By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee Here are three proposals for responding to the very important claim that God’s design in creation rules out any same-sex relationships, a claim derived from Genesis 1-2, Matthew 19, Romans 1 and perhaps also…
God made them male and female: The LGBT issue, part 12
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee There are only four passages of Scripture widely quoted on the traditionalist side that I have not yet considered: Genesis 1:26-28/2:18-25, Matthew 19:3-12 (and parallels), and Romans 1:26-27. Despite differences in content and background,…
Two odd little words: the LGBT issue, part 11 (Revised)
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee In 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10, Paul (in the second case, probably a pseudonymous “Paul”) deploys two “vice lists” — a common enough rhetorical strategy in the Greco-Roman world — to communicate…
Two odd little words: The LGBT issue, part 11
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee Several weeks ago I wrote a letter to my ethics survey class here at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology. One line read: “Thanks for the name-hugs.” Imagine a scholar studying the writings of…
How I got here: The LGBT issue, part 17
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee My mind and heart have changed on the LGBT issue. I am not the only one by any means–the trickle is becoming a flood. I could point you to a stack of thoughtful books…
Leviticus, abomination and Jesus: The LGBT issue, part 10
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee Not long ago I received a communication from a person identifying himself as John Calvin, quoting Leviticus 20:13 to me, suggesting that this text resolves the LGBT issue. Dr. Calvin’s concern was already on…
The sins of Sodom (and Gibeah): The LGBT issue, part 9
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee Traditionalist Christians on the LGBT issue argue that there can be no legitimate same-sex relationships because they are banned by the Bible. Thus even where traditionalists acknowledge the existence of enduring same-sex orientation, they…
How traditionalists connect the biblical dots: The LGBT Issue, part 8
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee The essentials of the traditionalist reading of scripture on same-sex relationships can be rendered by this formula, though of course there are variations: Genesis 1-2 + Genesis 19 + Leviticus 18:22/20:13 + Judges 19…
Biblical inspiration, human interpretation: The LGBT issue, part 7
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee The (Protestant) Bible has 66 books, 1,189 chapters and 31,273 verses, spoken, written and edited over more than a millennium, in three different languages, in multiple social settings, by dozens of authors, with the…