Universität Wien
Institut für Anglistik & Amerikanistik
VK Introduction to Cultural & Regional Studies

What does the bible say about homosexuality

Olivia Frey

References to the Bible in the Laramie Project

Moisés Kaufman’s play “The Laramie Project” deals with the reactions to the murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie (Wyoming) in 1998, committed by Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney, who are currently serving life sentences in prison. The case is often considered a hate crime motivated by homophobia because of Matthew’s sexual orientation. The play is based on over 200 interviews with inhabitants of the town conducted by the theater company, company members’ journal entries, and news reports.
Basically there are two groups of people: the ones who condemn the murder and emphasize that ‘hate is not a Laramie value’ and the others who are convinced that Matthew’s ‘homosexual lifestyle’ was not acceptable or that he even deserved to be killed because he was gay. Some of the opponents of homosexuality are representatives of the Christian church and refer to the Bible when being asked why they think that homosexuality is not normal, i.e. intended by God, and cannot be justified.
For example, the Baptist minister always emphasizes that he is “a Biblicist […]. The Bible doesn’t need [him] to be true. The bible is true whether [he] believe[s] it or not. The word is either sufficient or it is not” (p. 25). His wife also argues that he “has very biblical views about homosexuality […] he doesn’t condone that kind of lifestyle” (p. 27). Once the Baptist minister even says: “I hope that Matthew Shepard as he was tied to that fence, that he had time to reflect on a moment when someone had spoken the word of the Lord to him – and that before he slipped into a coma he had a chance to reflect on his lifestyle” (p. 69).
Moreover, Doug Laws, leader of the Mormon Church in Laramie, states that “God has set boundaries. And […] our responsibility is to learn. […] So you study Scripture, you look to your leaders. Then you know what the bounds are. […], then you sorta get a feel for what’s out-ofbounds. […] A family is defined as one woman and one man and children. That’s a family. […] There is no sexual deviation in the Mormon Church” (p. 25).
A very important figure in this context is the Reverend Fred Phelps, a Baptist minister from Kansas, known for preaching that God hates and punishes homosexuals: “Do you believe you’re supposed to separate the precious from the vile? You don’t believe that part of the Bible? […] the Bible – two times for every verse it talks about God’s love it talks about God’s hate” (pp. 77-78). “That perfect attribute of God. […] we’re going to preach it. Because God’s hatred is pure. It’s a determination […] that he’s gonna send some people to hell. […]. Is homosexuality – is being a fag okay? […] If God doesn’t hate fags, why does he put ‘em in hell?” (p. 79).
However, in the play, all these people do not quote or refer to any particular verses of the Scriptures which explicitly prohibit homosexuality. Phelps once cites Isaiah 58:1: “Cry aloud. Spare not. Lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgressions” (p. 80), but this passage does not directly say that homosexuality is such a ‘transgression’. Nevertheless, for those people the Bible states that heterosexuality is the original, natural and only possible sexual orientation. Of course, there are passages in the Scriptures which could be interpreted as a condemnation of homosexuality, but they have to be studied profoundly before being used as evidence against homosexuality.

References to homosexuality in the Bible

The term ‘homosexual’ is a relatively modern term that first appeared in print in an 1869 pamphlet written by the Austrian-born novelist Karl-Maria Kertbeny. The word ‘homosexual’ (a combination of the Greek prefix ‘homo-‘ = ‘the same’, and the Latin root ‘sex-‘ = ‘sex, gender’) means ‘of the same sex”, either used as an adjective describing sexual relationships between people of the same sex, or as a noun for referring to a person who has such a relationship. The term ’homosexuality’ describes “a sexual orientation characterised by lasting aesthetic attraction, romantic love, or sexual desire exclusively for others of the same sex or gender” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality [9/6/2006]).

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