Gays and the Church--Second Stanza : "The Bible Says..."

photo by Sean Macenter / flickr

If you have heard enough about gays issues--you might want to skip this article. But Daily Kos which keeps a hand on the pulse of many things--has an article worth reading. Back when Dr. Laura Schlesinger was the rage just a few years ago--she quoted Leviticus 18.22 as proof that gays were an abomination. We've heard people quoting the Bible about why "the gay lifestyle" is against God's will.  Dr. James Kauffman retired from teaching at the University of Virginia must have gotten tired of hearing "The Bible says..." when talking about gays. In 2010 he wrote a piece in response to Dr. Laura's stance. Read it for yourself. Daily Kos reprinted his article on August 17, 2015.

Before you toss the Bible as being hopelessly irrelevant remember that Leviticus and a lot of other parts of the Bible were written in a primitive time. Their writings reflect the age in which they lived. God used some very crooked sticks to write the lines that appear in certain parts of the Bible. The standard through which we filter the whole Book is Jesus Christ and his life and teachings. He loved everyone. "By this all shall know you are my disciples if you love one another." No qualifications.

I have preached from this book for over 40 years. It is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path. This book is God's word. He could have handed down his words on a golden plate--which he did not. He used people--flawed as people today--to write his words. Some of those words got filtered through some very narrow prisms. Yet--I still open this book, study it, meditate on it--preach from it. Why? This really is God's word. It never goes out of date. Nothing is perfect but God alone. If the book were perfect we could worship it. My faith is not shaken by certain parts of the Bible. God has spoken through this book over all others--then and now. We get very far away from the book's primary teachings and Christians and the Church are in deep trouble.

--Roger Lovette / rogerlovette.blogspot.com