Legalistic Mudwrestling

In reflecting upon my denomination's (PCUSA) struggle over Amendment B, a.k.a., "fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness" issue, in which we seem to find ourselves acting more like the Sadducees and Pharisees of our forbears, missing the Spirit totally in which it was written, I received this YNet news report from my friend John, in which being a lesbian is, under Jewish law, O.K.!

Consider the following: "First, as far as I know there is no problem with lesbian women in the Halacha. So we are left with a problem about the males. Here I expect the rabbis to resolve this issue once and for all, and preferably not in the Iranian way. I’m not talking about lifting prohibitions, but rather, about social acceptance."

Asaf Wohl argues that there is such a thing as religious homosexuality:"This is because the same-sex model threatens the familiar family tradition. And from there it is a short distance to the demonic hatred many among the religious community hold towards the homo-lesbian public.
Even the argument that there is no such thing as a “religious homosexual” is baseless. If we have religious slanderers, religious thieves, and thank God, even religious murderers, why can’t we also have religious homosexuals, who don’t hurt anyone? After all, those who desecrate the Sabbath in public also deserve to be stoned, so why are you only angry at homosexuals?"


Click here for more serious fun, mudwrestling (after all, this theological argumentation is down and dirty work, but someone has to do it) and reflection as our Jewish brothers and sisters are struggling, like we are, to walk in the light of day, realizing that we are made, by our Almighty Creator, to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered people of God.

Peace,

Brett