Sex As God Intended
Religion and man’s relationship with God has been one of the driving forces of the world throughout history. It was the advent of Christianity some 2,000 years ago that gave birth to Western Civilization as we know it today.
As happens with most things over time, the teachings of Jesus Christ and those contained in the Bible have been re-interpreted and re-evaluated so many times that it is difficult to know what was originally intended. In his new book, former Jesuit John J. McNeill tries to take a close look at God, sex, and homosexuality without the prejudices and fears that men over the past two millennia have intentionally brought to these subjects.
Sex As God Intended is a close examination of Christian religious teachings that deal with sex and sexuality, and with conclusions contrary to Catholic dogma. McNeill uses his intellect to delve into what the scriptures really say, much to the displeasure of the Vatican. He has, in his 80-plus years, pushed the boundaries of common belief and thought, raising questions that very few were brave enough to even contemplate.
McNeill has never accepted one of the Catholic Churches most woeful contradictions: That he was made in God’s image as God intended but that he was a homosexual and therefore evil and disordered. He has devoted his life to reconciling the Catholic Church with its homosexual members and his belief that there is a place in God’s heaven for us regardless of who we love has kept him strong in the face of adversity over the years.
In "Sex as God Intended," McNeill posits several heretical interpretations of Scripture. With the first, he argues that God intended sex not only as a means of procreation but as a means of enjoyment. He contends that the lovers depicted in the Song of Songs were quite possibly two men. A third major point is that the sin of Sodom was not homosexuality, but inhospitality.
McNeill makes very convincing arguments for each of his interpretations. His dialogue about the Song of Songs makes me wish that I could read Hebrew so that I could look at the oldest existing text and make my own opinion. During the course of reading the book, I researched several different translations of the Song of Songs, and I do believe that McNeill makes valid points about the lovers being male.
McNeil quotes fellow Biblical scholar Paul R. Johnson in pointing out all of the anomalies that come from trying to interpret one of the lovers in the Song of Songs as female: "If this person were female, she would be, according to the original text the most liberated woman in all the world... She was not interested in marriage... she made many trips through the city streets at night searching for her beloved... she was a mountain climber; drove a chariot; was a much feared fighter; stalked wild animals;... had a large nose, strong neck and very tiny breasts. This beautiful ten percent woman possessed a huge body, wore a beard and was called prince."
Throughout the book, McNeill tries to lay out the place that homosexuality has in God’s scheme of things. McNeill points out that Jesus never condemned homosexuals and makes a case for the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary being the home of a lesbian couple and a gay man.
It is an interpretation that is impossible to confirm or refute within the writings of the New Testament, but it is indeed a possible answer for what seems to be an unusual living arrangement. McNeill also reminds us that Jesus’ words on the sin of Sodom focus on the resident’s unwillingness to offer hospitality to the angels more than the sexual perversions that they may, or may not, have been committing.
The second half of the book contains essays by others in honor of McNeill’s life and work as the first priest to come out for gay rights within the Catholic Church.
Looking at these essays, you see the image of a determined, focused man doing what he feels is God’s chosen work for him. The essayists talk about the controversy his first book, "The Church and the Homosexual," caused when it was published in the early 1970’s, his expulsion from the priesthood nine years later when he refused to follow the Vatican’s orders to cease ministering to gays and lesbians, and his work as a therapist and counselor for gays and lesbians struggling to reconcile their identities as humans and homosexuals with their spiritual life.
"Sex as God Intended It" will make you think. It will make you question everything you’ve heard in the media or in church about homosexuals and God. It will make you question the rightness or wrongness of gay marriage. It will make you take a closer look at your faith and your beliefs. It is a book that encourages spiritual and intellectual growth, and a book that all Christians should read, even if your pastor or minister or priest tells you it is evil.
God created thought and reflection, and what He created can never be evil.
by John J. McNeill
Lethe Press, 2008. 268 pages, paperback, $20.00 ISBN: 1590210425. Available from booksellers everywhere or online through Amazon.
