I'm what has come to be called a "progressive Christian," meaning my culture and tradition is thoroughly White Anglo-Saxon Protestant and my spirituality is much less clear. So many of my beliefs -- a majority, probably -- would be flat-out denied by any mainline or traditional Christian parishioner that I may appear to some to be hardly Christian at all. While I read the Bible for its spiritual guidance, beautiful prose, uplifting stories, and resonating symbolism, I don't always interpret it literally -- meaning I flat-out deny the veracity and divinity of such books as Leviticus, Deuteronomy, etc.
But, still considering myself to be a "Christian," I am fascinated by the hard-line interpretation favored by so many churches. So I went and talked with a very good friend of mine who has been an ordained pastor for a few decades. I asked him very specifically about Leviticus 18:22, which reads thusly:
"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." (King James Version)
"Yep, that's the verse," he began, "that is always mistranslated and taken out of context. On the face of it, yes, it appears to be a flat-out condemnation of homosexuality, a clear-cut 'thou shalt not.' But the most important part of this verse is where it says 'as with womankind.' That's the important part."
I asked him to explain further.
"The issue here isn't homosexuality --- it's sex positions. The woman would traditionally take the submissive position, right? On the bottom. Without getting into too much detail. So for a man to take that position -- to be submissive -- would be an abomination because it would be self-deprecating and demeaning, because men were superior to women. Homosexual relations between men were perfectly acceptable as long as neither took a submissive position."
And there you have it...from the mouth of an ordained Christian pastor.
Interesting, no?
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