-10 [KJV].
[13] Deuteronomy 14:8 [KJV].
[14] Acts 10 & 11.
[15] Wikipedia. “Géza Vermes.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9za_Vermes. Nov. 25, 2013.
[16] Vermès, Géza. Christian Beginnings: from Nazareth to Nicaea. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press, 2012. p. 67.
[17] 1 Timothy 2:12 [KJV].
[18] Leviticus 19:19 [NASB].
[19] Deuteronomy 22:11 [CEV].
[20] Exodus 20: 12 [KJV].
[21] Deuteronomy 21:18-21 [NASB].
[22] Deuteronomy 23: 12-13 [NASB].
[23] Leviticus 20:13 [KJV].
[24] Deuteronomy 22:5 [KJV].
[25] “Blue Letter Bible :: Law of Moses – Leviticus Chapter 20 – King James Version.” Blue Letter Bible. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2015. <http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Lev&c=20&t=KJV#s=t_conc_110013>.
[26] Dynes, Wayne R., ed. “Abomination.” Encyclopedia of Homosexuality. Vol. 1. NY: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1990. p. 4.
[27] Snaith, Norman H. Leviticus and Numbers. London: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1967. p. 126. Quoted by Horner, Tom. Jonathan Loved David: Homosexuality in Biblical Times. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1978. p. 73.
[28] Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, (Iowa Falls, Iowa: Riverside Book and Bible House), ref. 8441. Quoted by Day, David. Things They Never Told You in Sunday School: A Primer for the Christian Homosexual. Austin, TX: Liberty Press Inc., 1987. p. 79.
[29] Hunting, Harold B., Rev. The Story of Our Bible. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1915. p. 219.
[30] Friedman, Richard Elliot. Who Wrote the Bible? NY: Summit Books, 1987. p. 191-238.
[31] Leviticus 19:28 [KJV].
[32] Jacobson, Anthony. “The Pagan Ritual of Cutting or Tattooing at a Funeral.” People: Opposingviews.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2015. <http://people.opposingviews.com/pagan- ritual-cutting-tattooing-funeral-8495.html>.
[33] Gordon, Cyrus H. “Review: The Ras Shamra Discoveries and the Old Testament.” Jewish Social Studies 27.2 (1965): 112. Apologeticspress.org. Web. <http://www.apologeticspress.org/rr/ reprints/ras-shamra.pdf>.
[34] Gordon, Cyrus H. “Review: The Ras Shamra Discoveries and the Old Testament.” Jewish Social Studies 27.2 (1965): 112. Apologeticspress.org. Web. <http://www.apologeticspress.org/rr/ reprints/ras-shamra.pdf>.
[35] 2 Kings 23:7 [KJV].
[36] 2 Kings 23:7 [EWYC].
[37] 2 Kings 23:7 [TYND].
[38] 2 Kings 23:7 [TAV].
[39] 2 Kings 23:7 [GRT].
[40] 2 Kings 23:7 [DOU].
[41] 2 Kings 23:7 [BEN].
[42] 2 Kings 23:7 [SMGO].
[43] 2 Kings 23:7 [ANCR].
[44] 2 Kings 23:7 [UB].
[45] 2 Kings 23:7 [CEB].
[46] 2 Samuel 1:26 [KJV].
[47] 1Kings 11:4 [KJV].s
[48] Leviticus 20:10 [KJV].
[49] Edwards, David. “Texas GOP Lawmaker: ‘What Is Going on in Baltimore’ Is Because of Too Many Gay Marriages.” Raw Story. N.p., 29 Apr. 2015. Web. 01 May 2015. <http://www.rawstory.com/2015/04/texas-gop-lawmaker-what-is-going-on-in-baltimore-is-because-of-too-many-gay- marriages/>.
[50] Deuteronomy 14:08.
