Newsgroups: bit.listserv.christia
Date:         Fri, 20 Nov 1992 09:11:09 MST
From:         Bruce Freeman <std_freemanb@HG.ULETH.CA>
Subject: Re: Gays in the military

I have written privately to Michael Kline suggesting to him that
from both a moral and biblical standpoint his argument in favour of
the exclusion of gays from the military is problematic.  As
he did not respond to my e-mail but yet continues his verbal
assault against homosexuals, I would like to comment on this issue
to the general list.

I recognize that many (if not most) christia subscribers would like
to move on to other subjects of discussion: they ask themselves
"what do gays in the military have to do with practical Christian
living?"  The listowners have requested in the past that discussion
on the subject of the homosexuality (as well as other highly
controversial topics such as abortion and predestination) be
curtailed.  I would suggest, however, that critical analysis of
these issues is extremely important, especially for the religiously
devout.  I will clarify this statement below, but would first like
to consider some of the claims Mr. Kline has made about
homosexuality.  I believe they can be summarized as:

     1.   Homosexual activity is sinful.
     2.   God hates sin.
     3.   God punishes sinners.
     4.   AIDS, therefore, is God's way at controlling sin.

There are a number of problems with the first claim.  Most
Christians distinguish between two types of rules found in the
Hebrew Bible; that is they consider there is a difference between
ceremonial and natural laws.   For example, few Christians I
know would obey this scripture:
     If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey
     his father and mother, who does not heed them when they
     discipline him, then his father and his mother shall take hold
     of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the gate
     of that place.  They shall say to the elders of his town,
     "this son of ours is stubborn and rebellious.  He will not
     obey us.  He is a glutton and a drunkard."  Then all the men
     of the town shall stone him to death.  So you shall purge the
     evil from your midst; and all Israel will hear, and be afraid.
     (Deut.21:18-21 NRSV).
Many scholars argue that the reference to homosexuality in the
Hebrew Bible is ceremonial law and, therefore, for Christians, is
not binding.

The references St. Paul made about homosexuality are similarly
problematic.  There are those who would argue that Paul's teachings
differed significantly from those of Jesus; while the latter spoke
of salvation, love, and understanding, Paul sought to regulate the
everyday lives of the early Christians.  Withstanding this,
scholars have indicated that there are translation problems with
the words Paul is alleged to have used pertaining to homosexuality
(_arsenokoitos_ and _malakos_  found in 1 Cor.6:9 and 1 Tim. 1:10).

The bottom line to all of this is that it remains highly
problematic as to whether or not God actually considers homosexual
behaviour to be sinful.  For Christians I believe this question
needs to be considered in light of Jesus's teachings: both from the
the standpoint of His morality and what He did or not say on
on matters of human sexuality.

In his argument on gays in the military, Mr. Kline suggests that
AIDS is a factor which must be considered.  He uses the notion of
AIDS as a "gay plague," invoked by an angry God to punish sinners.
This idea must be considered from a critical perspective.

We know that the disease targets not only homosexuals.  Most people
accept the idea that the virus is transmitted through bodily fluids
and these fluids can be exchanged in a number of ways.  Not all
modes of transmission involve sin: the "best" mode of transference
is from a pregnant woman to her fetus.  "Pro-life" Christians argue
that God wants unborn children to live:  surely such a god would
not purposely inflict such a disease on unborn children.

A second issue which should be addressed is what motivates people
to link sin and illness.  Susan Sontag, in her essay "AIDS and its
Metaphors," offers insight into Mr. Kline's agenda.  She argues
generally that people use illnesses to advance their own political
ideas (See her brilliant account of her personal struggle with
cancer: "Illness as Metaphor.")  In the specific case of AIDS in
the United States, Sontag suggests that political mandate is to
advance a return to a previous era, one in which civil religion
dominates:
     AIDS is a favourite concern of those who translate their
     political agenda into questions of group psychology:  of
     national self-esteem and self-confidence.  Although these
     specialists in ugly feelings insist that AIDS is a
     punishment for deviant sex, what moves them is not just,
     or even principally, homophobia.  Even more important is
     the utility of AIDS in pursuing one of the main
     activities of the so-called neo-conservatives, the
     Kuturkampf against all that is called, for short (and
     inaccurately), the 1960's. A whole politics of "the will"
     --- of intolerance, of paranoia, of fear of political
     weakness --- has fastened on this disease.

Mr. Kline's posts overflow with metaphor.   In his attempt to
construct gays as the quintessential "other", he defines them as
being morally corrupt to the extent that they are polluting to
"normal" people.  While Mr. Kline claims that his motivation is not
one of hatred, his discourse is characteristically xenophobic.  As
was pointed out in a previous post, if in his argument one was to
substitute "blacks" for "gays," it would without doubt be
considered racist.  Mr. Kline, unfortunately, is unable to
recognize the extent of his own bigotry.

I mentioned above that I feel that this topic is a relevant issue
for discussion by Christians.  This is because ideas such as those
advanced by Mr. Kline can be extremely dangerous.  Neo-nazis in
Germany are today adopting a similar rhetoric: a return to fascism
in Europe is no longer considered to be an impossibility.  There
are also supremacists in North America with a similar agenda.
Religious beliefs are a powerful device with which to bring about
such a change; but, fortunately, they are also a most effective
method with which to prevent it.   An important question is whether
the religious ideas Mr. Kline espouses are essentially "good" or
"evil".  Is the gay person Mr. Kline labels "other" really all that
different after all?



Bruce Freeman
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.christia