Homosocial or Homosexual

THE CONFLICT OVER HOMOSEXUALITY
In the Western world, with some of it's values rooted in Christian tradition, there rages a fight in the souls' of some believers which forces them into a dilemma of choosing between preferring homosexuality or homosociality.

THE BACKGROUND TO THE CONFLICT
The orthodox Christian is raised to be vehemently opposed to acceptance of homosexual and transgendered behaviors. They are quick to raise a rallying cry against them by calling upon their Scriptural tradition and the passages from their Torah, as well as the writings of Paul in the New Testament.

Sodom and Gomorrah is found in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 19. In this story, for those who are unfamiliar, two angels sent from God visit Sodom as the day was ending and were taken in to the house and hospitality of Lot. The town's men come to the house demanding the angelic guests to have sex with them. Lot refuses, offers his virgin daughters to placate the crowd (to no avail), whereafter the angels blinded the mass of lustful men and instructed Lot to take his wife, daughters, and sons-in-law and flee the land before it was destroyed by a rain of fire.

Other verses used in the Scriptural discrimination against the homosexual and transgender community are (and sometimes a refreshing understanding of them):
*Gen 38:9-10 -Onan would pullout during sex, spill his seed, and keep his deceased brother's wife from becoming pregnant. (While this is often pointed to as an example of sex being moral only for procreative purposes- we as a society and most Christians no longer accept this interpretation. Onan violated the ways of his people and his responsibility to bring forth children in his brother's name. He was stealing transcendence through time from both his brother and sister-in-law by spilling his seed)
*Deuteronomy 22:5 -women shouldn't wear men's clothing; men shouldn't wear women's clothing because the Lord hates that. (No reason is given here other than it is repulsive to the Lord. As a society we have little problem with female police officers, firewomen, soldiers, bull dykes and tomboys. Why is it we still cringe at the idea of men dressed in feminine garb? We'll come back to that.)
*Leviticus 18:22&29 -do not have sexual relations with a man as you would with a woman, that's detestable, and if you do you are to be cut off from your people. (it's interesting to note that there is either no concept or no concern for lesbianism. Why is it these men were hyperfocused on male homosexuality?)
*Leviticus 20:13 -if two men do sleep together, it's an abomination and they are worthy of death; the guilt and blood is on the offenders' own heads.
*Romans 1:26-27 -in turning from God by worshiping the created rather than the Creator, men and women were allowed to commit homosexual acts. (here homosexuality isn't the primal sin, but rather (seemingly) the effect of idolatry.)
*1 Corinthians 6:9 -the effeminate (often translated, or implied as meaning, the homosexual male) will not enter into heaven. (Why is it that effeminate men are so repulsive? This seems to tie in with the verse regarding transvestism.)
*1 Timothy 1:10 -the law exists not for the righteous but the wicked, like the homosexual (this implication is clear.)
*Jude 7 -Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their homosexuality and perversion. (Here we see a complete retelling and unorthodox understanding of the moral massage of the Sodom and Gomorrah story.)

ONE SOLUTION TO THE CONFLICT
   These verses ought to be reading within their Scriptural context. The first commandment of Biblical Scriptures, in Genesis, is actually to be fruitful and to multiply. It's interesting to note while hermaphroditism seems to stretch back to the dawn of time, the Bible has God creating man and woman only, and commanding them to be fruitful and to multiply. Within this context it justifiable to view the following scriptures to the creation as a means to command and exemplify how to create a family, peace within the family, and peace between families.
   The story of Sodom and Gomorrah should be seen as a parallel comparative story to the preceding chapter wherein the angels visit and are taken in by Abraham and are the recipients of good hospitality as opposed to the rapacious intents placed upon the travelers in Sodom.  Furthermore, in Ezekiel we read that the true sin of Sodom was (Ez 16:49-50)  “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant,overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen."

*TWO IMPORTANT FACTS TO KNOW*
1. In ancient society homosexual sodomy was sometimes used as a means to augment the disgrace placed upon the conquered in battle.
2. Ancient society was patriarchal, male controlled.
 
  So we understand that the homosexual presented an attack to the status quo of ancient Jewish society. Marriage and procreation were the key virtues, the other morals existed to protect the formation and continuance of the family. Furthermore, the negative connotations of homosexuality stemmed within military behaviors that sometimes raped the defeated. Furthermore, there were two sins committed in the act of homosexuality. One man was willing to defile the 'image of man' by allowing the receptive partner to behave sexually in a way similar to the inferior human (the woman), while the other man was willing to lower himself to behaving sexually as a woman.
  If women were to dress and behave as men, this would defy patriarchy, perhaps in time women would want to engage in assertive behavior without even donning the dress of men. A man who dressed and behaved as a woman would be the modern equivalent of a SCAB, a strike breaker, a union breaker, putting his own desires before those of the group and the goals of the group.
  Furthermore, male cross dressing had ties to sacred prostitution in the goddess religions that the worshipers of Israel were at times at war with.  Sometimes the temples of the Goddess were themselves houses of refuge to the hermaphrodite and transvestite. So part of the detest of cross dressing was intrinsically wrapped up in a religious turf war.
Was this paradigm changed by Jesus?
  Jesus taught that the end times were too near for people to worry about marriage and procreation, the end times were to come any moment, to come in a twinkling of an eye. Furthermore, in Matthew 19 he confirms that some become eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. It may seem like a point in passing to the modern Scripture reader, but to the listeners of his time it would've been clear that "be fruitful and multiply" was no longer the command that reigned supreme above all others.
  Does that seem like spurious theology to you? It shouldn't. It's interesting to note that one of the first converts in the New Testament after the Gospels is the Ethiopian Eunuch. Whereas under the previous paradigm the Eunuch, one who has crushed testicles couldn't even make an offering to God (Lev 21:18-24), the new paradigm gives the Eunuch a place of primacy and to further the paradigm shift he is found (in Acts 8) to be reading Isaiah 53 where he learns of the suffering servant. But just a chapter later in Isaiah 54 blessings are given to the barren women and then more pointedly in Isaiah 56 the Eunuch is given special notice of his own salvation:

let no eunuch complain,

“I am only a dry tree.”

4 For this is what the Lord says:

“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,

who choose what pleases me

and hold fast to my covenant—

5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls

a memorial and a name

better than sons and daughters;

I will give them an everlasting name

that will endure forever.

6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord

to minister to him,

to love the name of the Lord,

and to be his servants,

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it

and who hold fast to my covenant—

7 these I will bring to my holy mountain

and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices

will be accepted on my altar;

for my house will be called

a house of prayer for all nations.” (New International Version).

    While a large segment of Judeo-Christian history has been spent attacking the homosexual and transgendered it is clear, at least in Christian predominant America that this behavior is unacceptable if the backing is claimed to come from scripture. What is truly happening is an upholding of patriarchal values, an unknown remembrance of military sodomy of the victors upon the defeated, misogynistic tendencies veiled through time, and shoddy theology.

A BETTER SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM

  Give up the strange fetishism we, as a supposed pluralistic society have for striving to create a society of cookie cutter like-minded people. E pluribus unum-"from many, one" was the de facto United States' motto until the Cold War scare of the 1950's brought about an official motto of "In God We Trust". 

  These days many American's seem to be stuck in a decision between being accepting of homosexuality or or striving for ideological homosociality. You can help this issue by sharing a link to this blog entry and educating others that their faith can be tolerant of homosexuality and transgendered people, and that they can be accepting of both homosexuality and still live in a society that is homosocial regarding their beliefs concerning the homosexual.