Changes

Horner,<ref>By Thomas Horner, Jonathan loved David,  pp. 38-63</ref> with the aid of a secular psychiatrist, sees the description as homosexual, with the words such as ''knit'', “soul” ''love'', ''covenant'', “delighteth” and ''chosen'', being focused upon by him and others as conveying a desired sexual meaning.  Horner also enlists radical revisionists,<ref>Susan Ackerman, When Heroes Love:. The Ambiguity of Eros in the Stories of Gilgamesh and David, pp. 82, 165-231</ref><ref>Nardel, Homosexuality and Liminality in the Gilgamesh and Samuel (Amsterdam, Hakkert, 2007), pp. 28-63li</ref> who perceive sex in pagan fictional poetry such as Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and believe that redactors encrypted same-sex allusions into Biblical text (though there is disagreement here about which one played the female part).  Horner also thinks that a similar story "must have" happened many times in royal courts in the Middle East in all periods. Greenberg<ref>Steven Greenberg, Wrestling with God and men, pp. 99-104</ref> sees homosex is in many places in the Bible and the [[Talmud]], and a sexual triangle between Saul, David and Jonathan, and from the outset asserts the latter was erotic.   

Horner,<ref>By Thomas Horner, Jonathan loved David,  pp. 38-63</ref> with the aid of a secular psychiatrist, sees the description as homosexual, with the words such as ''knit'', “soul” ''love'', ''covenant'', “delighteth” and ''chosen'', being focused upon by him and others as conveying a desired sexual meaning.  Horner also enlists radical revisionists,<ref>Susan Ackerman, When Heroes Love:. The Ambiguity of Eros in the Stories of Gilgamesh and David, pp. 82, 165-231</ref><ref>Nardel, Homosexuality and Liminality in the Gilgamesh and Samuel (Amsterdam, Hakkert, 2007), pp. 28-63li</ref> who perceive sex in pagan fictional poetry such as Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and believe that redactors encrypted same-sex allusions into Biblical text (though there is disagreement here about which one played the female part).  Horner also thinks that a similar story "must have" happened many times in royal courts in the Middle East in all periods. Greenberg<ref>Steven Greenberg, Wrestling with God and men, pp. 99-104</ref> sees homosex is in many places in the Bible and the [[Talmud]], and a sexual triangle between Saul, David and Jonathan, and from the outset asserts the latter was erotic.   

   

   

In response, the means of traditional exegesis evidences that the Bible makes basic laws as well as sexual human behavior (in particular) versus platonic actions evident, in their respective contexts, with David and Jonathan's love being a supreme  example of non-sexual brotherly love.  As manifested by his sacrificial loyalty to David, holy brotherly affection, and commitment to the future of the kingdom, Jonathan's love for David is seen as being of a superior platonic kind than that the mere romantic or erotic “love of women”.<ref>Matthew Henry</ref> And all such accounts  are critically lacking the descriptions needed to postulate or establish erotic love.  And which (homosexual) expression would be radically contrary to explicit commands and the transcendent ethos of Israel. The divestiture of Jonathan to place upon David is evidenced as being partial and having a clear ceremonial precedent. The assertions of pro-homosex grammatical attempts are examined and found to be forced, and the strong emotive language expressed by David towards Jonathan is seen as being akin to that of platonic expressions in the Bible, (Gn. 33:4; 45:14,15) as in more expressive cultures,<ref>[http://www.tektonics.org/gk/gaydavid.html Were David and Jonathan Gay Lovers?, James Patrick Holding]</ref><ref>Regan, P. C; Jerry, D; Narvaez, M; Johnson, D. Public displays of affection among Asian and Latino heterosexual couples. Psychological Reports. 1999;84:1201–1202</ref>while the political/social ramifications of pro-homosex polemics are pointed out as presenting insurmountable problems.<ref>The Bible and Homosexual Practice, 146-54; http://www.robgagnon.net/NewsweekMillerHomosexResp.htm, Prof. Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon</ref><ref>Markus Zehnder, "Observations on the Relationship between David and Jonathan and the Debate on Homosexuality," Westminster Theological Journal 69.1 [2007]: 127-74)</ref><ref>Thomas E Schmidt, "Straight or Narrow?"</ref>  

In response, the means of traditional exegesis evidences that the Bible makes basic laws as well as sexual human behavior (in particular) versus platonic actions evident, in their respective contexts, with David and Jonathan's love being a supreme  example of non-sexual brotherly love.  As manifested by his sacrificial loyalty to David, holy brotherly affection, and commitment to the future of the kingdom, Jonathan's love for David is seen as being of a superior platonic kind than that the mere romantic or erotic “love of women”.<ref>Matthew Henry</ref> All such accounts  are critically lacking the descriptions needed to postulate or establish erotic love, and in addtion (homosexual) expression would be radically contrary to explicit commands and the transcendent ethos of Israel. The divestiture of Jonathan to place upon David is evidenced as being partial and having a clear ceremonial precedent. The assertions of pro-homosex grammatical attempts are examined and found to be forced, and the strong emotive language expressed by David towards Jonathan is seen as being akin to that of platonic expressions in the Bible, (Gn. 33:4; 45:14,15) as in more expressive cultures,<ref>[http://www.tektonics.org/gk/gaydavid.html Were David and Jonathan Gay Lovers?, James Patrick Holding]</ref><ref>Regan, P. C; Jerry, D; Narvaez, M; Johnson, D. Public displays of affection among Asian and Latino heterosexual couples. Psychological Reports. 1999;84:1201–1202</ref>while the political/social ramifications of pro-homosex polemics are pointed out as presenting insurmountable problems.<ref>The Bible and Homosexual Practice, 146-54; http://www.robgagnon.net/NewsweekMillerHomosexResp.htm, Prof. Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon</ref><ref>Markus Zehnder, "Observations on the Relationship between David and Jonathan and the Debate on Homosexuality," Westminster Theological Journal 69.1 [2007]: 127-74)</ref><ref>Thomas E Schmidt, "Straight or Narrow?"</ref> As a team of theologians led by Craig Blomberg of Denver Seminary points out, "only modern Westerners unfamiliar with the physical expression of friendship between men in the Middle East would mistake the Bible's references for homosexuality."<ref>"What the Bible Really Says About Sex"</ref>

===Responses to homosex polemics: chapter 18===

===Responses to homosex polemics: chapter 18===