Homosexuality & the Bible: Intro

In 2012, Minnesota voters defeated a proposed amendment to the Minnesota Constitution defining marriage as between a heterosexual couple. I voted against the amendment, but I did so quietly. It was a change for me, a significant one, from the beliefs I held in my teens, but I was not vocal online or in any visible way. This past spring, the Minnesota legislature was considering a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, and I finally “came out” on Facebook as a heterosexual ally to people who are homosexual. The bill passed and will be effective August 1, 2013, though the paperwork for individual marriage licenses may be completed before then. It was a big moment for Minnesota and for me personally.

When I started to get the researcher’s itch to write about the controversial issue of the Bible and homosexuality, I wasn’t sure how to approach it. Scholar, law student, Christian, human being, amateur, soon-to-be bride… there were so many options. I checked out books from a local seminary, my law school, and the county library. I read scholarly articles online. I contemplated an extended academic article.

I’ve circled back to a series of blog posts for two simple reasons. First, I am not a Biblical scholar. Yes, I have a lifetime of Sunday school attendance, I took a religion class in college, I have a personal faith, and I have an academic background in research. But everything I will be saying is based upon my research and my own assertions about the logical connections between them. 

Second, I want to talk to you like an equal, like we would talk in a coffee shop. My thoughts about homosexuality have entirely changed since I was in high school, and a blog is the best way to share why. There are too many people who disagree with me to sit down at Caribou and talk it out with all of them. These are people I love and respect, and I believe they (you?) will proceed with an open mind.

I am a Christian, and that doesn’t mean I’m perfect. In fact, it means I’m imperfect. But it means I try to admit when I’m wrong, I ask for forgiveness, and I am willing to change. It means I believe the Bible reflects God’s will and is true—all of it. But it also means I want to view the words in the context of who they were for, why they were said, and how they were translated.

This is the first of a series of posts about why the Bible does not condemn homosexuality in the violently clear way I was taught as a child, why I slowly came to accept I was wrong and ask for forgiveness of those I have hurt by my condemning statements, and why I am freed by this realization.

My goal is to get through this over the summer. Welcome to my journey.