Love and religious trappings

Michael Wood explores Romans, chapters 1-3, the passages around the only reliable mention of homosexual acts by Saint Paul (other passages have translation issues). I didn't realize this chunk of text contains an apparent contradiction. Paul appears to say both that we are justified before God by what we do and that we cannot be justified before God by what we do.

So Wood consulted translation specialists and went digging. What he found is that the commandments of the Old Testament are of two types. One type is an expansion of Leviticus 19:18 -- "Love your neighbor as yourself." These are commandments on ethical issues about how one person is to treat another.

The other type of commandment deals with the rituals of worship, religious ceremony, circumcision, diet, cleanliness, and what it means to be holy. Put it another way, these are all the things that make a person a Jew.

What Paul is saying is: If you love your neighbor you are doing what God wants.

If you do all the other religious trappings except love your neighbor you are not doing what God wants.

Liberal Christians have a tendency to dismiss Paul's writings. The contradiction above -- and Paul's one comment about homosexual acts -- are some of the reasons for that dismissal. But conservatives don't. And a liberal dismissal of Paul only makes conservatives dig in their heels. But with this understanding Liberals can embrace Paul.

All issues, including sexual issues and including homosexuality, can be discussed in view of whether the action shows love or doesn't. If it shows love, it is good. If it works against love, it is bad. If neither (such as dietary laws) it has no moral component. Homosexual love is good. Homosexual rape is bad. Homosexuality by itself has no moral component.

Wood is convinced this new historical understanding will lead to conservative acceptance of gays. I'm not at all convinced. Yes, it will help.

Alas, a great deal of the conservative view, though originating in the Bible, is now intertwined with other things:

* Fear of gay people.
* A strong need to assert superiority (heterosexual superiority is only one part of this).
* A strong need to claim their worldview cannot change.
* They've built a religion on the inclusion of a strong denunciation of gays revising this piece brings the whole thing into question.
* Their pronunciations give them power which they won't let go of easily.

So, I don't think this will change their minds. It is too easy to brand Wood as misguided or a heretic.