Periodically those trying to perpetuate anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in the name of Christianity will demand that I “show them the Scripture” that supports why mainline Protestant churches and denominations in the US and Western Europe are predominantly welcoming and affirming of queer people.
It should be noted that mainline Protestants do not do the level of prooftexting that fundamentalist Christians do (and I say this as someone who grew up in a fundamentalist church). We do not treat the Bible as a divinely-authored book with the answers to all life’s questions. We recognize that the Bible contains many books, written and edited by humans, within the constraints of the political, social, and scientific limitations of their respective eras.
So, for instance, a physician might claim that epilepsy is caused by unregulated electrical activity in the brain. In response, a fundamentalist might say, “No, the Bible says it’s demonic possession – look at Matthew 17:15-18. Show me where the Bible says it’s electrical activity in the brain!” The physician would not have any Bible verses to point to because the modern understanding of epilepsy is vastly different from what the biblical writers understood. Neuroscience was not on their radar, and the stories of demonic possession are not intended to guide the medical treatment of a condition they knew nothing about.
The same is true when discussing homosexuality. There are a tiny number of passages (often called the “Clobber Verses” by those of us who support queer inclusion) that address same-sex intercourse, but those are not written in a cultural context that understands marriage as a partnership between equals, and sex as a physical expression of intimacy – one that does not require vaginal intercourse – between consenting adults of equal standing in the relationship.
Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, one of the best New Testament professors I ever had, addresses the Clobber Verses here: https://outreach.faith/2022/09/amy-jill-levine-how-to-read-the-bibles-clobber-passages-on-homosexuality/, and I do not feel the need to duplicate her excellent work. Simply put, my strong conclusion is that no responsible interpretation of Scripture condemns same-sex relationships.
But is it enough for the “show me the Scripture” crowd to recognize that the Bible doesn’t condemn same-sex relationships? For some, it is not. So, what Scripture do I use to actively affirm same-sex relationships?
In a nutshell, Galatians 5:1: “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” One of the key messages of Galatians is that the Christian life is about being free from pedantic obsession with burdensome legalism. Fundamentalists are often quick to point out that Paul says this freedom should not lead to “πορνεία” (usually translated as “sexual immorality,” which they interpret to include same-sex relationships. But in verses 22-23 Paul gives us a litmus test for what constitutes the “fruit of the Spirit:” love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
I have seen, in churches I have served and in my friendships, the clear fruit of the Spirit – as Paul defines it here – in the marriages of same-sex couples. By Paul’s own standard, same-sex relationships are not πορνεία.
Just as with medical conditions like epilepsy, where we do not let a superstitious and overly-literal reading of Scripture contradict the clear evidence of our own eyes, we should not let an anachronistic application of the Clobber Verses cause us to ignore the clear evidence of the beautiful love and nurturing connection that can be just as present in same-sex relationships as they can be in opposite-sex ones.
At the end of the day, my ethical compass as a Christian is Micah 6:8 – “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Justice, kindness, and humility all require that I affirm the obvious truth that same-sex relationships are no different from opposite-sex ones in all the ways that matter.