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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Hermeneutics As Sexual Identity

Douglas Wilson: Hermeneutics As Sexual Identity
... There is much here to make an honest man wince, but let me point to just two things. First, what on earth does it mean to "take the Bible seriously"? Does it mean that disobedience can be sanctified by a furrowed brow? Does it mean that the Bible is given the honorary seat as lead discussion partner at the never-ending seminar? And, having been given that honorary slot, does it preside over all the subsequent discussions in much the same spirit that Jeremy Bentham's stuffed remains attend University College London council meetings, "present, but not voting"? Taking the Bible seriously means that you get all of the feely gravitas, and none of the nuisance. Your faith can be very precious to you, and at the same time not get in the way of something else that is even more precious to you. We need not go into what that is. ...



Douglas Wilson: A Fixed Given
... The apostle Paul says that homosexual behavior is contrary to nature. The words seem plain enough, but what is nature? That is where we find ourselves wandering in a labyrinth. We wander because we are refusing to read nature in the light of Scripture.

If I may make the problem stark, what is the difference between a man shaving his head, or a woman dying her hair, or a teen-ager getting braces on her teeth, or a man getting a sex change operation? All four can be cast as examples of us "tinkering with" nature. Nature wants the hair to grow, he wants it shaved. Nature wants her hair to gray, she wants it not to. Nature wants her to be snaggletoothed, she wants a straight smile. And he wants his body to conform to his "inner woman." Why is this last one a travesty, and the others not? ...


4 comments:

Drew said...

The Bible doesn't say that it is a sin *because* it is against nature. The Bible just says it is a sin which also happens also to be against nature.

Ilíon said...

Wilson doesn't say that.

Drew said...

Yeah, he seems to be saying exactly what I just said -- except not as concisely.

Ilíon said...

You didn't actually read any more than the except, did you?