Who was the one group that Jesus really had a go at? The Pharisees and the teachers of the law – the self-righteous, legalistic nitpickers. ‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.’ [Matthew 23:6]
Jesus told them, ‘You diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.’ [John 5:39,40]
We need to beware of searching the bible for texts to support our argument, and neglecting to seek the God of the scriptures.
Again in Jesus’ rant called the 7 woes, ‘You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness… you strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.’ [Matthew 23:23,24]
How does God describe himself? ‘Yaweh, Yaweh, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness and sin.’ [Exodus 34:6,7]
What does this compassionate and gracious God require of us? ‘To act justly and love mercy and to walk humbly with [our] God.’ [Micah 6:8]
Whatever our interpretation of the ‘terror texts’, we should not neglect the more important matters of justice and mercy.
I’ll misquote Peter: ‘Love covers over a multitude of dogma’! [ref: 1Peter 4:8]
As I’ve got older, I’ve become less and less certain about a lot of things, but more and more certain that:
God is real
He loves us – ALL of us, including LGBTQA [whatever alphabet soup is appropriate]
the supreme expression of that love is Jesus’ death on the cross.
As for Genesis 2, it is just one of 4 chapters in the whole bible that describe things as God wishes. There are statements elsewhere, but Genesis 1 & 2 and Revelation 21 & 22 describe paradise with us all living in harmony with God.
In between is the sorry story of how we’ve messed up – starting with the Fall in Genesis 3. Could it be that at that moment a huge fault line tore through the entire fabric of the universe resulting in not only a broken relationship with God and one another; but also entropy? disease? same sex attraction? Just a thought – remembering that LGBTQ people are no more broken than the rest of us.
{btw – God loves the Pharisees too. The actor who played Jesus in the video of Matthew’s gospel had a very strong sense of Jesus’ love for them when filming the rant of the 7 woes. Jesus concludes with, ‘how often have I longed to gather [you] together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.’ [Matthew 23:37]}
What are your thoughts on this? Please share:
Sandra
MMM... Meditation, Mental health, Mindful crochet 
You say that as you’ve grown older, there are some thing of which you’ve become less and less certain. I don’t feel able to judge gays, despite every changing thought and feeling. Some of the loveliest people I’ve met, some of the people I’ve felt most happy with, have been gay men. Some of the comedians and entertainers I’ve loved the most and do love now are gay men. Some of the most powerful writers, profoundest thinkers, greatest artists I’ve admired… are gay men. What else can I say?
I so agree, Sheila. Matthew Vines’ video caused me to think again about this and the proof texts. It’s at: http://matthewvines.tumblr.com/ (there is a transcript attached).
I think it is good to see someone quote some of the many text in the Bible where God rebukes the “church snobs” and actually has more mercy for the humble ones who dont think they are good enough. I was raise to believe in an angry wrath hungry God that just waited for us to fail. It nearly took me away from God altogether, but the real loving and guiding hand of God came to me and showed me His true self. I’m so glad I was able to see that. I pray that others will see it who have been brainwashed by those old doctrines and bondage.
Yes – people really need to read the whole bible – there’s so much, good affirming words in there. I’m glad you’ve got to know the compassionate side of God. be blessed
To me there are so many more important issues…to bash or ban gay or lesbians just seems so silly to me, no matter what the bible says about any of it. Common sense tells me it’s just plain wrong to shun.
A lesbian colleague of mine made much the same comment.
Thanks again, Sandra. It’s so inspiring & affirming to witness your journey, and such an affirmation to the LGBT community, showing that change is possible. It gives rise to hope.
Thanks, Andy. I know it’s likely to be a long haul, but maybe things will start to tip soon. I’ve only had mostly positive comments here – nothing hostile. Thanks for your encouraging comments. ❤
Brilliant and interesting post. It seems to be a bit of a journey, making sense of what the Bible is actually talking about.
Thanks, James. – and it’s not just the Bible itself, but God speaking to us through it – and sometimes the Holy Spirit gives me some rather quirky interpretations and connections. We need to read, study and meditate on the whole thing, seeking God’s heart on various issues and not just going by a few ‘proof texts’. Thanks again, James for guiding me along this strand of the journey. be blessed.