Biblical Literalism

     When the boy brought up the Bible, my friend Harry was ready for it.
     Harry is a man of many parts, all of them nourished by restless curiosity. If a subject pops up on his radar, he's going to penetrate it. Given an opportunity, he may declaim about anything from fudge-making to ancient Greek philosophy.  And when he declaims, he reliably knows what he's talking about.
     A while back, Harry became interested in the Bible. He was fed up with sectarian rule-mongering; with hucksters who'll save your soul and accept your check in a single transaction; with opportunists who claim that God wants them to have political power. Harry says you  don't have to be an expert to recognize the smell of claptrap,  and nowadays the air is full of it, like second-hand smoke.
    Harry decided to get to the bottom of things. He dove into Bible study.
     The boy is a favorite nephew. He was home on a college break.  Harry invited him for an avuncular visit over beer and burgers, and he invited me to come along.  You'll like the boy, Harry said, he's a good kid.
     Harry asked the boy: Good to be home?
     The boy said: Mostly
     Harry said: Problems?
     The boy said: Grandma keeps pushing me to go to church. It's awkward. I don't buy all that Bible stuff.
     Harry said: Why not?
     The boy said: Well, what about that creation story? How can you buy that? The talking snake and that stuff?
     Harry said: Which creation story? There are two or three. The seven-day creation story is one. The Adam and Eve story is another. They were written by different authors at different times. Later, some editor shoved them together in the book of Genesis that we have now. Then farther on in Genesis there are some other stories -- about divine beings having children with humans.
     The boy said: But Grandma says the Bible is literally true.
     Harry said: Well, I would never want to belittle someone's beliefs, but some parts of the Bible are not meant to be taken literally. They use symbolism to help with theological teachings.  The teachings are what matter, not the symbols.
     Looking down at the table, the boy said: Huh.
     Harry said: There's something else bothering you, isn't there?
     The boy said: Yes.
     Harry said: What?
     The boy said: There's this guy at school. He's a super guy. His dad died young, so he worked part-time to help support his family. He helped his mom raise a little sister. Now he's putting himself through college.  He works hard, he's honest, he's kind to other people. He's a fine man.
     Harry said: But??
     The boy said: He's gay, so the Bible says he's a sinner.
     Harry said: That's not exactly true.
     The boy said: But there are passages in the Bible. I've seen them.
     Harry said: Well, the Bible is a wonderful book, and there's a lot of good guidance in it. But when you're considering any given passage, you need to be careful to consider it as it would have been meant and heard in its original time and place.
     The boy said: I don't understand.
      Harry said: On homosexuality, the Old Testament passages that often get quoted are part of a code with a specific purpose. It was to protect the integrity of the ancient Jewish theocracy against the pagan cultures surrounding. It was not meant to be a general moral code for all people everywhere for all time.
     The boy said: OK, but there's some stuff in the new testament, too. In the letters of that guy Paul.
     Harry said: Yes, but again it's important to be aware of the time and place and context. Paul was a devout Jew elaborating on Jewish scriptural traditions. He would have been familiar with two kinds of homosexual behavior. One was when pagans went to male and female temple prostitutes as a form of cult worship.
     The boy said: What was the other?
     Harry said: Wealthy Greeks would buy young boys as slaves and prey upon them sexually.
     The boy said: So Paul was against paganism and the exploitation of children.
     Harry said: Yes. Nowhere does the Bible condemn mutual love between adults of the same gender. God does not condemn love. And the Bible consistently says that God does condemn something else: Judging your neighbor.
     At this the boy sat up. He said: You said God does not condemn love. So for you, all this is not just about Biblical history. You believe in God.
     Now, Harry is one of those guys who can talk a lot without revealing much of himself. He prefers it that way. But he loves the boy, so he decided to go ahead and lift his veil.
     Harry said: The short answer is, yes.  But the short answer usually provokes more questions -- certainly more than we have time for here. So let me just add this. Someone else said it: I find it a lot easier to believe in God than to believe that my capacity for love is exuded in through the cellular chemistry of meat.
     The boy was quiet for a bit after this. Then he said: Well, thanks. I feel better about a few things now.  But I still don't want to go to church.
     Harry said: I guess your Grandma want you to go with her to her church.
     The boy said: Yes.
     Harry said: Pretty dull, is it?
     The boy said:  Dull isn't even half of it.
     Harry said: Well, your Grandma is a very fine person, so I have three requests for you.
     The boy said: And they are ...?
     Harry said: Don't hurt her feelings;  don't be too sure the church and the Bible have nothing to teach you ...
     Harry paused.
     The boy said: What's the third?
     Harry grinned and said: Don't tell her I bought you beer.