“How about people who remain single? Does the Bible condemn them as unnatural?”
“No.”
“Even though, by your own logic, they are not procreating?”
“Plenty of other passages in the Bible condemn homosexuality,” Pastor Clive says.
“Ah, yes. That lovely bit you read from Leviticus. Are you aware, Mr. Lincoln, that Leviticus is a holiness code that was written over three thousand years ago?”
“Of course I am.”
“Do you know that holiness codes had a very specific purpose? That they weren’t commandments but prohibitions of behaviors that people of faith would find offensive at a certain time and place? Are you aware, Pastor, that in the case of Leviticus, the code was written for priests in Israel only, and meant to hold them more accountable than priests from other countries, like Greece?”
“It’s quite clear what’s right and wrong when you read that passage. And you may try to explain it away historically, but it’s still morally relevant today.”
“Really. Did you know that, in Leviticus, there were many other prohibitions listed? For example, there’s one against wild haircuts, did you know that?”
“Well—”
“And one against tattoos.” She smiles. “I’ve got one myself, but I’m not gonna tell you where.” The lawyer walks toward Pastor Clive. “Is that a silk tie against a cotton shirt? Did you know that there’s another prohibition against wearing garments made of mixed fabric?”
“I fail to see how—”
“And hey, there’s another one saying you shouldn’t eat pork or shellfish. You like shrimp scampi, Pastor?”
“This isn’t—”
“There’s another prohibition against getting your fortune told. And how about football? You like football, right? I mean, who doesn’t? Well, there’s a prohibition against playing with the skin of a pig. Wouldn’t you agree, Pastor, that many of those prohibitions are indeed historically outdated?”
“Objection,” Wade says. “Counsel is testifying!”
The judge tilts his head. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, Mr. Preston. Overruled.”
“The Bible is many things to many people, but it is not a sex manual, correct?”
“Of course not!”
“Then why on earth would you turn to it for recommendations about appropriate sexual activity?”
Pastor Clive faces the lawyer. “I look to the Bible foreverything,Ms. Moretti. Even examples of sexual deviance.”
“What does it have to say about butt plugs?”
Wade rises.“Objection!”
“Really, Ms. Moretti?” the judge says, scowling.
“Should we assume then that there might be things not mentioned in the Bible that are still sexually deviant?”
“It’s entirely possible,” Pastor Clive says. “The Bible is just a general outline.”
“But the ones thatarementioned in the Bible as being sexually deviant—that, in your opinion, is God’s word? Completely and utterly inviolable?”
“That’s right.”
Angela Moretti picks a Bible off the defense table that has been littered with Post-it notes. “Are you familiar with Deuteronomy 22:20–21?” she asks. “Could you read this out loud to the court?”
Pastor Clive’s voice rings through the room.“If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl’s virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death.”
