Contemporary Theology For Queer People of Faith

by David Mundy

Can someone be both Christian and Homosexual?

In attempting to formulate an ethical attitude toward homosexuality, those who identify themselves as Christians may wish to follow the example of Christ himself. References to homosexual behavior are rare in scripture, and nothing at all has been recorded as having come from Jesus as a specific instruction on the topic, yet ethical teachings do abound in the many traditions about Jesus, which may provide ample guidance on the subject for Christians today.

Above all else for Christians should stand what is known as the Great Commandment, recorded in all three of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). In order to assess the authenticity of this central teaching, we should bear in mind that it does appear in three different gospel stories, each of which arose in different times out of different communities, and circulated separately before being brought together in the versions we know today. Moreover, what we call the Great Commandment is remarkably consistent from one version to the next. This must lend weight to the commandment as being an authentic reflection of the teachings of Jesus himself. Possibly one of the most intriguing aspects of the commandment is the way Jesus makes use of the central values of his own society. To explore this further, it may be helpful to know something about the milieu in which he lived and worked.

As a teacher, the Jesus of the Gospels is deeply grounded in the Law (Torah), yet he appears to be free to interpret and expand on it in specific situations. In this case, he takes two important teachings from the books of Moses and combines them in a fresh and exciting way. For generations, since the time when the leaders of Israel were sent into exile in Babylon (8th century B.C.E.) and possibly since the Exodus from Egypt itself (over 1,000 years before Christ), the people of Israel had been taught to love God with all their heart, with all their soul and with all their strength. These words were repeated at every worship service as having come directly from the mouth of God to Moses on Mount Sinai. They appear in the book of Deuteronomy just after the Ten Commandments and represent a summation of all of the detailed prescriptions by which God's people are to live.

In his own teaching of the Law of God, Jesus joins this central teaching to another, from the book of Leviticus. From amidst a varied collection of many specific examples of how good people are to treat one another, Jesus lifts one small verse that typifies and distills all the rest: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. All of the other verses that surround it, against lying, cheating, stealing and defrauding, are simply further articulations of this one attitude that should characterize our relations with one another. So far we have seen that, in synthesizing the Great Commandment, Jesus has remained consistent with the most basic values of his Jewish heritage, and he freely adapts them to communicate effectively and impart an important message. In this way, the Great Commandment appears to fulfil some of the most essential criteria for judging the authenticity of scriptural references: it is well attested in multiple citations; it is consistent with other teachings, and at the same time it is distinctive enough to represent a new and unique departure, setting it apart from the cultural context in which it arises.

There can be little doubt that Jesus desires us above all else to love one another, which would include gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, or that his example gives us license to interpret the Levitical Holiness Code with a certain amount of freedom in response to changing circumstances. It may be helpful now to look at some of the other items he chooses to conflate in his succinct distillation of the Law. When Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as ourself, he is lifting up a scripture which appears shortly after the rule about not lying with a male as with a woman. This occurs in the midst of one version of the commandments which are elsewhere brought together as the Decalogue, the same ten commandments so often referred to today as the basis of some commonly held moral values, and which certain religious leaders are now suggesting should be posted in public schools and government offices. Yet the very next verse is indicative of the rigid mind set which Jesus appears to move beyond: you shall not let your animals breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two different materials (Lev. 19:19 NRSV). The problem with this kind of approach to holiness, Jesus seems to be suggesting, is that it leads to an excessive focus on specific behaviors. By attempting to please God through the regulation of specific actions, one runs the risk of forgetting the central principles which should be motivating them. With his constant emphasis on loving one another as what God truly wants of us, Jesus wished to draw people back to the real nature of our relationship with God and each other.

Many of the laws contained in the Torah are concerned with keeping everything in its proper place in a fixed and static universe, created in a single event in six days, and frozen for all eternity. This is the picture of the universe that is presented in the final version of the Genesis story as we have it today, but luckily there are earlier voices still present in the text as well.

The story of Adam and Eve is often used against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, to somehow suggest that we don't fit, that there is no place for us in the world that God created, but experience tells us otherwise. We are used to being written out of history in its official form and have gotten skilled at finding a place for ourselves in spite of those who wish to cut us off from the love of God.

Much of the Biblical literature, the laws in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, for example, was compiled in response to particular historical circumstances. Upon returning from exile in Babylon in about the eighth century B.C.E., it is believed, a group of priests or temple scribes wished to reinforce a rather tenuous form of government that was based on a hierarchical system of authority. It is to be expected that such an agenda would produce a body of law that emphasizes order, discipline and obedience, and this may explain its continued appeal in certain quarters today. It is this very system supporting a small group in power that Jesus calls into question with his proclamation of the Reign of God, which may explain why he was so threatening and had to be removed. In reformulating the law to encourage love for one another, Jesus provides guidance to a religious hierarchy which was straying from its own core values. Does God really care about how you breed your livestock or what garments you wear? Jesus suggests that what really matters in God's realm is that you treat one another with dignity, and respect. By criticizing the religious establishment of his day from his position as a teacher and a believing Jew, Jesus gives us a model for faithful dissent which requires that we, too, adopt a stance of loving critique toward the oppressive official structures we see around us.

The cleansing of the Temple, when Jesus overturns the tables of the money-changers, is perhaps one of the most dramatic ways that he demonstrated the need to question long-established attitudes. This incident, which also appears in all three of the synoptic gospels, has become emblematic of Jesus' critique of the accepted practices of his day. Again we find that temporal and religious customs are subject to review and change in accordance with God's will for a just society. Both Mark and Matthew, the earliest versions, place the incident shortly before the Great Commandment is given. Clearly, injustice and unfair dealing are to be condemned and (literally) overthrown wherever they appear, especially within the area of God's house. It has been said that the poor and those unable to afford the two shekels necessary for the purchase of the doves used for sacrifice were unfairly excluded from practicing their religion. In driving out the moneychangers, Jesus was condemning a practice which prevented one group from seeking communion with God. This would appear to be an indictment of those who are trying today to place restrictions on who is worthy to participate in worship: then, and now.

In the fourth gospel, which appears to have arisen out of a separate community, the equivalent commandment is related in a strikingly different context, although for all the differences its core message is remarkably similar. Here the break with Jewish teaching is even more pronounced, and we receive what is presented as an altogether new commandment. In keeping with its later date and strongly separatist tendencies, it is apparent that the Johannine community, out of which the Gospel of John arose, was set apart from its Judean surroundings. Unlike the earlier versions which were meant to stress the continuity and compatibility of Jewish and Christian lore, this fourth gospel emphasizes the newness and exclusivity of the Johannine Christian message. So Jesus' commandment in John 13:34 is simply that we should love one another. He goes on to specify that we should love one another just as he has loved us, and puts a specific emphasis on the fact that everyone will know that we are his disciples by the way we love each other.

It is the prophetic actions of Jesus in the gospel accounts that send the loudest message about how we should work for the realization of God's realm, which may be summarized in this manner: outspoken criticism for unjust institutions, combined with reaching out to those who are marginalized, excluded or rendered voiceless by them. Here in John's gospel the most characteristic incidence of this approach may well be the woman caught in adultery, a story which appears in chapter eight. Although it is not part of the earliest manuscripts, this episode was considered so emblematic of Jesus' teachings that it was especially added to later versions. It is of particular interest to us because it deals with what was at the time considered a sexual sin.

Here again, Jesus demonstrates that he is free to adapt and apply the law of Moses in a creative way. Rather than carry out the traditionally prescribed punishment of stoning, as the righteous authorities might wish, he suggests instead that the one among them who is without sin should cast the first stone.

Jesus shows a new way of doing things by standing up for the victim of hypocritical condemnation in sexual matters. This teaching was so threatening to the oppressive social norms of the day that it was not even included in the earliest manuscripts, but the tradition of prophetic social criticism surrounding Jesus was so strong that it could not be suppressed and was later included. The story as it stands implicitly condemns the custom that only women were punished for marital infidelity, and suggests that the true purpose of such laws was to ensure that women were submissive and kept under the control of men, a practice the actions of Jesus subvert.

Time and again we see the Jesus of scripture reaching out to reclaim those who have been excluded by society, through his reconciling and healing ministry. If those who claim that homosexuality is a sin can be instructed by his treatment of the woman taken in adultery, perhaps those who suggest that it is an illness may learn from his treatment of the Gerasene demoniac. The usual treatment for those who were perceived as different at that time was simply to exclude them from society, and this is where we find the man. The people of God were to be pure, and any imperfection in human or animal was dealt with by keeping it as far away as possible, much as some people would like to exclude gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from churches today. Jesus, however, has a different approach: going out of his way to heal these rifts in the social fabric, to bring marginalized people back into the heart of the communal life. In the country of the Gerasenes or Gadarenes, a man who was mentally ill had been cast out in this manner and was living alone among the tombs, a danger to himself and others because of his illness. Death and desolation were his only companions; in his frustration and mental confusion he must have presented a frightening aspect to others who came upon him there. Jesus, however, was undeterred by his external appearance and healed the man, restoring him to society and making him once again capable of human contact.

This simple act of compassion was so frightening to the inhabitants that they begged Jesus to go away. His radical acts of inclusion were threatening to destabilize the fabric of society, the same dissolution that some people fear would result from the full inclusion of gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgender people today. Is this why they are so afraid to grant us the same rights and privileges they enjoy, including the right to worship openly and officially solemnize our relationships?

Lepers, paralytics, the handicapped and unclean, all benefit from Jesus' conception of how we are called to love one another, and are restored to society from being marginalized and excluded. Even on the Sabbath he performs his acts of healing and reconciliation. Could we not love one another as he has loved us, and include sexual minorities in our own Sabbath observances? By repeatedly eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus shows us how we are to live and consistently make a conscious habit of loving one another. It should be clear that the prevailing ideas about who is socially acceptable were to be discarded if they served to punish or exclude a particular group. Women, children, foreigners and other marginalized groups are deliberately singled out for attention by Jesus; time and again we see him making a special effort to demonstrate how the weak and disadvantaged should be treated.

Queerness as a revelatory lens brings its own perspective, a unique gift of sight that can open new windows into the world around us. This is the particular gift that we as queer people of faith must share. You can thank God for your queerness, because we all participate in hierarchies of oppression without being aware of it. A wise person once said that those who are enjoying privilege don't see the ways they benefit from the suffering of others: they don't need to notice. Only those who encounter discrimination every day, who have it thrust into their face that they are less than, not as good, are forced to live with that pain. We take all kinds of privilege for granted and normally wouldn't realize that many people are not so fortunate. So a position as a member of a sexual minority is a great gift, really, because it gives us access to the experience of exclusion, lets us feel the hostility and disapproval because of a basic part of who we are, that we would not otherwise know. And that makes us more compassionate, and more committed to justice for everyone.

Queering Jesus

A variety of interesting views on Jesus:

A Life of Jesus

Shusaku Endo
(Paulist Press)
This book is from a Japanese perspective. A fascinating and alternative viewpoint of the person of Jesus.

The Politics of Jesus

John Howard Yoder
(Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing)
A classic from a pacifist theologian emphasizing the radical, non-violent and counter-cultural message of Jesus.

Jesus - A Life

A. N. Wilson
(Fawcett/Columbine)
More of a biographical novel in style, this book offers a flowing narrative that picks up on some of the nuances of Jesus' life.

The Upside-Down Kingdom

Donald B. Kraybill
(Herald Press)
Focuses on the sermon on the mount as the crux of Jesus' teaching but offers an interesting approach to the revolutionary teaching of Jesus.

The Gospel According to Jesus

Stephen Mitchell
(Harper Perennial)
A "buddhist" approach to the life of Jesus. Uses the sayings that are most reliably attributed to Jesus and then comments on them. Devotes a whole section to the "illegitimacy" of Jesus.

Four Faces: A Journey in Search of Jesus the Divine, the Jew, the Rebel, the Sage

Mark Tully
(Ulysses Press)
Four different looks at the personalities and roles of Jesus.

The Hidden Gospel: Decoding the Spiritual Message of the Aramaic Jesus

Neil Douglas-Klotz
(Quest Books)
Fascinating theological treatment of the mystical and enlightened Jesus drawing heavily upon the Aramaic translations of his sayings and teachings. Brilliantly researched and presented.

Rabbi Jesus: The Jewish Life and Teaching That Inspired Christianity

Bruce Chilton
(Doubleday)
Thoroughly researched and equally engaging of the life of Jesus as a Jew in his time. Archaeological evidence supports vivid descriptions of the historical culture of Jesus. Reveals the religious roots of the time and of Jesus' life with a different twist than usual.

Jesus Acted Up: A Gay and Lesbian Manifesto

Robert Goss
(Harper)
A queer liberation perspective. Outstanding section on a queer hermeneutic - how to read the life of Jesus through a gay theological and feminist lens.

The Historical Jesus: the Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant

John Dominic Crossan
(Harper)
For the serious reader only. Comprehensive account of the life of Jesus by a well-known scholar. An abridged edition is also available that affords easier reading-- Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography.

Three Gospels

Reynolds Price
(Touchstone)
New translation of the gospel of Mark and John as well as a third rendition of the gospels by the author. The lyrical and poetic translation give a different glimpse of Jesus' life.

Meeting Jesus Again For The First Time

Marcus Borg
Easy read and offers valuable insight concerning the pre-Easter and post-Easter Jesus, and used in much of the progressive Christianity material.

Son of Man

Andrew Harvey
(Putnam)
Covers four main areas of the historical Christ, Christ and the Sacred Feminine, the Mystical Christ and Practices and Meditations on the Direct Path to Christ. A passionate and radical exploration of Jesus' message.

Saving Jesus

Carter Heyward
Rescuing Jesus from the "Right" - a queer liberation perspective.