Some Resources on Homosexuality and Christianity

First Year Seminar  Fall 2002

NOTE: These sites all seem to me worth at least a quick look, although they obviously vary greatly in depth and point of view. I do not necessarily agree with everything on these sites. Nor do I claim to have fairly represented all points of view—as you will see, most of these sites are either neutral about or open to the idea that gay people should be accepted as full members of society and the church. I found these through a quick search on google.com, and there were hundreds more, from all parts of the political and religious spectrum. If you are interested, I encourage you to look further, and to share particularly interesting sites with me and others in the class. You can email me at gundyj@bluffton.edu

http://www.ambs.edu/LJohns/Homosexuality.htm Loren Johns’s site, with useful commentary on all the Bible passages related to same-sex activity.

http://www.christianlesbians.com/index.html Essays and sermons by Anita, who is “unapologetically Christian and lesbian.”

http://www.christianlesbians.com/articles/gay_christian.html This essay explains what she means by the phrase above.

http://www.christianlesbians.com/articles/romans.html Her commentary on Romans and on Paul.

http://www.glccftl.org/library/religion/bible.html A number of questions with fairly brief but careful answers on what the Bible says about homosexuality, from a gay-friendly perspective.

http://www.biblebabble.com/laws.htm On “Some of the Strange Laws in the Bible.”

http://www.armyofgod.com/Leviticus.html The “Homo News.” Includes lots of Bible verses and headlines like “Faggot mayor of Paris stabbed.”

http://www.fallwell.com/ingnored%20old%20testament%20verses.html Analysis and commentary on the “purity code” verses in Leviticus; especially Lev. 20:13, often quoted as forbidding homosexuality, and others that we never hear invoked from pulpits. A couple of samples:

"For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him." (Leviticus 20:9)

Imagine what would happen today if we killed every child who was disrespectful to his parents. Most preachers conveniently choose to ignore this verse, which is merely 3 verses before Leviticus 20:13.

"Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property." (Leviticus 25:44-45)

Did you ever wonder where racist Southerners and even the Supreme Court in the 1800's got the idea that slaves were just "property" and not people?

From the above verse, which most preachers, in their picking and choosing, choose to completely ignore. Or, maybe someone should ask those preachers if they support slavery, as does this verse.

Those Southerners were still racist, even though they were quoting the Bible to support their racism, just like some preachers quote Leviticus 20:13 to support THEIR bigotry against gay and lesbian people.