'Was J Gay?’: The Class Unverg Hidn Queer Histori

WAS J GAY?

The article was ocsned by a story about a gay teenager Oh who was sug his high school after school officials prohibed him om wearg a T-shirt that said, “J Is Not a Homophobe. While ’s reasonable to assume that J and his fellow Jews first-century Palte would have disapproved of gay sex, there is no rerd of his ever havg mentned homosexualy, let alone exprsed particular revulsn about .... Orem seems to suggt that sce J never explicly mentned homosexualy, he mt not have been very ncerned about .

Even if J viewed homosexualy as a s, he had a penchant for reachg out to sners rather than shunng them.... In Romans 1, Pl nounced gay sex as unnatural—an egreg example of pagan nce—and said would brg the wrath of God. On the one si is J: peace-lovg, enemy-fivg, egalarian, and clive wh regard to homosexuals.

On the other si is Pl: war-lovg, ath penalty–supportg, patriarchal, and exclnary wh regard to homosexuals. Wh clary and passn, this book sets forth the Bible’s teachg on sexualy om a plementarian perspective, alg wh ntroversial issu such as homosexualy and polygamy. What n we properly nclu om that fact that the rerd is silent about J’ view on homosexualy?

J AS AN OPENLY GAY MAN

The rerd is also silent on J’ view of slavery, pal punishment, spoal abe, sex traffickg, racism, child abe, and gay bashg, to name a few. Conversely, all forms of sex exprsly prohibed the Bible—adultery, fornitn, homosexualy, and btialy—are each tomatilly disqualified by J’ reasong.

So appears J had a lot to say about the issue of homosexualy—and same-sex marriage, and genr dysphoria.

Send, ’s clear that J implicly opposed homosexualy, same-sex marriage, and transgenrism. For the sake of discsn, Christians uld be wrong on the homosexualy qutn, et al., but crics will get no fort om Christ. This isn’t the first time Pope Francis has shown himself to be a progrsive lear when to, among other thgs, gay Catholics.

WHAT ARE RELIG TEXTS REALLY SAYG ABOUT GAY AND TRANSGENR RIGHTS?

As a biblil scholar, I would suggt that church lears who e their cultur and theology to exclu homosexuals don’t read Scripture refully. Those who would exclu homosexuals om God’s kgdom choose to ignore J, turng stead to the Old Ttament – most particularly to Genis 19, the stctn of the ci of Sodom and Gomorrah. Levic 18:22 and 20:13, for example, are not about “homosexualy” as we now unrstand – as the rg, lovg and sexual relatnship between people of the same sex.