Sunday, June 6, 2010

The Old Testament as Prelude to Romans and 1 Corinthians

If we read the whole Old Testament, with an eye to texts which speak about same sex sexual relationships, we find very little material. The story of Sodom (if we might allow that this story, multiple themed as it is, at the least touches on same sex relationships, albeit in respect of threatening, inhospitable, rapaciousness); the proscription in Leviticus 18:22; a reference or two elsewhere to male prostitutes; and (if we may mention this without engendering lots of controverted comments) the enigmatic story of David and Jonathan. I estimate that less than 1% of all verses in the Old Testament relate, even tangentially, to same sex sexual relationships.

This is not unexpected! If Leviticus 18:22 represents a very dim view in Israel of same sex sexual intercourse; and if, generally, Israel steered clear of many sexual practices endemic in other cultures, we should not be surprised that the writers, and then compilers of the Old Testament felt no great compunction to put together material about same sex sexual relationships.

So, with just a few weeks to go to the next Hermeneutical Hui, our next look at biblical material will be the New Testament. Intriguingly, there also, we find very little material devoted to the subject.

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