Q.
What does the Bible really say about homosexuality?
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However, like all the translations of the Bible, there are many kinds of
different meanings that can be drawn from the original words that people use
to prove their divergent points. In the 1 Corinthians 6 passage, for example,
which is often used, the word for “homosexual offenders”—arsenokoitai—has a
wide range of interpretations.
That is one of the crazy parts about being more honest about Bible
interpretation; it is subjective and always open for scrutiny if we respect our
human limitations and inability to be 100 percent certain what God means.
Regarding this issue, it is interesting that Jesus was never recorded in the gos-
pels as mentioning homosexuality, yet clearly this has become one of the most
signifi cantly “Christian” issues of our time.
I come from a conservative evangelical tradition and have made great
shifts in what I believe over the years as I began to realize that I primarily
believed certain things because that was what people in power told me. As I
started to do my own biblical research (and cultivate close relationships with
gay and lesbian friends), my heart began to feel far less certain about what I
had been taught. Because my church, The Refuge, is an inclusive community,
sometimes people of a more conservative persuasion will ask me, “What we
do about the gay people who are part of our community? Don’t we tell them
the truth about what the Bible says?”
My answer has become so clear and freeing. I tell them, “I know that
you see the scriptures that way, and I understand there are some passages in
the Bible that point to homosexual behavior as a sin, but it would be a good
idea for you to know some other people who see those passages differently,
who read the same exact words as you and have solid convictions—as solid
as yours—that are completely different from your viewpoint. Maybe you can
learn from each other in true community instead of arguing over the teaching
of biblical truth.”
Over time, I have come to the conclusion that I don’t really know, but I
don’t really need to know. I don’t have a simple way to reconcile these pas-
sages or dismiss created design and the differences between male and female
anatomy. Regardless, I can say that all of the unknowns, various interpreta-
tions, and perspectives do force me to keep turning to and relying on the
bigger story, and the bigger story is about Jesus alive and at work, restoring,
rebuilding, healing, challenging, moving people of all shapes, sizes, colors,
and sexual orientations.Joshua Einsohn
A.
The Bible says a lot of pretty mean things about homosexuality:
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomina-
tion” (Lev. 18:22). (I know that the Lord was speaking with Moses