The Word Made Flesh: A Biblical Foundation for Radical Inclusion
Introduction: Encounters at the Threshold
When we open the doors of our sanctuary to the world, we invite the world in—with all its beauty, diversity, and sometimes, its rigid hostilities. Recently, members of our welcoming team encountered a visitor to our sanctuary who wielded the Bible not as a bridge, but as a weapon, insisting that our inclusive community—and anyone who shares our beliefs—was bound for condemnation.
This booklet is born from the necessity of those threshold encounters. It serves a dual purpose. For our progressive congregation, it offers a rigorous, theologically grounded foundation for our radical inclusivity, proving that we do not welcome LGBTQ2S+ individuals in spite of the Bible, but precisely because of it. For the conservative visitor who may pick this up, it serves as a gentle, scholarly invitation to step outside inherited prejudices. It is a reminder that God’s grace is expansive, and that our understanding of scripture must always be rooted in historical context, rigorous translation, and the unfailing love of Christ, rather than fear.
Part 1: What is the "Word of God"?
When someone angrily declares, "The Word of God says...", they are often making a profound linguistic and historical error. They are equating a modern English translation of ancient texts with the direct, unmediated dictation of the Divine. To engage with scripture responsibly, we must first understand the translation gap.
The Bible is a library of ancient literature, written over centuries in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, by people living in patriarchal, ancient Near Eastern and Greco-Roman cultures. When we read it in English today, we are reading the result of thousands of translation choices, each influenced by the cultural biases of the translators.
Applying 21st-century concepts—such as consensual, loving, same-sex marriages or complex understandings of gender identity—to these ancient texts is a historical and theological category error. The ancient biblical authors did not have the vocabulary, the cultural framework, or the psychological concepts to address modern LGBTQ2S+ realities. When we strip away the centuries of mistranslation and cultural projection, we find that the texts often used to condemn marginalized people were actually addressing entirely different matters: ancient purity codes, exploitative abuses of power, and property structures. By refusing to read the Bible strictly literally in English, we are not abandoning scripture; we are doing the hard, faithful work of honoring its original context so that the true Word of God—which is Love incarnate—can be clearly heard.
Part 2: Re-examining the "Clobber Passages" – The Hebrew Scriptures
To understand the Hebrew Scriptures, we must first recognize that we are stepping into an ancient world. It is a world with profound spiritual truths, but also one governed by strict social hierarchies, patriarchal structures, and a desperate need for the ancient Israelites to maintain their unique identity. Applying our modern understanding of sexual orientation or consensual, loving same-sex relationships to these ancient texts is not just historically inaccurate; it is a profound theological misstep.
The Holiness Code and the Pursuit of Separateness The most frequently cited texts regarding homosexuality in the Hebrew Scriptures are found in Leviticus, specifically Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. These verses are part of what scholars call the "Holiness Code" (Leviticus 17–26).
The Concept of Kedushah: The Hebrew word for holiness is kedushah, which fundamentally means "separateness" or "to be set apart." The Israelites had recently escaped Egypt and were entering Canaan. The Holiness Code was designed to keep them distinct from the surrounding empires.
The Anxiety of Mixing: The ancient Israelites believed that order was maintained by keeping categories distinct. This is why Leviticus strictly prohibits planting two different kinds of seed in the same field or wearing garments made of mixed fabrics (Leviticus 19:19). The prohibition of same-sex acts was rooted in this same ancient anxiety about blurring boundaries, not in a moral condemnation of same-sex love as we understand it today.
Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13: Power, Property, and Patriarchy Leviticus 18:22 states, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" (to'evah, a word often denoting ritual impurity rather than universal moral evil). To understand this prohibition, we must look at the specific phrasing and the societal structure of the Ancient Near East.
Women as Property: In the ancient patriarchal world, society was rigidly hierarchical. Men were the active agents and property owners; women were considered the property of their fathers and, later, their husbands.
The Degradation of Status: The phrase "as with a woman" (mishkevey ishah) is the key. In a society where a man's honor was tied to his dominance, treating another man "as a woman" meant reducing a free male to the status of property or a subordinate. It was a violation of the patriarchal social order.
Contexts of Abuse and Dominance: In the ancient world, male same-sex acts were almost exclusively expressions of power, dominance, and exploitation. They occurred between masters and enslaved people, older men and youths (pederasty), or victorious soldiers violently shaming defeated enemies. The concept of two people of the same sex sharing a mutual, egalitarian, and spiritually grounded covenant simply did not exist in their cultural vocabulary.
Therefore, Leviticus is condemning the exploitation and the disruption of the ancient patriarchal social hierarchy. It is not addressing—and therefore cannot condemn—a loving, committed, egalitarian same-sex marriage in the 21st century.
The Misuse of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19) While Leviticus provides the legal code, the narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah is frequently weaponized as the ultimate cautionary tale against homosexuality.
A Story of Violence, Not Orientation: The story in Genesis 19 involves a mob of men demanding to "know" (a euphemism for sexual assault) the angelic visitors staying with Lot. This is a story about mob violence, xenophobia, and utilizing gang rape as a weapon of ultimate humiliation against outsiders.
The Bible's Own Interpretation: We do not need to guess what the sin of Sodom was, because the prophet Ezekiel explicitly tells us. Ezekiel 16:49 states: "This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy." The true biblical sin of Sodom was arrogance and a violent lack of hospitality, completely unrelated to consensual same-sex love.
Part 3: The Pauline Epistles: Lost in Translation
When conservative critics point to the New Testament, they almost exclusively rely on a few specific verses in Paul’s letters, most notably 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10. The danger here is reading modern English translations as if they perfectly capture first-century Greek concepts.
The Myth of the 1946 Translation Before examining the Greek, it is vital to establish a stunning historical fact: the word "homosexual" did not exist in any English translation of the Bible until 1946.
An Anachronism: The concept of "homosexuality" as an innate psychological orientation was only developed by psychologists in the late 19th century. Applying a 19th-century concept to a 1st-century text is a severe historical and linguistic error.
The Translation Error: Translators in 1946 combined two distinct Greek words referring to specific, exploitative behaviors and incorrectly summarized them with the newly minted word "homosexual."
Demystifying Malakoi (The "Soft" Ones) In 1 Corinthians 6:9, Paul uses the word malakoi. Over the centuries, this has been poorly translated as "effeminate," "male prostitutes," or "homosexuals."
The Literal Meaning: In Greek, malakoi literally translates to "soft." It was a common moral insult in the Greco-Roman world, similar to calling someone "decadent."
A Critique of Excess: In antiquity, a "soft" man was someone who lacked self-control. It referred to moral weakness, cowardice, or someone given to excessive luxury and pleasure. Translating malakoi as "effeminate" or weaponizing it against transgender or gay individuals imposes modern gender anxieties onto a word that was fundamentally about a lack of moral discipline, regardless of who someone loved.
Decoding Arsenokoitai (The Exploitative Abusers) Often appearing right next to malakoi is the word arsenokoitai. There is no record of it ever being used in Greek literature before Paul.
The Septuagint Connection: Paul likely created arsenokoitai by combining two words found in the Greek translation of Leviticus 18:22: arsen (male) and koite (bed).
The Roman Context of Power: The Romans did not view sexuality in terms of gender orientation; they viewed it strictly through the lens of power and status. The active partner was dominant; the passive partner was submissive. Same-sex acts were intrinsically linked to systemic inequality, taking the form of pederasty, masters raping enslaved people, or patrons asserting dominance over clients.
When Paul condemns arsenokoitai, he is condemning those who use their power, wealth, or status to sexually exploit and degrade others. He is targeting abusers. To take a word designed to protect the vulnerable and weaponize it against two adults in a loving, egalitarian same-sex marriage is to completely invert the justice of the Biblical text.
Part 4: The Biblical Trajectory of Inclusion
When we step back from isolated verses and look at the broader arc of scripture, the movement of the Bible is consistently toward wider grace, breaking down barriers, and bringing those on the margins into the center of God's love.
Jesus and the Subversion of Purity Codes Jesus never said a single word about same-sex relationships. However, he spoke volumes about how we are to treat one another. First-century Judaism used strict purity laws to dictate who was "clean" and "unclean." Jesus consistently subverted these rules, touching those with leprosy and healing on the Sabbath. He taught that any interpretation of scripture that results in the degradation of a neighbor fails Christ's ultimate test of love (Matthew 22:37-40).
The Ethiopian Eunuch In Acts chapter 8, the Spirit directs Philip to a chariot carrying an Ethiopian eunuch—a sexual minority who did not fit neatly into the ancient male/female binary. According to a strict reading of Deuteronomy 23:1, eunuchs were banned from the assembly. Yet, when the eunuch asks to be baptized, Philip recognizes that the Spirit has moved beyond the old boundaries and baptizes him immediately. There are no theological purity tests and no demands to conform.
Galatians 3:28: Dismantling the Binaries The Apostle Paul wrote: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." Paul is declaring that the hierarchical categories human beings use to divide and oppress one another have been abolished in Christ, providing a theological foundation for celebrating those who exist outside traditional gender and sexual binaries.
Part 5: Embracing the Full Spectrum of Creation
God is the author of spectrums, not just binaries. Genesis tells us God created day and night, but God also created the dawn and the dusk. God created the land and the sea, but also marshes and estuaries. If the rest of God's creation exists on a glorious, complex spectrum, it is entirely consistent with biblical theology to understand human gender and sexuality as existing on a spectrum as well. Transgender, non-binary, and bisexual identities are a manifestation of the same Divine imagination that paints the sunset.
Two-Spirit Identities and the Canadian Context In Canada, a grounded progressive theology must also engage with the reality of colonization. Long before European colonizers arrived with rigid, religiously enforced gender binaries, many Indigenous cultures recognized individuals who carried both masculine and feminine spirits. The violent suppression of Two-Spirit identities was driven by colonial, patriarchal interpretations of the Bible. Embracing Two-Spirit theology enriches our Christian teaching, reminding us that the Creator is far too vast to be contained by narrow European cultural categories.
A Pastoral Guide to Difficult Conversations
When our sanctuary functions as a public square, encounters with hostile theological views will happen.
De-escalation and Grace: Jesus demonstrated that true spiritual authority does not need to shout or panic to be secure. When faced with hostility, rely on non-reactivity. Set clear boundaries: grace does not mean permitting abuse.
Planting Seeds: Decline the invitation to a proof-texting shouting match. Hand visitors this booklet and say, "We study these texts deeply here, and we read them differently. You are welcome to take this booklet to see how we ground our faith." Allow the Spirit to do the rest.
Spiritual Protection: Scripture being used as a weapon is a form of spiritual abuse. Never leave a host or member to process a hostile encounter alone. Validate their emotional responses, practice physical grounding exercises in the sanctuary, and reaffirm out loud that their authentic identity is a celebrated, cherished reflection of the Divine.
Questions for Deep Reflection
If the rest of God’s creation exists on a glorious, complex spectrum, how might we recognize the Divine imagination in the beautiful spectrum of human identity?
When we read ancient texts, are we seeking to understand their original, historical context, or are we merely searching for a mirror to validate modern prejudices?
Consider the Ethiopian Eunuch: what modern purity tests are we using to withhold grace from those the Spirit has already called beloved?
If the primary biblical ethic is to protect the vulnerable from exploitation, how does weaponizing scripture against a marginalized community align with the justice of God?
Does your theology produce the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness—or does it consistently produce fear, exclusion, and spiritual trauma?
A Final Pastoral Word
At the end of the day, we must remember a profound and foundational truth: we are all part of the one human family. Our spiritual vision cannot be small, tribal, or fearful. It must be a vision of radical, global inclusion that pushes fiercely against the exclusionary currents of the world. In our sanctuary, and in God's kingdom, absolutely everyone is included and welcome; no one is to be left out, marginalized, or diminished for any reason at all.
We are living in an increasingly polarized world, a time when fear is too often leveraged to divide us. In such a time, we are called to carry a bright, shining baton of hope and light. We must firmly and unequivocally condemn the views, practices, and warped theologies that lead people to exclude, demean, or hate others. Such discrimination not only violates the deepest spiritual truths, but it also fundamentally contradicts the Spirit and the law of Canada, a nation whose Charter explicitly protects the inherent dignity, equality, and human rights of every person, regardless of who they love or how they express their gender. To champion discrimination is to stand against the legal and moral fabric of the society we share.
More importantly, a theology of exclusion stands in stark opposition to the wisdom of the great spiritual thinkers, guides, and teachers across all of history. Above all, it does not reflect the mind and heart of Christ. Jesus did not come to build walls; he came to tear them down. He did not come to enforce rigid purity codes; he came to touch the untouchable. As the Apostle John writes, "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen" (1 John 4:20). The entire trajectory of our faith is summarized by Paul’s reminder that "the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Galatians 5:14). May we have the courage to embody that expansive, radical love in all that we do.