The Bible tells me so
Matthew Vines, a young gay Christian, has made a serious argument that the Bible favors loving relationships for people of all sexual orientations, not just heterosexuals. He gave a talk recently at a Methodist Church, which was filmed in its entirety. He carefully worked through each of the verses in the Bible quoted by those who argue that the Bible condemns homosexuality and argued that these verses do not in fact condemn loving same-sex relationships, and he also placed them in the context of the loving message of Jesus. It is an extraordinary exposition by a remarkable person. (Leonard Pitts brought this video to my attention; thanks again, Leonard, for your heart and your conscience.)
Matthew’s video is a little over an hour long, but it behooves you to find the time to watch all of it; you will not regret it. If you prefer to read it, the text of his talk is published here.
Oregon Scribbler.
There are many Christian churches and even a few denominations today that have chosen to embrace homosexuals and to affirm their lives within the Christian faith. Compare and contrast this interpretation of the Bible with one from the Christian Research Institute (“because truth matters”), which emphasizes instead of Christ’s love for all, rather a strict reading of the same Bible verses that Matthew Vines works through, which they interpret as a clear and explicit rejection of homosexuality. The stance of the Christian Research Institute is not even close to the harshest rejection of homosexuality by a religious organization, which right now may be epitomized by the American Family Association, represented publicly by the reverend Bryan Fischer, an organization so full of vituperation, particularly towards homosexuals, as to have been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
In all of the many interpretations of these very few verses, (see this summary of those various interpretations), there is enough difference over their meaning or emphases to drive a semi-trailer truck through, and certainly enough room for a real choice, between a loving and life-affirming choice as opposed to a harsh and life-rejecting one. I wonder what choice Jesus would have made?
2 Comments
daniel
Thomas, good on you for attempting to provide both sides of this debate. I like also how you finish your post with a question – which side would Jesus have made? The question reflects how it’s difficult to be certain of these things. But at the same time, I suggest that reasonable guidance in response to that question is not impossible to find. There are some that claim that Jesus is not recorded to have spoken on homosexual relationships. While technically true, I think that suggestion is also misleading. In passages such as early Matthew 19, and Luke 14:26 Jesus is recorded as referring to relationships, and I think we can obtain guidance from those passages in regards to whether he would support homosexual relationships.
A few responses to the hour long video at the top of your post are now cropping up on the web, and are worth a look for those who are interested, EG this detailed critique: http://stasisonline.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/homosexual-marriage/
Thomas A. Wiebe
Thanks for your comments. See my reply here.