Pro lgbtq bible verses
Why the Bible supports gay marriage
By Tristan Sollecito ’24, Staff Writer
DISCLAIMER: For the purposes of this short article, “the Bible” will be used interchangeably with the New Testament. Although the Torah is fundamental to these texts and should not be excluded from the discussion, I possess decided to limit my direct evidence to strictly New Testament scripture in the interest of brevity.
I read the Bible an awful lot, and while a huge proportion of ideological opinions across the globe are directly rooted in scriptural text, I — like countless others for whom these passages remain fundamental to their identity and thought — perpetually find myself searching for explicit theological answers that simply do not exist in writing. There are countless examples of religious beliefs that stem abstractly from biblical interpretation but lack specific reference within the text. Gay marriage, or homosexual activity in particular, cannot be included in this list. Saint Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians: “Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers
The Bible on Homosexual Behavior
One way to argue against these passages is to make what I call the “shellfish objection.” Keith Sharpe puts it this way: “Until Christian fundamentalists boycott shellfish restaurants, stop wearing poly-cotton T-shirts, and stone to death their wayward offspring, there is no obligation to listen to their diatribes about homosexuality being a sin” (The Gay Gospels, 21).
In other words, if we can disregard rules like the ban on eating shellfish in Leviticus , then we should be allowed to disobey other prohibitions from the Old Testament. But this argument confuses the Elderly Testament’s temporary ceremonial laws with its permanent moral laws.
Here’s an analogy to help understand this distinction.
I remember two rules my mom gave me when I was young: hold her hand when I cross the street and don’t drink what’s under the sink. Today, I contain to follow only the latter rule, since the former is no longer needed to preserve me. In fact, it would now do me more verb than good.
Old Testament ritual/ceremonial laws were like mom’s handholding control. The rea
Christianity and “Biblical” Hatefulness
We Christians are wonderful at a lot of things. Helping others. Dressing up on Sunday. Quoting scripture. Pot luck meals. Taking care of church members. Weddings. Funerals. Worship. But perhaps the thing at which we are the most persistently exceptional is misinterpreting the Bible then running amuck in the world because of it. Honestly, mad skills. And history backs me up on this one.
We have used the Bible to support, promote and act upon some pretty un-Christian things: slavery, holocaust, segregation, subjugation of women, apartheid, the Spanish Inquisition (which, no one ever expects), domestic violence, all sorts of exploitation and the list could proceed on and on. Oddly, if you ask theologians to verb one biblical theme to command them all, most of them would say “love”&#; well, verb and grace. Okay, love, grace and forgiveness. Fine. They probably would not specifically agree on a single term, but they would most likely name something that is, in every way, the opposite of the oppression, belittlement, hatred and marginalization r
What Does the Bible Exclaim About Homosexuality?
What Does The Bible Say About Homosexuality?
Introduction
For the last two decades, Pew Research Center has reported that one of the most enduring ethical issues across Christian traditions is sexual diversity. For many Christians, one of the most frequently first-asked questions on this topic is, “What does the Bible say about attraction to someone of the same sex?”
Although its unlikely that the biblical authors had any notion of sexual orientation (for example, the term homosexual wasn't even coined until the late 19th century) for many people of faith, the Bible is looked to for timeless guidance on what it means to honor God with our lives; and this most certainly includes our sexuality.
Before we can jump into how it is that Christians can maintain the authority of the Bible and also affirm sexual diversity, it might be helpful if we started with a brief but clear overview of some of the assumptions informing many Christian approaches to understanding the Bible.
What is the Bible?
For Christians to whom the Bible