There is a fantastic episode of the West Wing called “The midterms”, where President Bartlett (Martin Sheen) is annoyed by a talk show host that refers to homosexuality an "abomination", quoting the Bible, Leviticus 18:22.
In his speech to defy the ignorance of the host, Bartlett rallies: “My chief of staff, Leo McGarry, insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly says he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself or is it okay to call the police?
“Here's one that's really important cause we've got a lot of sports fans in this town: touching the skin of a dead pig makes one unclean. Leviticus 11:7 If they promise to wear gloves can the Washington Redskins still play football? Can Notre Dame? Can West Point?
"Does the whole town really have to be together to stone my brother, John, for planting different crops side by side? Can I burn my mother in a small family gathering for wearing garments made from two different threads?
"Think about those questions, would you?"
Today was an historic day for human rights in America as the first gay marriages took place in New York. With 19.4 million residents, New York is the sixth and most populous U.S. state to legalize gay marriage, and they did it in style, marrying 823 couples on a day when they were usually closed (a detail I simply love).
What is an incredible victory for gay-rights advocates is also a tremendous boon for humanity, as it has almost doubled the number of Americans free to marry either gender to 35 million. One small step for man…but progress is still held up by the religious hang-ups of mankind.
While thousands of people flooded to the streets to celebrate the rights of human beings to be with, and marry, whomever they love; so too did thousands of protestors opposing gay marriage because of what a book (the same book that speaks for forgiving enemies, turning other cheeks and loving neighbors,) instructs them to think.
The first five books of the Bible referred to as the Old Testament or Five books of Moses, tell the history of the Israelites from the creation of the universe, through the exodus from Egypt and the revelation at Mount Sinai to their entry into the Promised Land.
When these five books (Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy,) were first written is a matter for debate, but the traditional view is that Moses was the sole author. There are several variants of this explanation, some believing the text was dictated to Moses by God direct, others believe that Moses (rather than being dictated to) was “divinely inspired”, while some argue that Moses was the sole author, but that there was nothing “divine” about it, except in a sense that all works of literature are inspired.
According to Richard Elliot Friedman “Mosaic authorship would mean the five books were written around 1280 to 1250 BC, the most commonly accepted range of dates for the exodus from Egypt, give or take 30 years. It has long been recognized that there were a few problems with the traditional view of Moses as author. The text reports the death of Moses--how could Moses have written of his own death? It also describes Moses as "the most humble man who ever lived"--how could Moses write that about himself?”
There are many irregularities in these books that lead scholars to believe that this book is the work of more than one author (the multiple author view has became known as the Documentary theory), and there are many inconsistencies that many academics have used to reject the ideas of this book being co-authored God. As Friedman outlines:
“Several stories are repeated… There are three stories of a patriarch traveling among pagans and pretending his wife is his sister. There are two stories of Moses striking a rock to produce water. There are two versions of the Ten Commandments (one in Exodus, one that Moses recaps in Deuteronomy) with slightly different wording. There are, in fact, a lot of these doublets.
“There are internal inconsistencies. The number of days of the flood story doesn’t add up. At one point, Noah takes two of each animal; at another point, he takes two of some, seven of others. Joseph is sold into slavery to Ishmaelite in one verse, to Midianites a few verses later. The Mountain of Revelation is sometimes called Sinai and sometimes Horeb. Moses' father-in-law is sometimes called Yitro and sometimes Ruel, and so on.”
Is this really a book we should be basing our modern moral standards on? Or is God above the details of consistency, as stated many times, he does work in mysterious ways.
Truth is, no one really knows who wrote these first five books, and the predominant view is that many of the stories were handed down orally through the generations before being written down. In the Book of J by David Rosenberg and Harold Bloom, it is even argued that one of the authors may have been a woman (enter Dan Brown’s next blockbuster)
So my question is simple: if we can not find out who wrote this book, and it is in serious question that it is the word of God direct, why should we legislate upon its testimony? Or for that matter, swear by it in our courts of law, promising to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
In 1966 it was illegal for interracial couples to marry in America, which seems archaic to us now even though it was only 45 years ago. Thankfully, we live in changing times. I hope the same will be said about gay marriage laws soon.
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