A gospel song released several years ago by Angie and Debbi Winans entitled, It's not Natural, sent shock waves through the lesbian, gay community, and even the African American community. It met with strong denunciations from both the music industry and the African American community - and rightly so. But something in the minds of those two women gave them the impression that not only was the song and its content acceptable to do, but that it was socially, culturally, theologically appropriate and the "right" thing to do. Now why is that? Where did they get it from? Who told them it was okay to do that? We did. Every time we, same-and-both-gender loving people stood by in silence - which implies consent, it implies shame - we said it was okay. We gave them a green light every time preachers, teachers and politicians quoted and/or cheered others on who referenced one of the most quoted biblical text used to condemn homosexual and bisexual people - Romans 1:26b, 27: "Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error" - and we said nothing.
It wasn't okay then and it ain't okay now.
Today, theological studies calls for the "whole" person to be present when we encounter our faith systems. That is, we enter our faith from a personal, social, gender and geographical context in order to get the full measure of our individual influences and thought processes relating to our religious and spiritual inquiry and exploration. For example, I must enter the biblical text fully - as a (former skinny), little, ugly, nappy-headed, black bulldagger. I can't enter the discussion as an upper-middle class white man or woman. I can't enter the discussion as an African American heterosexual man or woman. Each of these persons carry within them separate and completely different social, cultural, religious and environmental conditioning that is theirs and theirs alone. The same is true for the writer of Romans - your friend and mine - brother Paul.
Paul, aka Saul, is no exception, and our understanding of Paul should be based on the same criteria. So, let's meet Paul shall we? He was Saul, a Jew and a Pharisee (a school of thought responsible for producing the normative tradition Judaism), observing the traditions above and beyond the Mosaic law (laws of Moses). Saul, a persecutor of Jesus, his disciples and followers, "still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters (warrants) to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem" (Acts 9:1-3). But wait..., before reaching Damascus, he's struck blind and thrown off his ass. While still on the ground, he hears a voice saying, "'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?'" Unable to see, Saul asked, "'Who are you, Lord?'" Jesus replied, "'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting...'" (vv. 4b, 5).
As the story goes, Saul - who officially becomes Paul at or around chapter 13 - is chosen by Jesus "to bring [Jesus' name] before the Gentiles and Kings and before the people of Israel (9:15). That is, to spread the gospel of Jesus to the Gentiles and to proclaim to them that "It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16). A charge that was expressly his by way of his conversion when Jesus knocked him off his ass onto the ground on the way to Damascus! Now, imagine all the baggage we take from one relationship to another. Imagine all the influences - right, wrong or indifferent, good, bad or ugly - of our past, our childhood, of friends, foes and family that impact who we are and how we engage and encounter relationships, people and situations today... While we may have the best intentions to do so, rarely are we able to shed all that we've acquired - willingly and unwillingly - from whence we came. Do you think Paul was any different? I think not.
It stands to reason, therefore, that although Paul had an amazing "come to Jesus" moment, he was still a Jew, from a particularly strict school of thought. The equivalent of say a Roman Catholic Priest to a southern Baptist. Oops, under the present circumstances, that may not have been a good example - but you get what I mean, right? Okay, and although he was a prolific writer and skilled orator, he was, nevertheless, a product of his early development. As such his understanding of what was "natural" and "unnatural" was based upon his teachings and understanding of the fundamental purpose and function/nature of men and women - to "be fruitful and multiply." In other words, the only time women and men were to engage in genital sex, was to procreate. Anything short of that was wasteful, sinful and they should be put to death! For women who are having sex and know they are unable to have children - burn 'em! Men doing the same thing and who may be sterile - bust his head open to the white meat! And all this birth control and condom use - I'm calling the President for the codes to our nuclear weapons for that!
So for all you folks out there who are just having sex because it feels good and bringing a child into the world is the last thing on your mind - shame, shame, shame on you! Stop it, stop it right now! I don't care if you call out God, Jesus, Peter, Paul and Mary, Joseph and all 12 Apostles! STOP IT! Whew! Umph.... I think I got a little excited just thinking about it. Perish the thought! Crossing myself, "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen."
Say 15 of those and call me in the morning - and don't leave out one detail about the part when you called out God and Jesus and all 12 Apostles.
© Dorinda G. Henry, 2010
It wasn't okay then and it ain't okay now.
Today, theological studies calls for the "whole" person to be present when we encounter our faith systems. That is, we enter our faith from a personal, social, gender and geographical context in order to get the full measure of our individual influences and thought processes relating to our religious and spiritual inquiry and exploration. For example, I must enter the biblical text fully - as a (former skinny), little, ugly, nappy-headed, black bulldagger. I can't enter the discussion as an upper-middle class white man or woman. I can't enter the discussion as an African American heterosexual man or woman. Each of these persons carry within them separate and completely different social, cultural, religious and environmental conditioning that is theirs and theirs alone. The same is true for the writer of Romans - your friend and mine - brother Paul.
Paul, aka Saul, is no exception, and our understanding of Paul should be based on the same criteria. So, let's meet Paul shall we? He was Saul, a Jew and a Pharisee (a school of thought responsible for producing the normative tradition Judaism), observing the traditions above and beyond the Mosaic law (laws of Moses). Saul, a persecutor of Jesus, his disciples and followers, "still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters (warrants) to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem" (Acts 9:1-3). But wait..., before reaching Damascus, he's struck blind and thrown off his ass. While still on the ground, he hears a voice saying, "'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?'" Unable to see, Saul asked, "'Who are you, Lord?'" Jesus replied, "'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting...'" (vv. 4b, 5).
As the story goes, Saul - who officially becomes Paul at or around chapter 13 - is chosen by Jesus "to bring [Jesus' name] before the Gentiles and Kings and before the people of Israel (9:15). That is, to spread the gospel of Jesus to the Gentiles and to proclaim to them that "It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16). A charge that was expressly his by way of his conversion when Jesus knocked him off his ass onto the ground on the way to Damascus! Now, imagine all the baggage we take from one relationship to another. Imagine all the influences - right, wrong or indifferent, good, bad or ugly - of our past, our childhood, of friends, foes and family that impact who we are and how we engage and encounter relationships, people and situations today... While we may have the best intentions to do so, rarely are we able to shed all that we've acquired - willingly and unwillingly - from whence we came. Do you think Paul was any different? I think not.
It stands to reason, therefore, that although Paul had an amazing "come to Jesus" moment, he was still a Jew, from a particularly strict school of thought. The equivalent of say a Roman Catholic Priest to a southern Baptist. Oops, under the present circumstances, that may not have been a good example - but you get what I mean, right? Okay, and although he was a prolific writer and skilled orator, he was, nevertheless, a product of his early development. As such his understanding of what was "natural" and "unnatural" was based upon his teachings and understanding of the fundamental purpose and function/nature of men and women - to "be fruitful and multiply." In other words, the only time women and men were to engage in genital sex, was to procreate. Anything short of that was wasteful, sinful and they should be put to death! For women who are having sex and know they are unable to have children - burn 'em! Men doing the same thing and who may be sterile - bust his head open to the white meat! And all this birth control and condom use - I'm calling the President for the codes to our nuclear weapons for that!
So for all you folks out there who are just having sex because it feels good and bringing a child into the world is the last thing on your mind - shame, shame, shame on you! Stop it, stop it right now! I don't care if you call out God, Jesus, Peter, Paul and Mary, Joseph and all 12 Apostles! STOP IT! Whew! Umph.... I think I got a little excited just thinking about it. Perish the thought! Crossing myself, "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen."
Say 15 of those and call me in the morning - and don't leave out one detail about the part when you called out God and Jesus and all 12 Apostles.
© Dorinda G. Henry, 2010
THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!
No comments:
Post a Comment