HOMOSEXUAL HERMENEUTICS AND ITS DEADLY IMPLICATIONS: A PASTORAL REFLECTION

IV. DISMISSING BIBLICAL AUTHORITY AND INERRANCY

In spite of the nature of this debate (based on biblical evidence), homosexual theologians argue that Scripture is not the ultimate criterion in validating homosexuality in the Christian church. Stanton Jones, in arguing against the pro-homosexual use of Scripture, writes, "There are only two ways one can neutralize the biblical witness against homosexual behavior: by gross misinterpretation or by moving away from a high view of Scripture."54 It is my contention that homosexual theologians have succeeded in doing both of these things. Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart identify the approach of valid exegesis:

The believing scholar insists that the biblical texts first of all mean what they meant. That is, we believe that God's Word for us today is first of all precisely what His Word was to them. Thus we have two tasks: First, to find out what the text originally meant; this task is called exegesis. second, we must learn to hear the same meaning in the variety of new or different contexts of our own day; we call this second task hermeneutics.55

As pro-gay exegetes interpreted Scripture, clear biases and a lack of regard for context have often led to faulty exegetical and hermeneutical outcomes and assumptions.

However, one could say that this was due to a very low view of Scripture. Care was not taken because biblical purity was not a concern. There is no denying that many of the scholars began their research with the presupposition that at the very least the Bible is not inerrant. Some have even decided to reject any form of biblical authority regarding homosexuality. Gary Comstock writes,

We have not been sufficiently skeptical of the patriarchal framework within which these passages occur. I would suggest that our approach to the Bible become less apologetic and more critical -that we approach it not as an authority from which we want approval, but as a document whose shortcomings must be cited.56 [italics mine]

He continues to question Scripture's authority by stating,

Not to recognize, critique, and condemn Paul's equation of godlessness with homosexuality is dangerous. To remain within our respective Christian traditions and not challenge those passages that degrade and destroy us is to contribute to our own oppression. . . . Those passages will be brought up and used against us again and again until Christians demand their removal from the biblical canon.57 [italics mine]

Maury Johnston picks up where Comstock leaves off by declaring these predictable words,

The Bible is not the Word of God, but the words of men, in which and through which we believe the living, active, constantly contemporary Word of God comes to men. . . . What most fundamentalists fail to take into consideration is that the Christian Church really has no need for an infallible BiWe.58

Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong has made similar comments in regard to the authority of Scripture. He writes,

Other religious leaders at the highest levels in Catholic, evangelical, and even mainline traditions have weighed in with similar statements. They all seem to assume that there is a clear sexual ethic in holy scripture. The debate, however, rages on because, first, the sexual references in holy scripture are not consistent and, second, the authority of those texts which can be quoted literally has been seriously eroded. The Bible has been used in this way before, and it has not prevailed. ... So when religious leaders claim support of scriptures for their own homophobia, it becomes quite clear that something besides truth is operating in them. The Bible is an ambiguous document about specific sexual practices. Perhaps this is what those who think of themselves as "Bible believers" have so much difficulty accepting. . . . Even one of the biblical instances that is quoted to demonstrate the Bible's clear denunciation of the "sin of homosexuality" (Rom. T) confronts us with the strange idea that if we fail to worship God properly, God will punish us with homosexuality!59