MORE DETAILS |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Summary of this page
OVERVIEW OF THIS PAGE
Male-male penetration (anal sex) is okay if no
direct or indirect harm is caused.
BIBLICAL NO-HARM TEST
The Bible provides a test to decide whether sex
between men (including male-male penetration)
and sex between women is good or bad. It is the
no-harm test.
You ask Does the activity cause harm or not?
This test is based on Romans 13:9-10,
summarized as If you love (act for the welfare of)
your neighbor, including not harming your
neighbor, you then fulfill (meet all the
requirements of) the Old Testament
commandments.*
* See also Galatians 5:14 For the entire [Old Testament] law is fulfilled in
keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” NIV
A more positive expression of no-harm is to say
that people should act with caring love. However
the concept of caring love is a rather fuzzy one
because love can have a number of meanings,
ranging from friendship to erotic love. It therefore
seems clearer to say and require do not cause
any harm.
Your neighbor is any person you come into
contact with. In a sexual relations context, your
neighbor means the person you are having sex
with and any third party, e.g. the partner of that
person. Of course, as well as not harming your
neighbor, you should not harm yourself.
The no-harm test is supported by the Golden
Rule, i.e. Treat people the same way you want
them to treat you (Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31).
If you do this, you will not harm others.
The no-harm test is also supported by Paul’s
teaching that we can do anything provided that
what we do is beneficial or helpful (to ourselves
and others) and that we are not enslaved by
what we do (I Corinthians 6:12).
It is considered that sex between men
(including male-male penetration) and sex
between women pass the no-harm test in
circumstances where no one is harmed by
the activity. This includes casual or
recreational sex.
It is acknowledged that a man’s penetrating
actions contravene the non-penetration
command (Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13) and its
cultural bases (the main purpose of sex is to
have children, and men should not act like
women when having sex). Nevertheless, the
penetrating actions still meet the underlying and
continuing requirements of the non-penetration
command, ie. no harm to the participants or to
the community (except for its cultural basis). So,
if a man does not harm himself, the other
man or any third party (e.g., a partner), then
male-male penetration is okay.
If there is no harm (physical, emotional,
mental or relational), the no male-male
penetration texts can be set aside as no
longer applying; just as the pro-slavery texts
have been set aside as no longer applying
because slavery harms people.
As the New Testament criticisms of male-male
penetration (Romans 1:27, 1 Corinthians 6:9 and
1 Timothy 1:10) are based on the Old Testament
non-penetration command, the New Testament
criticisms can also be set aside as no longer
applying.
Some people might argue that this test is invalid
because it allows clear biblical requirements to
be ignored. However the test is consistent with
Jesus deliberately working on the Sabbath,
contrary to one of the 10 Commandments. This
commandment says that people shall not do any
work on every 7th day (the Sabbath) 1. However
Jesus healed sick people and picked grain
(which counted as work) on the Sabbath. He
agreed with people working on the Sabbath by
lifting a sheep out of a pit. So Jesus set aside
and ignored the Sabbath commandment when no
harm (only good) was done 2. Similarly he
declared all foods clean (contrary to the Old
Testament law) because no harm was done by
them 3. These actions of Jesus validate the use
of the test. (Note that in each case the command
still exists – Jesus said that he did not come to
change the Old Testament law 4 – it’s just that
we don’t always need to follow it if no harm is
done. This applies to other commands also, e.g.
those covering not planting mixed crops 5 and not
charging interest on loans 6.)
It might be noted that Paul goes further than
Jesus in this respect. In Romans 7 and 8 he
says that Christians don’t have to follow any of
the Old Testament laws (they have been
released from those laws 7). Instead they must
live in accordance with the Spirit 8, based on love
of God, love of other people (including not
harming them) and the words of Jesus.
1 Exodus 20:8-11 2 Matthew 12:1-14 Luke 13:10-16
3 Mark 7:18-19 4 Matthew 5:17-20
5 Leviticus 19:19 6 Exodus 22:25 Leviticus 25:36,37
7 Romans 7:6 8 Romans 8:1-9
The no-harm test applies also to male-female
penetration (straight sex) and non-sexual
activities too. For example, the system of slavery
fails the no-harm test.
Some people might argue that incest would be
allowed by using this test. But this wouldn’t be
so because incest causes harm. In Old
Testament times, a woman (mother, daughter,
etc) was considered to be the property of a man
(father, uncle, etc). Therefore a man having
incestuous sex with her would be defiling
someone else’s property. While these property
views are not held today, harm would still be
caused if there was emotional or physical abuse
(from one person having power over the other) or
if inbreeding led to birth defects. Even
consensual adult incest with protection against
insemination causes emotional harm because the
relationships of the family members have been
sexualized. A brother and sister, or a father and
daughter, can never see each other again in the
usual non-sexual way.
One could argue that the no-harm test is flawed
because it requires an individual to decide
whether some action is harmful or not (as
opposed to a sacred document telling us what is
harmful). A counter argument is that this is
beneficial because it overcomes the problem that
what is harmful in certain circumstances may not
be harmful in other circumstances*. So it is
better for individuals to work it out for themselves.
* For example, it could be argued that male-male penetration
would have failed the no-harm test in Old Testament and New
Testament times because people of those times would have
thought that the men or the community was harmed by such
penetration.
In practice, many or most harmful actions are
obviously so. Where some action is not obviously
harmful, persons could ask whether the way they
are, or will be, treating another person is how
they would like that person to treat them,
including with respect and dignity. If the answer
is no, then it is harmful.
We don’t know why the biblical no-harm test was
not applied in Paul’s time to the no male-male
penetration texts and the pro-slavery texts other
than to say that it would not have been
practicable to allow male-male penetration or to
stop slavery in the culture of the day or for some
time after. It was finally possible to stop most
open forms of slavery in the 19th Century and
the attitude to male-male penetration is currently
slowly changing.
Therefore despite the Biblical prohibition and
criticisms, if a man wishes to indulge in
penetration (anal intercourse) with another man,
he can do so with a clear conscience
provided that he does not harm himself, the
other man or any third party (e.g. a partner),
physically, emotionally*, mentally or relationally,
directly or indirectly.
* Emotional harm would include, among other things, harm to
a person’s honor or rights.
Further, this test applies to men having any
form of sex with men and also applies to sex
between women. The test applies both to sex
in a loving monogamous relationship and to
casual or recreational sex. The participants pass
the test if they act with caring love and do not
cause any harm.
An important benefit of not causing any harm is
that it is one of the keys to having eternal life.
Jesus said that if you love God and love your
neighbor [not harming your neighbor], you will
have eternal life (Luke 10:25-28).
Finally, not harming others is a foundational
principle of the Bible, like love.
The Love Commandments
There are 2 Love Commandments.
1. Love God totally.
2. Love other people as you love yourself.
These commandments were first stated in the
Old Testament:
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your being and with all your
strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
2. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
(Leviticus 19:18)
These commandments were repeated by Jesus:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your being and with all your mind and
with all your strength [and] love your neighbor as
yourself. (Matthew 22:37-9, Mark 12:30-1, Luke
10:27)
Here love means self-giving or selfless love,
which seeks the other person’s welfare.
How do you love God? Jesus (who was God
in human form) gave the answer as If you love
me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:
15; compare John 14:21 & 15:10).
Jesus said that on the commandments to love
God and your neighbor depend (or hang) the
whole Old Testament Law and the Prophets
(Matthew 22:40). Paul later adds that the person
who loves his or her neighbor has fulfilled (or
carried out) the Old Testament law (Romans 13:
8 & Galatians 5:14). Therefore loving your
neighbor as yourself can result in you keeping
the entire Old Testament law.
And how do you love (act for the welfare of)
your neighbor as yourself? By not harming
your neighbor (Romans 13:10). In practice you
would only do to other people what you would
want them to do to you. This would include both
you and the other person fully consenting to what
is done or proposed, and treating each other
fairly. It would also avoid deception, force and
injury. Further, love includes overlooking the
faults of others, providing that no harm results.
As Joe Orton (a gay British author) said, You
must do whatever you like, as long as you enjoy
it and don’t hurt anyone else, that’s all that
matters.
In legal terms, you must take reasonable care to
avoid acts or omissions which you can
reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your
neighbor. (Lord Atkin, Donoghue v Stevenson).
And who is your neighbor? Any person you
come into contact with (See the story of the
Good Samaritan in Luke 10:29-37). In a sexual
relations context, your neighbor means the
person you are having sex with and any third
party, e.g. the partner of that person.
Paul sets out a number of ways to show
practical love. These include carrying each
other's burdens (Galatians 6:2), honoring others
more than yourself (Romans 12:9) and not
hurting others by the foods you eat (Romans 14:
15). These actions reinforce the no-harm
concept.
The Golden Rule
You follow the Golden Rule for living by doing to
others what you would want them to do to you.
Jesus expressed this as Treat people the same
way you want them to treat you (Matthew 7:12
and Luke 6:31). This would include treating
other people with kindness and honor and not
harming them. Similar expressions were stated
by Confucius, Aristotle, Socrates, the Jewish
Talmud (Shabbat 31a) and J S Mill. The Golden
Rule sums up, and is the basis of, the Old
Testament Law and Prophets (Matthew 7:12).
Following this Rule helps to ensure that no harm
is done to other people.
Author: Colin Smith
