What Does The Bible Actually Say About Gay Marriage?

According to Professor of Religion, Lee Jefferson, (Huffpost Religion section, 6/29/11) “the Bible is a complicated collection of documents that was never meant to "speak" to our contemporary situation.” For his lengthy secular humanist examination of the Biblical argument in “context” please (yawn) go to the Huffington post page. Jefferson concluded that all we need to do to converse with the text “in its broader cultural context,” is to just quit focusing on discussing the Bible in terms of moral instruction.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“Several days ago, a historic vote in the state of New York, pushed aggressively by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, legalized the practice of same-sex marriage. . .

. . .Now that the celebration of the New York vote has receded past the front page of most papers and news sites, we have an opportunity to examine the Biblical argument against same-sex marriage (and against same-sex orientation) in context. If anything, this exercise questions whether we should develop stances based upon what the Bible "says." Simply put, the Bible is a complicated collection of documents that was never meant to "speak" to our contemporary situation, but groups often speak through the lens of the Bible and lob textual grenades on issues like same-sex marriage. . . .

So does the Bible have anything to "say" about gay marriage? The Bible is not specific, literate, or even concerned with what we call same-sex orientation or gay marriage. But the state of New York recently had quite a lot to say about gay marriage. Those that would insert the Bible into this debate would do well to reflect upon the text itself. If only we quit focusing on what the Bible didactically "says" and converse with the text in its broader cultural context. Then one can realize the multivalent value of such a book that a narrow reading cannot service.”

 

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