CREEDE HINSHAW: Homosexuality a complex religion topic

Last week I tried to conclude a two-week Sunday school lesson on what the Bible says about homosexuality, but I ran out of time.

One might think this lesson should be brief and simple. Although a study of “Sabbath” or “love” or “grace” could take months because of the breadth of material, there are only six references to homosexual acts in the Bible, each reference with negative connotations. Why, some would ask, waste time discussing something God has succinctly condemned? From this perspective, such a lesson could be concluded in five minutes.

I knew this wouldn’t be the case.

I prepared a handout of the six commonly cited passages (Genesis 19:5; Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:12, Romans 1: 26-27, 1 Corinthians 6: 9, 1 Timothy 1:10) in both the New Revised Standard Version and the New International Version of the Bible.

But before distributing the verses, I employed a technique used effectively by one of my seminary professors who offered highly interesting and thought-provoking “preliminary comments” prior to his topic. These preparatory remarks often absorbed two-thirds of the lecture, so that we understood how he had reasoned out his topic.

So before discussing the six specific verses I offered these preliminary comments:

(1) The Bible contains all things necessary for salvation. This statement of faith, dating to 1562, remains the confession of the Church of England, the Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church. While core tenets to the faith are non-debatable, there is flexibility in the church to debate and understand many issues differently.

(2) Homosexuality is a complex topic because it is a subset of how we approach the Biblical meaning of human sexuality, lust, gender identity and marriage.

(3) We must avoid rummaging through scripture to prop up a previously held opinion. (Example: the Bible supports slavery.)

(4) We must avoid reading our ignorance into scripture. (Example: The Bible says the earth is 6,000 years old; dinosaurs were on Noah’s ark.)

(5) We must approach the Bible with humility, guarding against the arrogance that 21st century people have all the answers.

(6) The likelihood that by citing scripture we can change somebody’s mind/heart either way about homosexuality is low.

(7) Every church has gay and lesbian church members and/or parents, children or relatives of gay and lesbian people. Our conversations should be conducted lovingly, but have often been hurtful and condemning.

(8) Almost all churches now offer grace and love to GLBTQ persons, although the nature of this love and acceptance is understood differently by conservative and liberal churches.

(9) Society has changed dramatically in an approach to homosexuality. But so has the church, even if we haven’t recognized it. We used to call homosexual people perverted and mentally disordered, but now have abandoned such language. The conservative belief that homosexuals could be “healed” has been almost universally discredited. Married gay couples in our churches inevitably will change our approach and understanding.

(10) Of 31,102 Bible verses only six of them refer to homosexuality.

These observations are worth pondering prior to discussing particular verses. In a few weeks I’ll write Part III of this column.

Email columnist Creede Hinshaw, a retired Methodist minister, at [email protected].