Ehud and King Eglon – A Queer Reading

Judges 3:12-30 accounts for the triumph of a Ehud, a Benjaminite, over King Eglon of Moab through an act of deception. However, three distinct elements of this story appear providing a worthy queer hermeneutic.  First, Ehud is described as being left handed, a queer characteristic.  Second, the word “hand” (yad) itself is open to multiple interpretations including “penis.”  Finally, the […]

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Leviticus 18:22 – A Queer Hermeneutical Analysis

This blog entry addresses the problematic translation of Leviticus 18:22, a verse commonly used as a “clobber passage” to justify prejudice against LGBTQIA people.  A hegemonic interpretation of Leviticus 18:22 posits a strict prohibition of male-on-male sexual activity. This interpretation is problematic because it conforms to idiomatic rules that do not exist in the original Hebrew.  Three problems discussed in […]

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Dancing Across Identities

Through 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 […]

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The Queerness of the Priests: Exodus 27-30

Ritual transitions in human life always involve festival attire. Commencements, birthdays, baptisms, weddings, and in liturgical Christian traditions: worship services. In Exodus 28 the story of flamboyant priests is encountered. This text expresses queerness on the basis of how detailed the descriptions for garments are in addition to precise instruction on rituals. This essay seeks to identify how Exodus 27-30 […]

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Leviticus 18:22

“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”[1] It is not a surprise that this verse seems to say that gay male sex is forbidden in the eyes of God. The dominant view of western Christianity forbids same-sex relations. This verse is one of the clobber passages that people cite from the Bible […]

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1 Samuel 18-23: The Queerness of David and Jonathan

Scripture is filled with complex mysteries and modern scholars continue to struggle over the complexity of them. The story of David and Jonathan is one of those great mysteries of homoerotism in the bible. Since this infinity between the two happens prior to the philosophical era, it is difficult to describe or contend if the relationship between these two men […]

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From the Pulpit to the Pew: A New Hermeneutic

There is hope in the struggle for faithful LGBTQ people to see themselves in the Holy texts that shape their churches and communities.[1]  When people of faith ask, “where does authority come from for the direction of our journey,” in most mainline denominations the answer is: “From the Bible.”[2] This answer sounds reasonable from a Christian standpoint. The problem arises […]

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Genesis 19

A viscous attempt at rape.  An immigrant family fleeing for their lives.  Sulfur and fire raining down upon the unrighteous.  With elements like these, it is not surprising that the story of the judgment and destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah found in Genesis 19 has arrested the attention of Scripture readers throughout the millennia.  A surprising and unexpected interlude amid […]

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