Viral Faith

The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things, for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. (Leviticus 18:26-28) We began looking at some very general scriptures regarding sexuality as found in the Hebrew Scriptures (also called the Old Testament) in part VI of this blog series and now we turn to some very specific verses.  As you recall, the moral standards of the community of Israel was spelled out in "the law", given to Moses by God.  That law is spelled out in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. The book of Leviticus spells out a variety of laws regarding worship and community living.  Within the community living section, it states the following: "'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." Leviticus 18:2...

" There are two ways, one of life and one of death, but a great difference between the two ways." from one of the earliest Christian discipleship guides called the Didache . The Didache was a document that was developed for Christian communities in the late first century, probably between 70 and 90AD.  It is remarkable because it focuses on Christian practice (often called praxis) over doctrine.  Yet it gives us specific insight of the ethos of these early Christian communities.  The initial statement of the Didache (see above) identifies the ethics of followers of Jesus to be that of contrast.  The ethical standards and concerns were to be uniquely different than that of the culture in which they find themselves placed. This was not a uniquely Christian heritage, but these early Christians were extending the Judaic understanding that the people of God were to be a "Holy" people.  That is, that God is calling a people to be distinct and devoted to hi...

“Disapproval of homosexuality cannot justify invading the houses, hearts and minds of citizens who choose to live their lives differently.” Harry A. Blackmun (American Supreme Court justice, 1908-1999) We began this blog series on Jesus and Spirituality by stating that although the issues recently in the media regarding Gay marriage are are legal, the underlying discussion is a discussion of morality.  We have also set the foundation for Christian ethics by stating the role of scripture, tradition, reason, experience, and culture in the shaping of ethics.  We looked at some particular scriptures that viewed sexuality in general, but have not looked at some of the more pointed scriptures in the Bible regarding homosexuality. We begin with the premise that in the Bible, revelation is progressive.  That means that information or priniciples revealed in the earlier parts of the Bible are continually focused and clarified in latter parts.  Jesus, who is the ulti...