The church around the world is currently wrestling with a complex paradigm-shift: what to do with our LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) sisters/brothers.

In my view these four articles comprise all you need to know about what the Bible teaches on this important subject. (Rowland Croucher, December 2011).

~~~

Professor Lew Smedes (Ethicist): ‘Yes, it does seem to me that our embrace of divorced and remarried Christian people did indeed set a precedent for embracing Christian homosexuals who live together. ’ Homosexuality and Divorce: Why Not Treat them the Same?    

Professor Walter Wink (Biblical scholar) : ‘The debate over homosexuality is a remarkable opportunity, because it raises in an especially acute way how we interpret the Bible, not in this case only, but in numerous others as well. The real issue here, then, is not simply homosexuality, but how Scripture informs our lives today.’ Homosexuality and the Bible (Walter Wink)

Professor Keith Dyer (New Testament scholar): ‘Do we really have to go here yet again? Yes we do. Not because of pressure on the church from gay lobby groups or because of some new argument that will change peoples minds on the issue. The attitudes of people are changed not by arguments or exegesis, but by personal encounters with a friend or a family member who is found to be homosexual and Christian.’  A Consistent Biblical Approach to (Homo) Sexuality 

Rev. Dr. Rowland Croucher (Counselor of clergy and church leaders with John Mark Ministries):  ’How can I, a heterosexual (currently ‘coming out’ as an ex-Pharisee), who’s been very happily married for 52+ years tell anyone they have to accept their lonely/celibate existence due mostly to factors utterly beyond their control? (The priest and the Levite in Jesus’ parable would certainly have had their conservative theology all sorted out. but the wounded wayfarer is still bleeding on the Jericho Road.)’  Christians and Homosexuality 

~~

Comment from a thoughtful Facebook friend:

Thanks for these, Rowland.

Three of them are excellent. Outstanding.

Just a bit gobsmacked at Professor Wink saying “Persons committing homosexual acts are to be executed. This is the unambiguous command of scripture.” He says it over and over.

It is not true. The Leviticus commands have been explained clearly to apply to very specific situations – not all same-sex activity. In fact, very little.

Then again: “No doubt Paul was unaware of the distinction between sexual orientation …”

What? Paul almost certainly would have been aware of this. Does Prof Wink think the push for same-sex unions began in San Francisco in 1969?

“Paul’s unambiguous condemnation of homosexual behavior in Romans 1 must be the centerpiece of any discussion.”

Just nonsense! Paul condemned two specific practices out of the extensive range of same-sex activities.

Then again: “Paul knew nothing of the modern psychological understanding of homosexuals as persons whose orientation is fixed early in life, persons for whom having heterosexual relations would be contrary to nature …”

How does Prof Wink know this? No evidence for this at all.

And again: “… consenting adults who are committed to each other as faithfully and with as much integrity as any heterosexual couple … was something Paul simply could not envision.”

Really? Why not? Sounds extremely dodgy knowing what we do of same-sex unions in antiquity.

Fortunately the other articles correct this:

Dr Croucher: “The life-long exclusive/faithful commitment of two persons of the same sex was extremely uncommon in the ancient world (except occasionally among aristocratic elites).”

Uncommon, yes. Extremely? Not sure.

Prof Dyer is probably most accurate: “Just what he would have said about two homosexuals in a committed and mutually enriching relationship is not at all clear. Such relationships were kept quiet then, as they still have to be for many today – and especially in the Church.”

Yes, they were probably discrete, but they certainly existed and were well known to have existed.

Rowland, thanks for posting these.

On your comment: “All you need to know about …”

I wonder if it might be helpful for more exploration of the history of same-sex unions sanctified by the Church since its inception. There is a growing body of evidence showing hostility to gay unions is a relatively recent phenomenon.

This has implications for how we read and apply the texts. And how we progress the discussion within the Church.

Merci. Bon soir.

~~~

And here’s a well-researched article by a gay retired Baptist pastor: http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/13935.htm

Related Articles:

• The Global War on Christians in the Muslim World
• Romney, Mormonism, and the American Compromise
• Mere Apologetics
• Torture reigns in the land of the free
• Greece: can you believe this/them?

This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Australia License.