Bryce

The Second Semester

Chapter 10 - David Simpson

            After the intense discussion with Jason Todd, in which Bryce went further than he intended in expounding his own ideas, he decided he needed a break.  It was about quarter to three, and David Simpson was supposed to arrive around three-thirty.

            “I’m feeling claustrophobic.  How about a walk around campus?” he suggested to Damon.

            “It’s cold out there,” Damon objected.

            “Oh, come on.  We won’t be out long, just enough to work out a few kinks.”

            Damon gave in, but grumbled the entire time they were suiting up in winter garb and making their way out to the snow covered lawns of the University of Clifton campus.  The paths and walkways had been cleared, of course, so Bryce set a brisk pace as they set off with no objective other than expending energy.

            After a few minutes, Damon asked, “How long do you think it will take you to get over your kinks?”

            “Oh, I don’t know.  Maybe half an hour,” Bryce replied.

            “Half an hour!  You’re crazy!  I thought you were talking about maybe five minutes,” Damon strenuously objected.

            “You can always abandon me and get back in your cocoon,” Bryce laughed, pounding Damon on the back.

            “Shit!  The things I do for my boyfriend!” Damon grumbled, but he kept on walking beside Bryce.

            Bryce made certain it was precisely a half hour before they returned to the dorm, just to tease Damon, who reciprocated by grumbling and griping the entire time.

            Not long after their return, David Simpson appeared.  He was not at all surprised to find Damon ensconced in Bryce’s room.  Damon had been part of their conversation back on their second day on campus, and already knew at least some of the story, so David had no objection to him remaining while he discussed matters with Bryce.

            After some preliminary discussion, Bryce asked, “What exactly is it you’re having trouble with, David?”

            “Well, you remember when we were talking ten days ago, I said I believed in Jesus, but was bothered by the statements in the Bible which condemned gays.  I know I’m gay, and I’m really glad I found someone like Mike to be my partner, but those things still bother me.  I don’t want to go to hell just because of who I am.  I tried talking with Mike about these things, but he’s not much help.  He’s got things worked out for himself, but when he tries to explain it to me, there are things I just don’t get.  We don’t seem to be talking the same language.  So he kind of suggested you might be able to help.”

            “David, I’ll do what I can.  It sounds like your problem is like the one I was struggling with last semester,” Bryce said.

            “Yeah, that’s what Mike said.  That’s why he thinks you might be able to explain things better,” David confirmed.

            “Well, let’s get down to it.  What bothers you most?” Bryce asked.

            “There’s that thing in the Bible about homosexuality being an abomination, but from what Mike says, you Catholics don’t follow the Bible,” David said.

            “That’s not true.  I think you’ve misunderstood Mike.  But, it’s true, we have a different approach to the Bible than Protestants, especially Protestants of the fundamentalist variety, such as the church you’re coming from.  We don’t go with the idea that every word is literally true.  Instead, we have always held that we have to use the reason God gave us to understand his Word as recorded in scripture.  As early as the time of St. Augustine, around the year 400, in his De doctrina christiana, you find the teaching that, while all scripture is true, it may be true in a variety of ways, including not only a literal, historical truth, but also a moral or symbolical truth.  After all, Jesus told parables to teach a point, such as the parable of the Good Samaritan or that of the Prodigal Son, but no one thought his stories were accounts of things which actually happened.  Besides, despite what they say, literalists don’t really believe every word is literally true,” Bryce stated.

            “Oh, yes they do.  At least the ones at my mother’s church do,” David insisted.

            “Really?  Let’s see.  Look at the story of the battle between the Israelites and the Amorrhites in the Book of Joshua.  Here, I have a Bible, and I marked the place, Chapter 10, verses 12 to 15.  It says very plainly in verse 13, So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven and hastened not to go down the space of one day.  Now, do the people in your mother’s church believe that literally?” Bryce challenged.

            “I suppose they do,” David returned.

            “Think about it.  If this is literally true, then the sun goes around the earth, not the other way around.  It says Joshua prevents the sun from going down.  That’s what the literal words say.  Any interpretation, such as, it was only from the point of view of the Israelites, is not a literal reading.  No educated person in the Western world for the past three or four centuries has believed that the sun goes around the earth, David,” Bryce insisted.

            David grinned.  “I’m not saying the people in my mother’s church are educated.”

            “Okay, let’s take another example.  In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and in St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, we have recorded Jesus’ words at his last supper with his apostles in which he says, This is my body and later This is my blood.  And in the Gospel According to St. John, in chapter 6, Jesus says, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.  Now I don’t see how anyone can get any literal meaning out of all that, except that communion, what some people call the Lord’s Supper, consists of taking the real body and blood of Christ.  Only by coming to it with the mind already made up that this is not literal can you say this is purely a commemorative, or symbolical service.  But do the people in your mother’s church believe that literally?”

            “No, I guess they don’t,” David conceded.

            “Okay, so what I am saying is, the Bible is the inspired Word of God, but it needs to be interpreted using human reason, which is also a gift of God.  Now, with that in mind, let’s go back to Leviticus, which is causing you so much trouble.  First of all, don’t just pick one verse.  Let’s look at the entire book.  Here, what’s covered in chapter 1?” Bryce asked, as he handed the Bible to David.

            “Um, it’s talking about sacrifices of oxen and sheep,” David reported.

            “Do you know any Christian church which engages in blood sacrifices?” Bryce asked.

            “No.”

            “Go on.  What’s in the next few chapters?” Bryce urged.

            “More about sacrifices,” David said, turning the pages.  “And about consecrating priests and their duties.”

            “Keep going.”

            “Okay, beginning with chapter 11, there are rules about what is clean and what is unclean.  I guess that’s what is called kosher cooking,” David found.

            “True.  Now, have you ever eaten pork or shrimp?” Bryce asked.

            “Sure.  Pork chops are a regular item on the table at home,” David admitted.

            “So, your family violates these laws of ritual purity with respect to diet, right?”  Bryce insisted.

            “Uh, yeah, I guess.  But ...”

            “Never mind the ‘but’ just yet.  We’ll get to that later,” Bryce said.  “Try chapter 13.”

            “Lepers are unclean,” David reported.

            “You think this just might have had something to do with the practical experience of a people in the Middle East with only an elementary knowledge of medicine, but with experience of contagious disease?  Maybe the folk wisdom of the time, expressed as the commandment of God?” Bryce suggested.

            “But ...  Okay, I guess I’ll have to be patient,” David sighed.

            “Look at chapter 15,” Bryce instructed.  “It says here that if a guy has a nocturnal emission, he’s unclean for eight days, and has to offer sacrifice.  Ever cum in your sleep, David?  And a woman during her monthly period is unclean, and a man having sex with a woman during her period is unclean.  And someone with a hemorrhage is unclean.  I think we can detect a pattern here, David.”

            “Okay, I think I’m beginning to see what you’re saying.  Still, an abomination ....” David replied uncertainly.

            “Let’s jump ahead a couple of chapters.  Chapter 17.  Look at verse 10.  If any man whosoever of the House of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eat blood, I will set my face against his soul, and will cut him off from among his people.  That sounds pretty serious.  God will ‘set his face’ against one’s soul.  Scary.  Have you ever eaten blood sausage, David?”

            “No.  I’ve never even heard of blood sausage,” David said, relieved for a change to be exempt from this particular curse.

            “Well, Germans seem to like it.  I tried it once.  I think it’s absolutely disgusting.  But a Christian people, both Catholic and Protestant, have it as part of their regular diet,” Bryce informed him.  “And what about rare beef?  The way some people like it, it’s definitely bloody.”

            “Um, yeah.  My dad in particular likes it as bloody as it comes,” David said, then brightened up, “and, come to think of it, so does Brother Timothy.”

            “Not exactly following a literal reading of Leviticus, then , is he?” Bryce observed.  “Okay, chapter 18 covers incest, and I don’t think we’ll argue with that, nor with the prohibition of adultery or taking part in ritual prostitution or bestiality.  But all these things are also abominations.  This is the chapter that also, in verse 22, says that for a man to lie with a woman is an abomination.  We’ll come back to that.  Not everything in Leviticus is on the same level.  In the next chapter, we are told to care for the poor, not to steal, and not to lie, but in verse 19 we are told not to sow two kinds of seed in the same field, and not to wear a garment made of two kinds of thread.  Let’s look at your jacket, David.  Here’s the label: 65% dacron, 35% cotton.  You’re violating the laws of Leviticus, David.  And look, here in verse 27, don’t cut your hair or shave your beard.  Did you shave this morning, David?  Look here, David.  In chapter 20, verse 9, you are condemned if you curse your father or mother.  How does that apply to you?  And you have it again in verse 13.  If you lie with a man as with a woman, you are to be put to death.  Do you think the death penalty for homosexual actions is just, even if homosexuality is, as it says here, an abomination?  And anyone committing bestiality or incest is also to be killed.  Leviticus gets kind of bloody sometimes.  But look, in verse 18, if a man has sex with a woman while she’s having her period, both of them are to be killed.  In chapter 24, verse 16, anyone who blasphemes the Lord shall be put to death.  Oops, there goes almost the entire entertainment industry.  Okay, I’ve gone on longer than I need, but I think you see my point, David.  The Bible needs to be interpreted, and this applies to Leviticus and that troublesome statement about gay sex being an abomination, just as it does to the other verses.  Some things in Leviticus seem to be perfectly good morality, but others seem, to say the least, on the extreme side,” Bryce concluded.

            “I’m convinced that you can’t take everything in the Bible literally,” David conceded.  “Somehow, I don’t remember ever having those verses you pointed out discussed in church.”

            “I can understand why, if your church insists on a literal truth to every word of scripture.  You guys would sure have a problem with the civil authorities if you tried putting all that into practice,” Bryce commented.

            “Where does that leave us?” David asked.

            “Well, I remember that, back in high school, in one of my religion classes, the instructor told us that everything of permanent value in the Old Testament was repeated in the Gospels,” Bryce said.

            “Such as?”

            “Let’s take a look at a few passages I’ve marked.  Matthew, chapter 7, verse 12: Therefore all that you wish men to do to you, even so do you also to them; for this is the Law and the Prophets.  You know that, whenever the term ‘the Law’ is used in the New Testament, it refers to the Laws of Moses, that is, to the first five books of the Old Testament, including Leviticus.  Look a little further on.  Chapter 19, verses 18 and 19.  When Jesus was asked what was necessary for salvation, he repeated the Ten Commandments, essentially.  And still later, in chapter 22, Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment.  In verses 37 to 40 he answers, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment.  And the second is like it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.  Please note that Jesus told us to love God with our minds as well as our hearts, so the appeal to reason to understand scripture has a pretty solid foundation.  This is what is meant by saying that everything of permanent value in the Old Testament is repeated in the New,” Bryce said.

            “Consider further the account of the conflict over observing the Law of Moses among the early Christians.  St. Paul instructed the converts from paganism that they did not have to observe the Laws of Moses, but some others objected.  The specific arguments were over circumcision and kosher eating, but the argument applies to the entire Law.  Look at the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 15.  Verse 6 says, So the apostles and the elders had a meeting to look into this matter.  This is what Church Historians refer to as the Council of Jerusalem.  At that meeting, St. Peter said, Why then do you now try to test God by putting on the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?  He equated insisting on the entire observance of the Laws of Moses with testing God.  So, it was decided that the Laws of Moses did not apply to Christians, but only some symbolical restrictions were imposed to make fellowship with those of a Jewish background easier.  Then, in announcing this decision to the Christians at Antioch, the Council wrote: For the Holy Spirit and we have decided to lay no further burden on you.  That’s in verse 28.  The early leaders of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, assembled in council, decided that the Laws of Moses no longer apply.  And St. Paul repeats this over and over in his letters.  The Laws of Moses have come to an end.  The covenant with Abraham continues as the covenant of God with his Church.  We are the new Israel.  But the Laws of Moses are no longer relevant.  The old covenant is replaced by the new covenant through the life and person and sacrifice of Jesus, the Son of God.  The Church will interpret the Bible and apply it to contemporary needs.  You said, David, that you believe in Jesus.  Do you believe in him enough to accept the decision of his Church?”

            “I have to say, Bryce, that your interpretation makes more sense to me than what I was getting from Brother Timothy at my mom’s church.  I want to study this some more before giving you any definitive answer, though,” David said.

            “Good man.  Don’t be swept over by my awesome rhetoric or my brilliant logic,” Bryce teased in a lighter spirit.  “Here, I’ve printed out all the references I’ve mentioned, in Leviticus and Joshua, and Matthew, and Acts.  If you want more, you’ll have to do some digging on your own.”

            “I like your approach, but I’m not ready to join your church,” David said.  “I like the ceremony and the music at St. Boniface, and I’ll continue to attend with Mike, for now at least.  But I’m disturbed by some of the things some of your priests and bishops say about us gays.  It sounds almost as bad as what Brother Timothy says at my mom’s church.”

            “I know it, David, and that bothers me, and it embarrasses me,” Bryce admitted.

            “Why not try a different church?  I understand that some others are more accepting,” David suggested.

            “I can see your point if you’re coming at this from the position that the church is merely a human construct, a kind of tentative response to the Gospel.  But that’s not how I see it, nor, I think, is it how Mike sees it,” Bryce said.  “I believe that the Catholic Church is the living presence of Jesus on earth.  It is the mystical body spoken of by St. Paul.  It’s like when Paul was struck blind on the road to Damascus, and he heard a voice saying Saul, Saul, wherefore persecutest thou me? and Paul asked, Who art thou, Lord? and the voice answered, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest.  What you do to the Church, you do to Jesus.  The Church is, as I said, the body of Christ on earth.  Her essential teachings are inspired by the Holy Spirit, just as at the Council of Jerusalem, even if some of her spokesmen are complete jackasses.  There really is no alternative.  If the Catholic Church is not true, nothing is true, the secularists are correct, and life is essentially meaningless.  In that case, I see no reason to continue living.”

            “Wow, that’s powerful.  But what makes you so sure the Catholic version of Christianity is the correct one?  After all, the other churches make more or less the same claim,” David asked.

            Bryce took his time before answering.  “I have to respect those who disagree.  I’m sure they’re acting in good faith.  But I can’t see it.  History.  History convinces me that the Catholic Church is the original, the church founded by Christ and the apostles.”

            “How so?  Seems I recall some pretty questionable activities by the Catholic Church throughout history,” David countered.

            “Unfortunately, that’s also true.  As Father Miller told me last semester, the history of the Church is a lesson in the totally wild and inexplicable truth that God loves us.  He chose to have sinful humans run his Church, and sinful humans make mistakes, some of which are pretty serious.  But if he did not allow that, there would be no freedom, no merit in doing what God wants of us, that is, loving him in return.  We would be back to the interpretation you mentioned when we first discussed this, with predestination.  God has decided before we were ever born who will be saved and who will be damned.  That’s Calvin.  But that’s not compatible with the loving God I see in the Gospels.  That’s not the Church of the apostles,” Bryce said.

            “I see you believe this strongly.  What is the basis for your belief in the face of all those who do not believe?” David asked.

            Again Bryce paused before answering.  “Last summer, I went with my family on a trip to Rome.  Among other things, we visited St. Peter’s Basilica, of course, and we took the tour of what they call the scavi.  That’s just the Italian word for ‘excavations.’  Pope Pius XI died in 1939, and left instructions that his tomb was to be located under the high altar.  When workmen got busy putting his plans into action, they found that the planned tomb would not fit into the space available, so they began to dig deeper to set a foundation.  What they found was an early cemetery under the high altar.  For the next ten years, careful archaeological excavations were carried out.  Well, some of the things done were not so careful by more recent standards, but in general, an entire cemetery was found, with both pagan and Christian burials, as indicated by the inscriptions and symbols involved.  When this phase of the work was completed, in 1950 Pope Pius XII announced that bones had been discovered, but they could not be definitely identified as those of St. Peter, as tradition held.

            “The guy in overall charge of these original excavations was Msgr. Ludwig Kaas.  He was told at one point by some workmen that a particularly well protected skeleton had been discovered.  Not being a professional archaeologist himself, and being concerned that proper respect might not be given to the relics of a saint, he had those bones transferred to another place of safety without the knowledge of the archaeologists on whose report Pope Pius made his announcement.  But Msgr. Kaas’ successor, Professor Margherita Guarducci, discovered these bones and carried out a thorough investigation.  From the place where they were originally discovered, and from the bones themselves, she concluded that they belonged to a man between 60 and 70 years old, who was being given special reverence.  She announced that these were the bones of St. Peter, which Pope Paul VI then affirmed in 1968.

            “When I was in Rome, I acquired several books on this subject, including an English translation of Guarducci’s work on the Vatican excavations, The Tomb of St. Peter.  I don’t know Italian, beyond a few words and phrases.  There have been articles in many magazines and journals over the years, including National Geographic.  You don’t have to read all the stuff I did, though.  There’s a pretty good summary on the web in the Wikipedia article ‘St. Peter’s Tomb.’  But I think I know as much as most non-professionals on the subject.  As a student of history, I can say that the preponderance of evidence supports the claim that the apostle St. Peter was buried in what was then a cemetery outside the city of Rome, in the imperial gardens, near what was called the Circus of Nero, about the year 67, and that the bones identified by Professor Guarducci are those of the Saint.  Of course, you’ll never get 100% fool proof evidence, but then, there’s not that kind of evidence for most of accepted historical fact.  Basically, you have to come to the evidence already convinced that this is not the tomb of the apostle to go away denying it.

            “But the kicker is not what I learned from the books.  When I went down into the bowels of St. Peter’s Basilica, directly under the high altar, which the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century and the architect Bramante in the sixteenth century situated so carefully over one particular spot, it was like going back in time to the days of the apostles.  I could see, feel, smell ancient Rome.  I could experience that ancient cemetery.  There was a palpable connection between me, a dumb American just graduated from high school, and something which happened nearly two thousand years ago.  In a real way, St. Peter spoke to me.  Call it what you like, I had a spiritual experience which convinced me that I was in the presence of the Prince of the Apostles.  I knew from that time on that I could never break that link.  I was tied to Peter, and to Peter’s successors, the popes, whether I liked it or not.  This was real, in a way that no mere scientific fact could be real.  That’s why, last semester, it was so very important to me to find some way to be both Catholic and gay, and that’s why I can never abandon Rome, no matter how many stupid statements are issued by Vatican bureaucrats.”

            Having delivered this apologia Bryce sank onto his bed, emotionally exhausted.  He was sweating, flushed, weak.  Neither David nor Damon said anything for some time.  Finally, David stood up.

            “Thanks, Bryce.  That was powerful.  I think I have some idea of where you guys are coming from.  You’ve answered some of my questions.  As for the rest, I promise to give it serious thought.”

            David donned his coat, and took his leave, Bryce merely nodding his head in acknowledgment.  Damon let David out, then came back to Bryce on the bed.

            “I love you,” he said.  “I think I loved you from the first day we met.  But you constantly surprise me.  Damn you, Bryce, now I’ve got to consider that shitty church of yours.”