Prashasti Tripathi
The Bible is a collection of religious texts, writings, and scriptures considered sacred by Christians, Jews, Samaritans, Muslims, Rastafarians, and others. Even though it's improbable that the biblical authors had any understanding of sexual preference (the word homosexual wasn't even defined until the late 19th century), many Christians look to the Bible for timeless counsel on how to respect god within our lives, which includes our sexuality and gender.
In Genesis 2:24, the Bible defines marriage as a partnership between one man and one woman. In Matthew 19:5, Jesus Christ affirms this understanding of marriage, as does the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:31. Outside of this setting, any sexual conduct is considered sinful, or what Jesus refers to as "sexual immorality" in Mark 7:21. There are several verses in the Bible known as "clobber texts" or "texts of horror" used as a tool against LGBT+ people. Using biblical verses in this manner, however, is an egregious violation of the text. It has to come to an end as soon as possible. Many LGBT+ Christians have difficulty reconciling their faith with their gender or sexual identities, leading to self-harm or suicide.
The Bible is frequently cited as a source of truth, yet calling it "god's word" is deceptive. Indeed, Christians believe that the word of God is Jesus Christ, not scripture. Jesus Christ made no explicit remarks about same-sex relationships or transgender individuals. Paul, not Jesus, is the one who preaches about sexual ethics in the New Testament. Theologian Adrian Thatcher warns in his startling book, The Savage Text: The Use and Abuse of the Bible, that Christians using the Bible to argue against someone else's faith are guilty of "bibliolatry," or worshipping the Bible rather than god.
Even if conservative Christians cite ambiguous texts from the Bible as homophobic material, the Bible also has texts regarding drinking, patriarchal norms and divorce. For example; “You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard,” says Leviticus 19:27. “The women should keep silence in the churches," writes St. Paul in First Corinthians, 14:34-35. "For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church." "If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married outside the family to a stranger; her husband's brother shall go in to her, and take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her.” From the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 25. However, conservatives have conveniently disregarded these.
The Bible is open to interpretation to each of its readers, opening new paths of enlightenment, peace and prosperity in its readers, allowing each person to interpret the Bible differently. While religion might be static and might or might not "allow" homosexuality, god never leaves behind any of his children, no matter who they are. If you are an LGBT+ individual who is a theist, your religion may not accept you, but your god will always love you.
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