"Outing the Bible"
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| Tue, 01-30-2007 - 5:08pm |
Hello,
Being new to the board, I have been reading member posts on many different issues. I know that as a Christian, I have struggled with the issue of the Bible and Homosexuality on many different levels. Reading some of the member posts, I know that I am not alone in this struggle. I have decided that God is okay with me, and the parts of the Bible that are always used to point out that homosexualty is wrong--are wrong! They are verses taken out of context, taken out of their time frame and what was happening then.
I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful woman--the Reverend Pat Langlois--who is a woman of God and a Lesbian. She has a minsistry with the Metroplitan Community Church of Los Angeles. I talked to her of my struggles and those of a close friend regarding the church. Rev. Pat told me to go online to her church website, and select "Television" and there is a series called "Outing the Bible" where many of these currently used verses and ideas are "outed" for what they are and explained as to what was happening in the time they were written and what they really meant. The word homosexual was not even used until 1946 (or something like that)--and it sure wasn't written in the Bible!
For those of you interested, please take a look at this series. It is not the best quality video, but the message is clear and powerful. God made us how/who we are--and God doesn't make junk! I think people hide behind familiar verses in the Bible because they are scared to think outside the box. Look how things have changed through the years: How was divorce first mentioned in the Bible? Now it is accepted. How were slaves first mentioned in the Bible? Now slavery is abolished and rightly so. The Bible is the word of God, but I believe it is a living book, and that we need to use to help us interpret the changes that happen and to give us a guidebook. God is all about Love, so how could experiencing true Love ever be against God?
I found this series very helpful and just wanted to tell others about Rev. Pat and the good that she is doing for the homosexual community.

Thanks for the info!
I am sure there are many people here who may be interested in it.
Hey quickwit and welcome to the board. Yes, there are many of us here that do profess to be Christians. I am a fighter when it comes to Christianity and the abuse that the Christian community uses to deter us from experiencing God's love.
I agree with your points about versus being taken out of context. Having studied the bible, I learned to examine the text and the era in which the versus were written, similar to your link. It's sad to say that Christian leaders are failing to educate current day Christians. Too often these people have twisted and hid behind their interpretations to meet their political objectives and they hide conveniently behind God's coat tail. Additionally, I believe current day Christians have failed to recognize the true meaning of the coming of Christ. IMHO, I believe he was the first to be crucified because he was different and current day Christians who condemn and judge us, are no better than those who judged and crucified him.
Things are fast changing in our world. Our community needs strong leaders who are willing to speak openly and help others see that God does have a place in their lives. Whatever religion or religious practice or lack of, we need to embrace and allow people to question their faith and be here to answer questions that others are incapable of doing. Our lesbian community is a great place to share and explore questions in regard to our life style. We don't try to preach here, we just offer support to those who wish to ask the questions or lead others to web sites similar to yours. Thanks again for bringing this information to our community!
hugs
halo
hugs
halo
Very interesting, quickwit! Thanks for sharing. I have struggled over the past couple of years to sort out my spiritual life and am not totally there yet.
One of my biggest beefs about some fundamentalist Christians is the way they pick and choose verses from the Bible to justify their words and/or actions. I know people like that, and they have caused me much grief in my coming out process.