Fear, the bible and Homosexuality

We can’t approach the bible with a hermeneutic of fear.  Many evangelicals are afraid of becoming liberals. For them accepting homosexuals is the primary gateway to liberalism and heresy.  When we interpret text with an underlying fear of reaching a certain conclusion we are naturally biased against reaching that conclusion. 

I’ve seen this in a denomination I’m very familiar with.  There is a move towards affirming women in all areas of church leadership.  Among some this is perceived as another step down the slippery slope towards *gasp* affirming homosexual marriage.  People valiantly defend the status quo like it was a trench on the plains of Europe.  

I know that deep down a lot people would say that they don’t want even consider the idea that the bible doesn’t condemn homosexuality because they feel that the church has compromised too much already. They believe that through each ethical compromise the church descends down the slippery slope to moral corruption and irrelevance.  This may be true of a lot of things but living in this fear does not help us interpet the bible.  There are a number of perceived moral compromises which turned out to be very good.  The Anglicans couldn’t handle the Methodists preaching outside.  In the era of slavery the south had a far stronger biblical case than the abolishionists.  For many the defence of slavery was considered a defence of the authority of the bible much like the issues of women in leadership and homosexuality are today.

Those who approach the bible through the lens of human rights or victimization are similarly sidetracked.  Hurt and bitterness change our percpetion.  Negative experiences will impair our ability to interpret biblical text.  Someone who has been abused by a spiritual authority will be wary of submitting to authority.  A woman was abused by her father may have a hard time with the concept of God as a father.  I wouldn’t blame either victim in these examples but that doesn’t change the fact their perception will probably be skewed.

The lens of human rights skews us to a predetermined conclusion as well.  In much the same way that evangelicals fear the slippery slope, those who are committed to the cause of human rights are afraid of affirming the oppressors. 

As I look at the texts pertaining to homosexual sex there are number of words and phrases that can be taken more than one way.  It is on these key words where interpetive bias can show through.  I see people deciding to go one way or another without providing much of a convincing rationale. 

On the issue of homosexuality I’d say there is less of a calm rational middle that cares first for God’s desire.  The bible has become a pawn between competing world views rather than an authoritative source of truth.  What would it look like if we took an honest look at scripture and accepted it for what it says despite the ramifications.  Maybe the authors of scripture say something we don’t like.  Some may choose to disregard scripture as the primary authority for understanding God and what we would want for us.  I think that people who do this should be honest about it.  Hiding it to yourself and others won’t ensure salvation. 

Fear is what makes smart people stupid and rational people irrational.  As Christians we ought to be people of faith rather than fear. 

• This article references the story of two identical twins. One is so feminine he thinks he is a girl and the other is “all boy.” Both were brought up in the exact same environment.  Chances are strong that the feminine one will have a homosexual orientation.
• Research has found that “Exposure to male hormones in utero dramatically raises the chances of being sexually attracted to females”.
• There is a correlation between our physical attributes and our sexual orientation. Lesbians are more likely to have more masculine finger lengths, inner-ear functions and eye-blink reactions.
• “Homosexuality runs in families – studies show that 8 to 12 percent of brothers of gay men are also gay compared with the 2 to 4 percent of the general population.”

1. Paul condemned homosexual activity that exploited others but would not have condemned monogamous homosexual relationships if they existed at the time..
2. Paul condemned certain kinds of behavior because same sex sexual activity is unnatural and goes against God’s design for humanity.