Okay. We’ve looked at basic principles of biblical interpretation. Now it’s time to apply those principles to our study of Scripture as it relates to those who are gay.
We could start with a review of some major themes of Scripture that are pertinent to our study. Or we could start with the few passages that the church has traditionally used to condemn gay people and gay relationships. In seminary I started my study by looking at the specific passages, and that is where most Christians focus their conversation. So let’s start there.
What I discovered is that the particular passages that the church has traditionally used to condemn gay relationships really don’t address the morality of gay relationships as we understand them today. Those passages fall within two basic categories: 1) passages that the church as traditionally interpreted to teach a “creation order” for male-female marriage, and 2) passages that speak of same-sex relationships in negative terms.
For the first category, people typically turn to the creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2 as well as passages in which Jesus quotes the Genesis creation accounts. Certainly Genesis speaks about God’s creation of the first man and woman, but does this reference teach that male-female relationships are the “creation order” or “creation norm” for all human beings throughout history?
There are a number of reasons to say no. First, Genesis is descriptive of God’s creation of the original man and woman, but is it also prescriptive? Male-female marriage is the normal (that is, usual) pattern for forming new families, but is it also normative? There is certainly no clear reason to say yes. Sure male-female marriage is typical for people, but why couldn’t there be exceptions? After all, Genesis paints a picture of creation in very broad terms, and we see that the creation is in reality filled with tremendous variety. Why couldn’t gay love and marriage for gay couples be part of the variety? Genesis doesn’t close the door on this possibility.
Second, people often go to the creation accounts with questions such as, “What does Genesis say about gay people?” However, that is not the question Genesis is addressing, and by approaching Genesis in this way, we are in danger of proof texting. In fact Genesis 1 and 2 are answering a question that people throughout history have asked: “How did this world, including human beings, come into being?”
Genesis answers, “God did it!” Since Genesis is telling a story about the beginning of the human race, of course it’s going to speak about God’s creation of a man and a woman. To expect (or demand) that Genesis answer a question about same-sex attraction and same-sex marriage is really expecting more from the text than it offers.
In the next post I will continue to examine Genesis and then go on to look at Jesus’ affirmation of Genesis.
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