Good 'post'-age on Chuck Currie's blog on the Bible and homosexuality [via Gay American], which cites an essay by theologian Walter Wink:

"Sexual issues are tearing our churches apart today as never before. The issue of homosexuality threatens to fracture whole denominations, as the issue of slavery did a hundred and fifty years ago. We naturally turn to the Bible for guidance, and find ourselves mired in interpretative quicksand. Is the Bible able to speak to our confusion on this issue?

The debate over homosexuality is a remarkable opportunity, because it raises in an especially acute way how we interpret the Bible, not in this case only, but in numerous others as well..." [read full essay by Dr. Wink]

Wink's essay is an eye-opening exegesis (or perhaps a "Bible-fisking" - a point-for-point critical examination - whereas I believe much of what we have come to know as interpretations of the Bible are really eisegesis, or taking a preconceived idea and "fitting" it to scripture.) of a number of scriptural passages commonly interpreted as unequivocally condemning homosexuality, and he (as other scholars have) presents a clear and valuable argument in favor of alternative interpretations.

More than anything else, as an agnostic looking at religious arguments against homosexuality, I am reminded of the parallels between this cultural battle and similar ones throughout American history: "Women's Lib", the fight against slavery, the women's vote, Prohibition, civil rights, and even interracial marriage, and others.

I also think it is difficult to separate out the emotional content of arguments, regardless of one's side of the fence, when they involve primal, deep-seated issues such as sexuality and gender. Some will say there's "no fisking the Bible" - like the fundy bumperstickers say, "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" - but the point is, what is the Bible really saying, and what are the political intentions of those who seek to interpret it? After all, religion is political, and faith is often closer to emotion than either law or logic.

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