[Disclaimer: This blog and the posts contained within it are solely the representation of my personal thoughts and beliefs. They are in no way representative of the thoughts or beliefs of  communities or organizations I am involved in or discuss.  Such communities would include, but not be limited to, Fuller Theological Seminary, the Pasadena International House of Prayer, the School of Supernatural Ministry, the Live Bones student prayer group, Christian Assembly Church, etc.]

My previous post outlined my entire thought process regarding homosexuality for most of my life and the one that still dominates most Christians and most Churches. If someone reads the Bible to answer the question, “Is homosexuality a sin” and they read the Bible through the Truth-mine approach, they will arrive at the standard categorical condemnation of homosexuality.  There really is no alternative if the Truth-mine approach is used. Therefore, any departure from this conclusion, any alternatives that are suggested, are labelled as a departure from the infallible word of God and from Christian orthodoxy or a capitulation to secularizing forces in our culture.

I began to depart from this stance some time ago. When I came to Fuller in 2010 I already supported the homosexual right to marriage in the wider culture, a huge break from the churches I was raised in. (And something I cowardly kept silent about, though I voted against Prop 8.)  However, I still believed homosexuality was incompatible with Christianity and homosexuals who loved Christ should remain celibate and for some homosexuals and heterosexuals lifelong celibacy and singleness might in fact be what they are called to.

In a class on Christian Ethics we discussed homosexuality and alternate interpretations of the texts commonly used to condemn homosexuality, including many I brought up in my previous post. At this time I actually refused to examine the issue further.  In an email to the professor I basically stated that because there were so many verses that condemned homosexuality it was more reasonable that homosexuality was simply a sin than it was that all of these verses had been incorrectly understood so I refused to explore the alternative interpretations. (In hindsight, I believe I was partially right.) Months later, after my crisis of faith last year and coming to a new understanding of the Bible, I actually took the time to consider these alternate interpretations and questions they brought up.

Through this process I have found that there are major problems with the interpretation and application of all of these verses.  Often the Truth-mine approach to these passages involve many unspoken assumptions that never go questioned and all of them involve a very selective application and reading of the biblical texts. In this post I hope to share some of my concerns about these verses and why the answer arrived at by the Truth-mine approach is not as nearly as clear-cut as most people think it is.

Continue onto the next page as I dive into the Old Testament verses…