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The humorous story of Ehud recorded in Judges 3 needs a queer reading to understand the deeper meaning of the text and its implication for LGBTq readers. Judges 3 may not come off as humorous to a modern reader but in antiquity it was considered funny. The implications of the words maybe lost on readers today, but the text is […]
Read moreWhat is Queer Biblical Hermeneutics? Queer biblical hermeneutics is a way of looking at the sacred text through the eyes of queer people. It is important to understand the meaning of these terms in relation to the exegetical process. “Queer” is a term that collectively refers to people who are LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender) and to people with […]
Read moreThrough the study of Queer Biblical Hermeneutics, I have found freedom from the heteronormative, imperialist, marginalizing and essentialist interpretation of the scripture which allow me to dance across the intersectionality of my identities. Coming out in the early nineties to my family and Christian community was a liberating and heart-breaking time. I was in college in California where one might […]
Read moreIt has been a week since the United Methodist General Conference in Saint Louis. The main debate was on human sexuality, with delegates voting to determine whether or not to allow people on the LGBTQ spectrum to be ordained and serve as clergy in The UMC. The other debate was whether clergy can officiate at same-gender weddings in their local […]
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Most traditional English translations interpret Leviticus 18:22 as a divine condemnation of erotic, same-sex relationships. However, careful philological, literary analysis of the original Hebrew shows another interpretation: a divine condemnation of same-sex rape. The original Hebrew is more ambiguous than the traditional English translation. Instead of practicing the principle of lectio difficilior probabilitor, “the more difficult reading and more likely […]
Read moreThe purity laws in the Hebrew Bible have been used to clobber LGBTq people. Yet, in the case of at least one of these laws, recorded in Leviticus 18:22, there is greater depth of meaning than meets the eye from an easy, surface reading of the verse. However, because English translators of the verse have used the easy translation of […]
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