Homosexuality and Leviticus 18 and 20
Image via Wikipedia by Elodie Ballantine Emig Leviticus includes two very similar laws condemning homosexuality. Isn’t it enough to be told that God finds homosexuality detestable; why add, a mere chapter and a half later, that it carries with it the death penalty ? The only answer that makes any sense is that the two laws, though using identical language in places, are of very different types. In Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, we find homosexuality proscribed in both apodictic and casuistic law. “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable” (Lev. 18:22) is an example of apodictic, or absolute law. “Apodictic law [embodies] laws promulgated in unconditional, categorical directives such as commands and prohibitions” (Klein, Blomberg and Hubbard, Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, rev. 2004, p. 342). Casuistic, or case law, on the other hand, deals with the consequences of certain infractions (if …., then….). “If a man lies with a man as one ...