Should a Competent Newspaper Publish Uninformed Prejudice?

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on 2 February 2012 4 Comments
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Question

Some time ago, I was faced with a friend of mine who is deeply homophobic (strange because we go to an arts college.)  The homophobia I was faced with was then made worse by her use of the Bible, particularly the use of Leviticus 18:22 to support her destructive and backward view.  How do you respond to Christian homophobia?

Answer

Dear James,

Homophobia is not rational.  The word itself means an irrational fear of homosexuality.  So you will find this prejudice any place, yes, even at an arts college.  To use the Bible to undergird and legitimize this prejudice has been standard operating policy for the church throughout history and it is still present today in conservative Catholic and evangelical Protestant circles.  Pope Benedict XVI continues to use the word “deviant” to describe homosexuality, despite the fact that no reputable scientist or medical doctor in the world today supports that definition.  Evangelicals quote Leviticus 18, Leviticus 20, Genesis 19 and Romans 1, despite the fact that biblical scholars dismiss this understanding of these texts as a profound misuse of scripture.  So what is the fear in homophobic people?

There is no single reason but the following explanations have been demonstrated in the past to be operative and should be considered.

  1. Homophobia frequently is used to cover the repressed homosexuality of the homophobic one.  Time after time, in religious circles, the most virulent homophobia seems to emerge in those who are themselves closeted homosexuals.
  2. Ingrained cultural homophobia dies harder in some people than in others.  The death of a prejudice is never easy, especially when the death of that prejudice forces the prejudiced one to redefine himself or herself.  That redefinition process frequently threatens one’s internal security system and thus often produces irrational behavior.
  3. When one needs to attack someone else in a destructive manner it usually reveals some level of self-hatred.  One who does not love himself or herself can also not love another easily.

In your letter, I need to say, you come across as quite judgmental.  I do not think there is anything called “Christian Homophobia.”  I think there is homophobia in some who call themselves Christian.  There is also judgment and the absence of love in some who call themselves Christian. I hope you will keep that in mind.

~John Shelby Spong

 

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