Some Final Thoughts on Pride Month

This post brings an end to my Pride Month series of blog posts. Over the course of this last month, we have had an in-depth look at the six “clobber” passages that have been used to condemn homosexuality and LGBTQ+ people and why they don’t say what many tend to believe they do. I have also presented some of my thoughts and experiences that have led me to become an affirming Christian and pastor. 

My main focus this month has been to dismantle the unhelpful perceptions that people have towards the LGBTQ+ community based on false or biased information they were given about the bible, God and Christianity. I hope to have shown why I believe the bible does not condemn same-sex orientation or same-sex couples in mutually-committed and consensual relationships.

Not only do I believe that the bible does not condemn same-sex relationships, I strongly believe that a faithful reading of the bible supports same-sex relationships and can give us wisdom and tools for healthy same-sex relationships, just as it does for healthy heterosexual relationships. However, I wanted to limit this series to Pride Month so I will compile my thoughts on this particular belief in another post or two and release them in the future.

I wanted to write some final thoughts on my experience of publishing these Pride Month posts this past month.

Conversations with Non-Affirming Christians

I must admit that I have been pleasantly surprised by most of the interactions and conversations that I have had with non-affirming Christians this month in response to my posts. In the past when I have posted in support of the LGBTQ+ community, the majority of responses have been filled with hate and condemnation, with little intention to converse in a healthy way. This month, I am pleased to say that I have managed to have a few civil and enjoyable conversations with non-affirming Christians. I don’t think any of us came away from those conversations changing our opinions, but we understood more about each others beliefs and felt encouraged to continue following Jesus together, even though we believe differently on these topics.

This is my dream for the Church, that we can focus more on what unites us than what divides us; that we can minister together for the Kingdom of God and the thriving of all people, even though we don’t always agree on what that may look like. Would I prefer that everyone agreed with what I believe to be the most faithful interpretation of scripture and affirm LGBTQ+ people and relationships? Yes. Would I love LGBTQ+ people to be able to walk into any church and know that they will be loved and accepted for who they are? Of course! But I am also willing to offer the same respect to non-affirming Christians that I would hope they would extend to me. I will continue to fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ people to exist and thrive in this world, but I can accept if other Christians don’t share my support - as long as they are not infringing upon the rights of LGBTQ+ people to exist and belong.

An Interesting Observation

In most of my conversations with non-affirming Christians, their justification for their stance is that the bible “clearly” condemns homosexuality. They ask me: “how can you read the same bible as me and think so differently about this issue?” For many people, the bible is the ultimate barrier to affirming LGBTQ+ people and relationships.

This month, I wrote four articles laying out in-depth bible studies of the passages of scripture that seem to address homosexuality. I thought that these would be the most sought-after articles because of the obstacle they been for so many people, myself included. However, I was surprised to discover that these posts had a much lower readership than my other posts speaking about my personal experiences.

When speaking of experiential things, like how I have experienced God working in the lives of LGBTQ+ folk, non-affirming Christians are quick to say, “but the bible says,” but when I try to help them understand what the bible actually says, they go silent or say, “you are just twisting the words of scripture” without offering any other sort of rebuttal or helpful conversation.

There could obviously be many reasons for the lower readership on these posts. Perhaps many of my readers have already done their research on these passages and are comfortable with what they’ve discovered. But I have to wonder if this shows that while many people claim that the bible is their biggest stumbling block to affirming homosexuality, they are happy to just accept the interpretations that they have heard from popular voices in the Christian world.

If people really want to take the bible seriously like they claim, they should be willing to put in the effort and do the research that faithful biblical interpretation takes. I feel so strongly about this need to take the bible seriously because the lives and souls of real people are at stake based on our interpretations of these sacred texts. If we desire to take the bible seriously (and not just literally), this is the type of scholarly work that we need to be willing to commit to.

It seems to me that many Christians are afraid of biblical scholarship. They are seemingly more comfortable just believing what their (often self-ordained and self-taught) pastor says than trusting the work of hundreds of biblical scholars who have devoted their lives to faithfully studying these sacred texts. This is something I feel like I may need to address in future posts as well.

Conclusion

I hope I have made myself clear about my beliefs about LGBTQ+ people and relationships in my posts this month. If not, let me try to summarise as briefly as I can:

I am not saying that the biblical authors would have affirmed an LGBTQ+ person if they were teleported back in time into their midst. These ancient people had an ancient understanding of the world and were doing their best to follow God faithfully within their limited understanding of humanity, God and the world. We have since acquired a lot more knowledge about sexuality and gender. We need to do the same work as the biblical authors and discern how best to follow God faithfully now within the limit of our new (but still limited) understanding of humanity, God and the world.

The bible does not directly address the issue of same-sex orientation or the expression of that orientation. While the bible’s six references to same-sex behaviour are indeed negative, the concept of same-sex behaviour in ancient biblical times was sexual excess, not sexual orientation. Furthermore, the main reason many non-affirming Christians believe the bible’s statements should apply to all same-sex relationships (men and women’s anatomical differences) is not mentioned in any of these texts.

I don’t believe that any of the biblical passages condemn homosexuality or LGBTQ+ people. But even if I did think that a few verses from the bible condemned homosexuality, I would still need to discern whether my interpretation of these verses are in line with what I know about Jesus Christ. As Christians, Jesus is our ultimate measuring stick to determine whether our interpretations of the bible are righteous or not. In all of the accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry, Jesus never said one word remotely related to the condemnation of homosexuality or LGBTQ+ people. Every single time scripture was used to condemn or exclude someone from God’s love and grace, Jesus countered that interpretation by offering even more love and grace.

Our ultimate test as to whether our interpretation of something is faithful or not, is to ask the question: “Would Jesus say amen to this?” Would Jesus say amen to the way that a few biblical passages have been used to condemn the entire LGBTQ+ community? Would Jesus say amen to the way that thousands of LGBTQ+ youth feel led to commit suicide because they cannot reconcile their sexuality and gender with their faith? I don’t think so.

Would Jesus say amen to an interpretation of the biblical texts that cause LGBTQ+ people to feel loved, accepted and empowered by God? Would Jesus say amen to a Church that is united in love and respect and compassion for all people? Would Jesus say amen to a Church that fights against injustice and works together for the well-being of all people, regardless of gender or sexual-orientation? Based on what I know about Jesus and the Kingdom of God that Jesus preached, I believe that he would and he does.