John Boswell: a wasted gift of intellect

John Boswell’s life was tragic and short, but his revisioning of homosexuality in the Christian context became the basis of theological argument for much, it not all of, the gay christian movement.

His life was tragic because although he retained an enormous gifting of intellect, he used it to subvert Christian teaching on homosexuality. It was equally tragic because despite his stellar intellect, it did not protect him from contracting AIDS and eventually dying from it in 1994 at age 47.

Many of the arguments for the compatiblity of homosexuality and Christianity stem from John Boswell’s extremely controversial book Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality.

In fact, if any Christian is confused by the rhetoric of tolerance and acceptance preached by the gay christian movement of today, one would need to look no further than Boswell’s book as the origin. Boswell’s book, more than the man himself, was the fathering voice of gay christian movement.
Advocates of homosexuality hailed the book primarily because they saw it as long awaited proof the sexually restrictive moral codes and standards of Christianity were indeed wrong. In Boswell’s book, they found the “authority” required to assault those standards.
Using his extensive Yale training in history and medieval languages, Boswell shrewdly argued that homosexuality was both tolerated and admired in historical western Christianity.
But like many homosexuals who have written what could be termed brilliant exposition or some other form of self-enabling research (Simon LeVay And the Hypothalamus theory), Boswell was out to prove a point that would stand only to benefit himself and others who rejected predominant Christian teaching on homosexuality.
But James Brundage, a professor of history and law at the University of Kansas, was quoted in an Associated Press story of Boswell’s death that, while the “mainstream reaction” believed Boswell raised some interesting questions, he hadn’t proved his case.

Rebuttals to Boswell’s historical hypothesis came from both sides of the theological coin.
John Lauritsen, a gay writer and activist wrote in hisCulpa Ecclesiae: Boswell’s Dilemma

“It is not surprising that Professor Boswell has been enthusiastically hailed by the gay Christians, to whom he appears as a new Savior who will rescue them, not only from queer-hating religionists, but from gay liberation secularists as well, by demonstrating historically that it’s all right to be a gay Christian.
I cannot remember reading a more frustrating book. Undeniably, it is a formidable work of scholarship. Boswell has retrieved, and translated, charming medieval verse, letters and other materials from periods which were previously more or less blank in the pages of gay history.

On the other hand, Boswell’s arguments, his use of evidence, are fatally flawed by his doomed attempt to reconcile the irreconcilable. In his effort to marry the gay liberation movement to the Christian Church, Boswell is too often required to compromise the former while becoming complicitous in the historic crimes of the latter. “

Gary DeMar, president of American Vision said Boswell’s book was so critical to the gay christian movement that “if you refute it, you refute all arguments that claim the Bible does not condemn homosexual behavior.” He further characterized Boswell’s work as “strained exegesis”.

“Boswell minimizes the importance of this [Sodom] story when he writes, “The sexual overtones to the story are minor, if present, and that the original moral impact of the passage had to do with hospitality. Briefly put, . . . Lot was violating the custom of Sodom (where he was himself not a citizen but only a ‘sojourner’) by entertaining unknown guests within the city walls at night without obtaining the permission of the elders of the city.” Boswell assumes what he must prove.”

Boswell’s adept ability at “assuming what he must prove” has become a chief characteristic of the gay christian argumentation [see this post and links to Neil’s 5 part series on the problem of progay theology.] for the compatibility of homosexuality and Christianity. Boswell left a legacy which, in our opinion, will cause many well meaning individuals to be blinded by Boswell’s brilliant lie. For all the intelligence and intellect Boswell harnessed to construct such a web of deception, be himself seemed to be its greatest victim.