Foucault, Augustine and the Queer Hippo
Steve Holmes, who lectures in theology at St Andrews, and with whom I spent the day recently, has written a very thought-provoking piece on human sexuality. He considers Augustine, Michel Foucault, Judith Butler and the scriptures, and writes some delightfully aphoristic sentences in the process:
Is heterosexual monogamy normal? No. Augustine and Foucault can agree on that. Are faithful and committed gay and lesbian relationships normal? No. Augustine and Foucault can agree on that also. In Hippo, nothing is normal, and everything is queer.
And then his (superbly helpful) conclusion:
The issue for the churches should be what is gospel-shaped, not what is ‘normal’.
You can read the whole thing here.
Comments
By John Peel on 21/10/2011 at 14:33
Excellent article and you should most certainly consider writing a book on it. “Normal”, as defined by culture is not only misleading in the most common use of the term when delineating the divide between the so called straight and homosexual it is actually creating confusion and even condemnation in those who because they do not neatly fit one supposed “normality” are persuaded they must therefore belong to the other camp. Carol and I have two highly intelligent male friends who, because they have shared a house for the last 25years and as really good friends simply enjoy one another’s company are not only assumed to be homosexual but have been repeatedly told they have to honestly face the fact that they must be and if they would simply come out and admit it their anxieties would be done away with. Because of the pressure to accept which “normality” the belong to they have even gone so far as to question their sexuality and explored what that might mean. At the end of one particularly frustrating discussion with them I where they kept asking me to define their “normality” I simply asked, “Do you have sex with each other?” Almost in unison they both blurted out, “No! What do you take us for?”
As you so aptly say it’s what’s gospel-shaped not what is crudely defined as normal that we need to define.
By John Peel on 21/10/2011 at 14:35
Excellent article and you should most certainly consider writing a book on it. “Normal”, as defined by culture is not only misleading in the most common use of the term when delineating the divide between the so called straight and homosexual it is actually creating confusion and even condemnation in those who because they do not neatly fit one supposed “normality” are persuaded they must therefore belong to the other camp. Carol and I have two highly intelligent male friends who, because they have shared a house for the last 25years and as really good friends simply enjoy one another’s company are not only assumed to be homosexual but have been repeatedly told they have to honestly face the fact that they must be and if they would simply come out and admit it their anxieties would be done away with. Because of the pressure to accept which “normality” the belong to they have even gone so far as to question their sexuality and explored what that might mean. At the end of one particularly frustrating discussion with them where they kept asking me to define their “normality” I simply asked, “Do you have sex with each other?” Almost in unison they both blurted out, “No! What do you take us for?”
As you so aptly say it’s what’s gospel-shaped not what is crudely defined as normal that we need to define.
By Andrew T. on 16/12/2011 at 16:36
Andrew,
I had read this excellent article before; thanks for linking to it here.
May I request a similar topic for a future blog post? (Or if you’ve already written it, maybe you could point me to it.) The topic would be on “affirming theology.”
I am very curious about whether some practicing homosexuals can be Christians. As I’m sure you know, there is a movement within the church (broadly speaking) called affirming theology. This theology seeks to justify, from the Scriptures, faithful, monogamous same-sex relationships. If a professing Christian honestly believes that gay relationships are biblically appropriate and lives with a same-gender partner, can he be saved? Or will he not be able to enter the kingdom of God? (See 1 Cor. 6:9-10, etc.) In other words, is homosexuality an issue that could be described as heresy or apostasy? Is the homosexuality debate an essential or non-essential issue of the faith? (See http://www.gaychristian.net).
The reason I ask is that we all have a tendency to justify our sins every day. So does that mean if I justify my covetous spirit, that I will automatically be excluded from the Kingdom as well, as 1 Cor. 6 seems to indicate?
Michael Patton from Reclaiming the Mind Blog has written an insightful post called “Can Homosexuals Be Christians?” (http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog/2010/01/can-homosexuals-be-christian/) Very thought-provoking. However, he does not really dig into the issue of affirming theology. So, that is why I am asking you to look into the issue and write a post.
I personally believe that same-sex relationship are sinful and out of line with God’s will. But, as someone who has always struggled with same-sex attractions, this issue is very relevant for me and countless others. I have other friends who have gay desires and believe the gospel, but they are also sympathetic toward affirming theology.
Anyway, thanks for considering!