How the mighty have fallen

Last updated on: November 4, 2016 at 7:26 am by Gerald McDermott

How the mighty have fallen 2016-11-04T07:26:56-04:00 Gerald McDermott

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Nicholas Wolterstorff has been a noble warrior in the field of philosophy of religion. He has worked with Alvin Plantinga to lead the Society of Christian Philosophers, arguing philosophically that one can be an orthodox believer and do rigorous philosophy at the same time.

Alas, we can no longer say that. On October 13 he spoke publicly for the first time on homosexuality, advancing embarrassingly-weak arguments for the politically-correct position on marriage and sexuality.

For example, he dismissed Genesis 19 as being simply about gang rape, and the prohibitions in Leviticus 18 and 20 as merely some among many other sins that ought not be “cherry-picked.”

But ancient Jews saw Genesis 19 as a description of homosexuality and condemned it. Jubilees 16.5-6 and the 12 Patriarchs, both written in the 2nd century before Christ, when Jews were alarmed by Hellenistic acceptance of homoeroticism, denounced same-sex activity and this passage as an instance of it. The New Testament author Jude’s clear reference (7) to the same suggests that New Testament authors understood Sodom’s sin in this way.

Wolterstorff also dismissed the prohibitions of same-sex activity in Leviticus 18.22 and 20.13 because they are found alongside other prohibitions of other sins and so should not be “cherry-picked.” It would be “unfair to universalize that condemnation while ignoring everything else that’s forbidden.”

What else is forbidden in these two chapters of Leviticus? Child sacrifice, bestiality, adultery, incest, idolatry, theft, deceit, slander, revenge, sorcery, cursing parents, and dishonest business practices. Do we really ignore these others? Does the New Testament? The answer is no.

Besides, in the long list of prohibited practices in these chapters, only one is singled out as tô`ēbâ or “abominable”: same-sex intercourse. The ritually “impure” practices in Leviticus (childbirth, seminal emissions, heterosexual intercourse, and menstruation)–which Wolterstorff suggests we ignore–are not punished but purified by bathing and sacrifice.

Wolterstorff makes similarly weak arguments for a liberal reading of Romans 1. He claims its clear prohibition of “men consumed with passion for one another” and committing “shameless acts with men” could not possibly describe the “loving covenantal relationships” he has seen among gay couples.

But Paul in Romans 1 is concerned not with the conditions of those men and their relationships but with the acts themselves. He uses a phrase familiar in Hellenistic Judaism to denounce homosexual acts, saying they are para phusin [against nature]–a disruption of the created order. There is no hint of what else might be going on in their lives, such as the quality of their relationships with one another. Paul focuses instead on the acts and declares them to be unnatural in themselves.

It is disappointing to see the otherwise-rigorous Wolterstorff use such sloppy reasoning in support of what is now de rigeur in the academy. But it is not shocking. Intellectuals have proven time and again to be more susceptible than the hoi polloi to the fear that one is out of step.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

November 3, 2016

Seminarians willing to die

Next Post

November 12, 2016 What is liturgy?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month March 2023 November 2022 October 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 November 2021 October 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 July 2020 June 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 August 2019 July 2019 May 2019 April 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz