{"id":927,"date":"2011-08-22T08:32:29","date_gmt":"2011-08-22T12:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/?p=927"},"modified":"2011-08-22T05:30:11","modified_gmt":"2011-08-22T09:30:11","slug":"what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/","title":{"rendered":"What Place Is There for Celibacy? Wesley Hill on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

A few weeks ago, I wrote a review of Jenell Paris\u2019 book, The End of Sexuality. I talked about celibacy as an option for Christians who believe that they cannot engage in same-sex physical relationships. Some of you, with kindness and respect, expressed incredulity about celibacy. Around the same time, I came into contact with Wesley Hill, author of Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality<\/a><\/em>. Although I have not yet read Wes\u2019 book, I have had the pleasure of reading other essays he has written related to this topic. I asked if he would be willing to offer a post for this blog, and he agreed:<\/p>\n

God\u2019s \u201cYes\u201d As the Greater Story<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Wesley Hill<\/p>\n

Chaim Potok\u2019s novel\u00a0The Chosen <\/em>tells the story of two boys, both Jewish, growing up in Brooklyn towards the end of World War II and the years\u00a0immediately following. Danny, the son of a venerated Hasidic rabbi, is brilliant. His friend Reuven is his closest confidant and respected by Danny\u2019s father in equal measure. As the novel unfolds, we learn that the only time Danny\u2019s father speaks to him is on Shabbat, when they discuss and debate the Talmud. On all other occasions he never addresses his son\u2014to the point of sometimes treating Reuven as a go-between who can relay a message to Danny.<\/p>\n

Rarely has a novel affected me as much as The Chosen<\/em>. I still remember the anguish I felt in reading of Danny\u2019s bewilderment and turmoil as he comes of age in the great rabbi\u2019s house. At one point, he confesses to Reuven, \u201cYou want to know how I feel about my father? I admire him. I don\u2019t know what he\u2019s trying to do to me with this weird silence that he\u2019s established between us, but I admire him. I respect him and trust him completely, which I why I think I can live with his silence. I don\u2019t know why I trust him, but I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Near the end of the story, in a climactic scene, Danny\u2019s father, Reb Saunders, reveals at last the reasons for the silence. An immigrant from Europe where he\u2019d witnessed horrific persecution of Jews, the old rabbi wanted his son to develop the maturity and sensitivity to be able to enter the pain and suffering of his people. As the silence ran its course, Danny \u201clearned to find answers for himself,\u201d Reb Saunders tells Reuven. \u201cHe suffered and learned to listen to the suffering of others. In the silence between us, he began to hear the world crying.\u201d<\/p>\n

In our time and place, most of us would likely recoil from Danny\u2019s father\u2019s technique, and that\u2019s probably for the best. Raising a son without speaking to him seems like a dangerous experiment to attempt with a fragile human life hanging in the balance, even if the aim is noble. Surely there are better ways to instill compassion and empathy in a child. And yet I think Reb Saunders\u2019 strange parenting may allow us an insight into God\u2019s dealings with us. Sometimes the obedience that is required of us as Christians appears \u201cweird,\u201d to borrow Danny\u2019s word. Judged by the best lights we have available to us, it may appear worse than \u201cweird\u201d: it may seem cruel, disheartening, dehumanizing.<\/p>\n

I have written elsewhere<\/a> about my own choice to live a celibate life. I am a Christian, and my understanding of Scripture and Christianity\u2019s historic teaching about human sexuality leads me to believe that my homosexual feelings aren\u2019t meant to be indulged. At times this obedience to Christian teaching can seem stifling, depressing, and even oppressive. There are times when I say, like Danny, that I don\u2019t understand it\u2014even though I continue to trust and love the One who, I believe, asks it of me.<\/p>\n

But, also like Danny, I\u2019ve found that trying to understand a father\u2019s strange behavior from within my own frame of reference, without taking into account the story the father himself tells, is bound to be misleading. God\u2019s \u201cNo\u201d only makes sense from the standpoint of his \u201cYes,\u201d as Karl Barth said. For that reason, any attempt to see why God might forbid same-sex partnerships has to pay attention to what God says \u201cYes\u201d to instead.<\/p>\n

Christianity tells a story of male and female created for one another in the perfection of Eden. Falling from God\u2019s intention, however, we\u2019ve made a mess of the world. But God didn\u2019t leave us alone with the wreckage. In Jesus, God has come among us to restore and heal what we\u2019ve ruined. When Jesus died and rose again, he made it possible for us to anticipate a renewed Eden. That new creation won\u2019t be fully accomplished until the final day of resurrection of which Easter morning was the \u201cfirstfruits,\u201d but until that time, we catch glimpses\u2014sneak previews, as it were\u2014of its beauty.<\/p>\n

Only in that context can we understand God\u2019s will for our sexual behavior. Redeemed and remade in Christ, we\u2019re meant to pattern our new lives after the splendor and wisdom of God\u2019s new creation. God hasn\u2019t thrown away what he first declared to be \u201cvery good\u201d (Genesis 1:31). Rather, he has reclaimed it from sin\u2019s power, refashioning it and leading his redeemed children into its holy goodness. Marriage between a man and woman, as God ordained in the early pages of Genesis, now points forward to the greater marriage of Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:31-32). By the same token, celibacy witnesses to that heavenly marriage, too, by saying now, in advance, \u201cChrist and his church give me all the love I need.\u201d (Something like this, surely, is what Jesus must have meant when he spoke of those who are celibate \u201cfor the sake of the kingdom of heaven\u201d in Matthew 19:12.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise that this picture isn\u2019t appealing to many of us, at least not initially. We\u2019ve spent most of our lives inhabiting an alternative story, taking our cues from a different narrative. But like Danny\u2019s hearing for the first time his father\u2019s explanation of his strange silence, some of us may find that things look different in the light of God\u2019s explanation of his strange redemption of the world. The obedience we once found to be totally arbitrary and bizarre may suddenly begin to make some sense. And the divine \u201cNo\u201d may be something we find ourselves giving assent to, in the dazzling light of the even greater divine \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago, I wrote a review of Jenell Paris\u2019 book, The End of Sexuality. I talked about celibacy as an option for Christians who believe that they cannot engage in same-sex physical relationships. Some of you, with kindness and respect, expressed incredulity about celibacy. Around the same time, I came into contact with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Place Is There for Celibacy? Wesley Hill on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A few weeks ago, I wrote a review of Jenell Paris' book, The End of Sexuality. I talked about celibacy as an option for Christians who believe that they\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Place Is There for Celibacy? Wesley Hill on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A few weeks ago, I wrote a review of Jenell Paris' book, The End of Sexuality. I talked about celibacy as an option for Christians who believe that they\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-08-22T12:32:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-08-22T09:30:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amy Julia Becker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amy Julia Becker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/\",\"name\":\"What Place Is There for Celibacy? Wesley Hill on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-08-22T12:32:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-08-22T09:30:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/b3e8f59d6533ab89f516e8d9631c6e63\"},\"description\":\"A few weeks ago, I wrote a review of Jenell Paris' book, The End of Sexuality. I talked about celibacy as an option for Christians who believe that they\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Place Is There for Celibacy? Wesley Hill on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/\",\"name\":\"Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\",\"description\":\"With Amy Julia Becker\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/b3e8f59d6533ab89f516e8d9631c6e63\",\"name\":\"Amy Julia Becker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3adc0aada8a192b3c12b962d57c5accd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3adc0aada8a192b3c12b962d57c5accd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Amy Julia Becker\"},\"description\":\"Amy Julia Becker writes and speaks about family, faith, disability, and culture. A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, A Good and Perfect Gift (Bethany House), and Why I Am Both Spiritual and Religious (Patheos Press).\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/author\/amyjuliabecker\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Place Is There for Celibacy? Wesley Hill on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","description":"A few weeks ago, I wrote a review of Jenell Paris' book, The End of Sexuality. I talked about celibacy as an option for Christians who believe that they","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Place Is There for Celibacy? Wesley Hill on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","og_description":"A few weeks ago, I wrote a review of Jenell Paris' book, The End of Sexuality. I talked about celibacy as an option for Christians who believe that they","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/","og_site_name":"Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","article_published_time":"2011-08-22T12:32:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-08-22T09:30:11+00:00","author":"Amy Julia Becker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Amy Julia Becker","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/","name":"What Place Is There for Celibacy? Wesley Hill on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-08-22T12:32:29+00:00","dateModified":"2011-08-22T09:30:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/b3e8f59d6533ab89f516e8d9631c6e63"},"description":"A few weeks ago, I wrote a review of Jenell Paris' book, The End of Sexuality. I talked about celibacy as an option for Christians who believe that they","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/what-place-is-there-for-celibacy-wesley-hill-on-christian-faithfulness-and-homosexuality\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Place Is There for Celibacy? Wesley Hill on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/","name":"Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","description":"With Amy Julia Becker","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/b3e8f59d6533ab89f516e8d9631c6e63","name":"Amy Julia Becker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3adc0aada8a192b3c12b962d57c5accd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3adc0aada8a192b3c12b962d57c5accd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Amy Julia Becker"},"description":"Amy Julia Becker writes and speaks about family, faith, disability, and culture. A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, A Good and Perfect Gift (Bethany House), and Why I Am Both Spiritual and Religious (Patheos Press).","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/author\/amyjuliabecker\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}