Following the horrific events of the weekend in Colorado Springs, a minister there stated that Christians need to examine how Scripture has been used to justify the kind of hatred that exists against LGBTI persons. It would be an understatement to say that the society that produced the Hebrew Scriptures was a very different world than our own.
Using Scripture to condone violence against LGBTI persons is nothing more than the abuse of Scripture to justify fear and hatred when a rigid worldview is threatened. The so-called “literal reading” of Scripture is also an interpretation, a way of using writings from another culture and time to make hate acceptable.
As Christians, we need to learn how to read Scripture seriously and critically to better distinguish between what is essential and what was culture driven. This means we must examine our own faith in the light of the vision of God and the welcoming realm Jesus came to offer us.
Prayer for the Day
Hearing voices of hate claiming to speak in your name, O God, we shudder,
For we know that you are a God who embraces all in love;
Seeing the violence from those who say they reflect your will, we tremble,
For we know that such persons abuse your Word and will.
Enable us, O Lord, to take on the terror preached in your name
And empower us to confront those filled with fear and hate.
In the name of the One who shows us how to love,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Christians who mobilize the Bible to argue against the inclusion of others actually commit “bibliolatry” – worshipping the Bible instead of God.
- Adrian Thatcher, British theologian, from The Savage Text
History, despite its wrenching pain cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.
- Maya Angelou, American poet (1928-2014)
These are persons whom we once held in derision an made a byword of reproach
Fools that we were!
We thought their lives were madness and that their end was without honor.
Why have they been numbered among the children of God?
And why is their lot among the saints?
So it was we who strayed from the way of truth,
And the light of righteousness did not shine on us.
Wisdom of Solomon 5: 4-6