Some old incomplete works

Back in 2007 I began to seriously consider the issue concerning what the bible said about homosexuality. Below is the beginnings of an essay I started to write but regretfuly never finished. Some time in the near future I may undertake this project once again, but for now I will re-post what I orginally wrote.

Please note that this work is incomplete both in thought and content. For the life of me I can't remember what points 3,4, and 5 were going to be. Enjoy!!

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The issues surrounding same-sex relationships are tearing apart our society, individual communities, families and churches. Naturally many people turn to the Bible for guidance, and find themselves mired in interpretative quicksand.

SOME POINTS TO CONSIDER:
1] How can there be such a difference of opinion within the Christian Church over the issue of same-sex behavior? Largely because unproven and socially/culturally/historically biased ideas have been taught for centuries about some Scripture passages.

The six so called "CLOBBER PASSAGES" used by those opposed to same-sex relationships: Genesis 19:1-14 Sodom and Gomorrah (18-20); Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13 Holiness/Morality Code (18-20); Romans 1:26-27 Natural vs Unnatural (1-3:20); 1 Corinthians 6:9 (5-6) & 1 Timothy 1:10 (1) Malokois and Arsenokotai.

Other passages used in the same-sex debate, pro and con: Genesis 2:21-25 Creation Story (1-2); Judges 19:22-24 Wickedness of the Men of Gibeah (19-21); 1 Samuel 18:1-4, 20:17-18,41 (20) and 2 Samuel 1:25-26 (1) David & Jonathan; 1 Kings 14:21-24 & 15:9-15 Reign of Rehoboam and Asa-Male Shrine Prostitutes; Matthew 19:1-12 One Flesh; Acts 10:9-20 Purity Issues; Jude 7 Judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah.

While most people are certain they know what the Bible says about same-sex relationships many don't know where the verses that reference same-sex behavior can be found. They haven't read them, let alone studied them carefully. They don't know the original meaning of the words in Hebrew or Greek. And they haven't tried to understand the historical context in which those words were written.

2] HERMENEUTICS
The Bible should always be definitive for a Church’s faith, but the Scripture is open to hermeneutics; "informed and reasoned interpretation". In other words, the Bible is not self-authenticating. It needs to be seen in all the light that every new era of history and scholarship can provide. The process taught at my alma mater was Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation (1981) by Henry A. Virkler:
LEXICAL-SYNTACTICAL METHOD-looks at the words used and the way the words are used.
HISTORICAL/CULTURAL METHOD-the history and culture surrounding the author(s) is important to understand, aid in interpretation.
CONTEXTUAL METHOD-A verse out of context can often be taken to mean something completely different from the intention. This method focuses on the importance of looking at the context of a verse in its chapter, book and even biblical context.
THEOLOGICAL METHOD-A single verse does not a theology make.
LITERARY METHOD(S)-each genre of Scripture has a different set of rules that applies to it (narratives, histories, prophecies, apocalyptic writings, poetry, psalms and letters. Within these, there are allegory, figurative language, metaphors, similes and literal language.)

Points 3,4 and 5 to come, this is a work in progress...