As someone raised deeply Christian, but born gay, I understand the dilemma modern gay life poses for faithful Christians. This post is one in a series exploring how to reconcile modern gay life with truly Christian values.
Many people use the Bible as a moral guide. Unfortunately, it offers little or no guidance for a modern gay man.
I know the Bible well. Unlike most Americans, I have read it from cover to cover, four or five times, studying it in depth each time. I find it fascinating and rich, but biblical morality is complex, which is a mixed blessing. That complexity is both its strength and its weakness, as it makes the Bible expansive, contradictory, and often messy in ways that can accurately mirror real life, but those same qualities leave it vulnerable to selective interpretation
The anti-gay language in the Bible sounds harsh at first, ripe for simplistic thinking, but a closer reading reveals more depth and nuance.
### What Jesus said
Obviously, the most important thing for Christians to know is what Jesus said about gay lives: Nothing.
Living under the Romans, who openly and enthusiastically practiced homosexuality in their social relationships and in their sacred rituals, Jesus had no comment. He was completely silent on the issues of homosexuality and gender variation.
Given that anti-gay preaching simply had no place the ministry of Jesus, it is weird to see the prominence some of his followers give it. Pope Francis recently [called that out the church](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/world/europe/pope-bluntly-faults-churchs-focus-on-gays-and-abortion.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0″ target=”_blank) for what he called its obsession with gay sexuality. “We have to find a new balance,” he said, “otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.” Very Christlike, this Pope.
*Answers for my life’s questions*: None.
### Against nature
The Apostle Paul didn’t like any sex, including straight sex within marriage. “It is good for a man not to touch a woman,” he wrote, adding, “…those who marry will have affliction in regard to the flesh, and I would spare you that.” [1] He also wrote to the Roman people:
And then there is the subject of women. So for all the lesbians out there, what the Bible says about female-female sex: Nothing. It is nowhere in the book. In classical Bible style, women are left out of the story entirely.
*Answers for my life*: None for my life, obviously, but also no guidance for gay women. None.
### Summary
And there they are, all the anti-gay scriptures. And not one addresses the questions around my life, my heart, my relationships, or my ethics.
I do not go against my sexual nature in sacred frenzies of wine and drugs. I am not an effeminate man, although I pity Paul for being uptight about men with effeminate energy. I do not work as a temple prostitute, although it sounds like a fascinating career path. I do not follow the Hebraic laws of ritualistic purity or eat a Kosher diet. And finally, I do not crave angel flesh, although frankly, as I have never met a true angel, the possibility remains. If there is a man out there who really is an angel, and finds me interesting, he should call me. I would love to meet over coffee.
I respect the Bible for many things, and it may be a good guide for life in general, but the Bible tells us nothing about what medical treatment for cancer, and it tells me nothing about how to lead my gay life. For some questions it is better to seek more modern advice.
[1] 1 Corinthians 7:1;6
[2] Proverbs 6:16-17, Leviticus 18:19, Proverbs 6:16-19, Leviticus 19:23, Leviticus 18:30, Leviticus 19:27, Numbers 15:32-36, Deuteronomy 22:11, Leviticus 11:10-12, Leviticus 11:8
[3] Deuteronomy 17: 2-5; Exodus 35:2; Leviticus 20:13, Leviticus 21:9, Isaiah 14:21; Genesis 38:6-10; Leviticus 24:16; Exodus 22:17; Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 21:18-21