After a brief hiatus, I want to finish up the review of William Stacy Johnson’s book A Time To Embrace. Hopefully, I will finish the study this week and move on. There is no doubt that the author is driven by certain axioms that drive his interpretation of scripture. His purpose is clear on page 110. He writes, “The plain fact is that nowhere does scripture explicitly address the question of mutually commited same-gender unions.” That is like saying, “Nowhere does the Bible forbid me from taking LSD.” It is an argument from silence. What Dr. Johnson wants the reader to understand is that because the Bible does not specifically prohibit mutually committed same-gender unions, we should not prohibit them either. But what the author fails to recognize is that there are clear principles set forth in scripture that would indicate that even mutually committed same gender unions should be prohibited.
The author then attacks some so-called “Clobber” texts that are used to deny homosexuals a normative role in society. States that Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13Ā ”prohibit powerful men from taking sexual advantage of other men” (124). The author then argues that the passage actually promotes gay marriage on page 128. Then Dr. Johnson tries to highlight the “cultural” aspect of 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 where Paul denounces homosexuality. Here the author simply relegates theĀ word arsenokoitai and malakoiĀ to mean something akin to male cultic prostitution. The word that is translated in English “homosexual” is really a man who sexually violates other men in some sort of power trip. The author says, “It does not refer to all sexuality, but to a hedonistic, uncommitted kind of sexuality” (132). It is agreed that in some parts of Roman culture, men could sexually violate other men to fulfil sexual urges. This practise was done by some of the Roman emperors as a symbol of power. That men sometimes sexually violated other men (there were male prostitutes) is not disputed. What is disputed is that whether or not Paul had a particular kind of homoerotic violation in mind. Johnson thinks that Paul is prohibiting any sexual act that violatesĀ another. His argument is that sex in itself is not bad, only the uncontrolled exploitation of lower classes is (132). In the author’s mind, whatever Paul is describing in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, it is not exclusively committed same-gender love (133).
He goes on to argue that “Paul does not provide a specific word for contemporary gays/lesbians who do know God. Chief among the sexual practices Paul condemns are those in which people are wronged or exploited” (135). My question is, “How can he be so sure of this?” Paul uses a very generic term that is rightly translated “homosexual.” Johnson is arguing for a very specific type of abuse or exploitation, whereas the word that Paul uses is generic or a blanket term. Little is known about the word arsenokoitai but it seems that Paul may have coined the word himself. He basically put two words together, arsen= man or male and koitos= bed. If Paul wanted to be specific, he could have used more specific language. There is simply no mention of male prostitutes, sexual exploitation, or any other specific form of sexual agression. And if Dr. Johnson’s logic works correctly, then there is a problem. He states that Paul is speaking out against abusive same-gender relations, where a man sexually violates another man in a hedonistic way. The problem is that the author is using male prostitution as the example and male prostitutes willingly submit themselves to be sexually violated by other men. In other words, since a male prostitute willingly engages in homoerotic activity, he is not being forced into it against his will. Dr Johnson is suggesting that what Paul denounces is abusive, unwilling same gender sex. My point is that if Paul had in mind specifically this idea, he could have made it clear by using more specific terms. The key really is- how broadly or narrowly we should interpret these words that Paul uses. And we have to look at the whole of scripture, specifically the teachings of Jesus when it comes to human sexuality.