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Why
bother with what the Bible says?
For
many people the Bible is
not a book they want to read, or give authority
to.
Even for many Christians the Bible is just one source of authority
which must be taken into consideration along with
tradition, personal
conscience and reason. However,
the Bible is seen as one of the major
sources for
our culture; based as it is on the thoughts and principles of
Judaism and Christianity.
During the debate
to lower the age of
consent for gay men in February
1994 in the British House of Commons, the
Bible was
cited by many speakers. For many Christians from evangelical or
conservative backgrounds the Bible is a major
cornerstone of their faith,
and a great stumbling
block when trying to reconcile spirituality and
sexuality.
For these reasons it is essential
to know that the
Bible does not have to be seen as a
book of condemnation for us. We can
argue back with
those who seek to condemn us and use their own arguments
and methods to win.
To say the Bible
condemns lesbians, gays,
bisexuals and transgender
people, and that such condemnation should
be
followed today, is to oversimplify a complex issue. Parts of the Bible
do seem to condemn us but, when compared with other,
equally problematic
and often sexist passages, it is
clear that the phrase, "the Bible says"
is not a
sufficient argument for anything.
When dealing with the
Bible we need to be aware of what it says about
itself - especially in the
story of Sodom - and also
to see how it has been used over the ages. We
need
to develop, what feminist theologians call, an interpretation of
suspicion which questions how texts either affirm or
condemn women,
lesbians, gays and other minorities.
If they are condemning, then
they are not,
and cannot be, words from a God of Love!
We invite you read through the following short articles
which offer some more detailed insights into this
whole area of "The
Bible
says...".
The seven
deadly texts - Interpretations of:
What to say when the Bible is
used as a weapon - Does the whole village really
need to stone my
neighbour to death, or can we
nominate a few people to do it for
us?
Some surprising things to
ponder - What does textual study tell
us about Ruth and Naomi,
David and Jonathan,
the centurion and his slave?
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