The Good Book and Gay Marriage

Of course, you are right that the Bible describes practices that we would certainly not consider appropriate today. Your example of slavery is a good one to consider, and you are right; many of our Southern Baptist forebears were terribly wrong on the question of slavery. The Bible acknowledges the existence of slavery and does not condemn its practice, but we certainly don't believe that we should be enslaving people today, fortunately. I think the analogy with homosexuality is not accurate, though. The Bible does not tell people what their attitude toward slavery should be. It tells them how they should treat slaves, since slavery was part of the cultures in which these people lived. In other words, the Bible accepted the existence of slavery as a fact of life, and instructed people on how to treat slaves in a humane way if they were going to have slaves. Even so, the Bible helped to undermine the practice of slavery. After all, it was Christians who led the way in ridding the West of this deplorable practice. Tragically, of course, other Christians used the Bible to insist on their right to enslave others. When you read the arguments they made, though, it is evident that they were simply using parts of the Bible to justify their immorality. They were not grappling with the full teaching of the Scriptures.

Contrary to how the Bible addresses the issue of slavery, the Bible condemns homosexual behavior. It doesn't say how to engage in the behavior in an appropriate manner or that it should be accepted. To come to a different conclusion, one would have to say that the Bible is mistaken, or at best simply the product of a less enlightened age that no longer has any relevance on the subject. It appears that you share one of these opinions when you talk about Paul's wrestling with Jesus' teachings. I think you are saying that Paul made some progress, but didn't get it quite right, that the church is still working its way toward getting things right. You certainly say that with your comments on the Ephesians 5 passage. Neither I, nor many millions of others, believe that Paul's teaching about the proper relationship between husbands and wives is no longer valid. I believe that Paul's teachings were inspired by God, and were based on theological tenets. If Paul got this wrong, then we certainly couldn't believe that he was inspired by God to write this. If he wasn't inspired here, then it is difficult to have confidence in any of his other writings. Experience shows us that the nature of the relationship between husbands and wives that Paul describes, if applied faithfully, results in very successful marriages. Of course, all Scripture must be applied in order for this to happen, including the mutual submission passage you point out.

Furthermore, we are talking about the subject of same-sex marriage. It isn't a matter of freeing people to exercise their right. It is asking society to extend the right to the institution of marriage to same-sex couples. It is asking society to redefine marriage, to give homosexuals the right to an institution not extended to any others. If we redefine marriage contrary to how the Bible defines it and to how society has developed it, why should we stop with homosexual couples? What prevents it from eventually including polygamy? Nothing. And those who attempt to say that the Bible does not have loving, committed homosexual relationships in mind when it condemns homosexual behavior are engaging in untenable linguistic wrangling that cannot be supported exegetically or historically. The Bible does not accept homosexual behavior of any kind, nor does it call on Christians or society to treat homosexual behavior as normal.

Wylie-Kellerman: Thank you for this. We are actually engaging one another. By my lights, a rarity between our sorts. Please forgive me for being surprised. Our conversation may be more important than I first guessed. And I'm going to be emboldened to say some hard things in response.

From my perspective, it seems to me that you want trust of the text without having to wrestle with it, which is to say, without having to bring yourself to it. All you want to know is: can I trust this written text? Texts are vulnerable to interpretation. There is no certainty in that easy sense. All we can do is bet our lives and trust ourselves to the judgment and mercy of God.

It also means you take the text more seriously than you take the life and humanity of a gay brother or lesbian sister. Let me tread carefully here. I know you'll disagree. From the standpoint of the Living Word, I bring the reality of my beloved brothers and sisters to the study table. They are part of how I read. I can't sit next to them in worship, know their faith and integrity, witness the loving fidelity of their relationships (despite the lack of institutional support), feel the pain of rejection or theological bludgeoning, recognize their gifts and graces of ministry (as well as their human failings and frailty) and not hear that "in Christ there is neither gay nor straight."