Welcome

Ground rules:

1. This is a confidential space. What is said in this room, stays in this room.

2. We must all agree to create a safe and respectful place.

a. There are a lot of strongly held feelings about the Bible, about faith, spirituality and sexuality. We are not here to come to a conclusion, or to prove someone right or wrong. We are here to have a discussion, and hopefully give some people some confidence when talking about the Bible.

b. Speak from personal experience; Use “I” statements.

c. There is no assumption here that everyone thinks gay people are cool, there is no assumption that everyone here is Christian. Keep that in mind.

3. Feel free to ask any question that you want.

a. However, no one has to answer a question they do not feel comfortable, or equipped to answer.

4. Are there any other additions?

Introductions:

1. Names (have nametags)

2. Briefly why you are here and what you hope to get out of this discussion.

Clarification:

In the present discussion, we are taking no stance on the origin of the Bible. This means that in this space, people are free to believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God; people are free to believe that the Bible is just a book; people are also free to believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, written by humans.

There are two assumptions that we do make, two foci for the current discussion.

1. The original Bible (as the Word of God, or just a historical text) was not written in English. It was translated by humans, and thus is subject to all the flaws of perspectives, biases and political motivations.

2. The Bible has been appropriated and those interpretations have been taken, often, out of context with a particular socio-political motivation.

So the issues we are focusing on here are 1) translations and 2) interpretations.

Starter Bible Passage: Luke 6:27-31

Ask the poster question: What passages have you heard over and over again?

1. Genesis 19:5 (Sodom and Gomorrah)

2. Leviticus 18:22 (You shall not lie with a man…)

3. Leviticus 20:13 (If a man lies with a man…)

4. Romans 1:26-27 (Wrath of God against the unholy; see Notes 1:26-27)

5. I Corinthians 6:9 (Do not associate with the sexually immoral…)

6. I Timothy 1:9-10 (Law for the unholy…)

Other passages:

1. Matthew 7:7-12 (Golden Rule 2)

2. Mark 12:28-34 (First Commandment: You shall love your God; love thy neighbor)

3. Luke 6:27-31 (Golden Rule 1)

4. John 8:2-11 (Woman caught in adultery; let he amongst you, cast the first stone)

5. Romans 2:1-4 (On judging)

6. Galatians 5:13 (Freedom of Love); 16 (Works of the Flesh); 22 (Fruit of the Spirit)

7. Hebrews 5 (Instruction that Jesus is the new Law, see Chapter Preface)

8. Leviticus 19:19 (Polyester) 17; 18; 19; 27; 28

Clarifications:

Sodomite: Someone from Sodom (which does not refer to a sin of homosexuality), and has no homosexual connotation as written in the Bible, beyond someone who was previous judged evil.

Importance of Procreation: In ancient culture, economically it was an imperative to have children, because one needed to have someone to support you in your old age. Further, the command by God to “be fruitful and multiply…” got it! Done with it! Check! Next!

“Homosexuality” among the Greeks: Young boys in Greece and Rome were given elder men to be mentors and teachers. Often this relationship had a sexual component where the boy was passive (bottom), and the elder was active (top). These boys would grow to become men, marry and have families. And in their elder age, would be a mentor and teacher to a young boy. This practice was completely okie dokie with the Greeks. It was however, bad to persist being a bottom if you grew up, or to be engaged in a relationship with a man during marriage (i.e., outside the little system of hierarchical order).

Israel’s need to be a distinct culture (re: Leviticus): In the time after the Exodus, Israel was carving itself out as a unique nation, one chosen by God. It was unique in many respects: the biggest was monotheism. They worshipped only one god, while all the other cultures around worshipped many. The levirate law was part of the process of making Israel unique. Part of that process involved restrictions. This also relates back to the importance of procreation, for to be unique one needed to survive and grow.

To “Know” someone biblically: There is some debate in the popular media about whether the Hebrew verb translated “to know” has a sexual connotation. Modern biblical scholarship believes that it does have a sexual factor. The nation of Israel “knows” their God. It suggests a relationship of love, infatuation, devotion and also possibly sexual.

Table of Contents.