Many Biblical regulations now prove outdated

The question of same-sex unions in the chapel will probably be decided on grounds of non-discrimination, human and civil rights, and perhaps even simple justice. Yet, on another level, this debate illustrates two fundamentally conflicting assumptions about the nature of the Bible. Is the Bible a divine or a human product? If it's a divine product, then its laws are God's laws and it expresses how God sees things. If it's a human product, then the Bible tells us how two communities, ancient Israel and first century Christian movements, saw things and tried to work out their relationships with God in their times, cultures and locations.

For example, if the Bible is a divine product, then ancient Israel's laws prohibiting homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22) are God's laws and must be obeyed, including its penalty-death (Leviticus 20:13). Are we really to understand the Bible as the direct and permanent expression of God's rules of moral behavior? Most in the United Church of Christ do not.

But if the Bible is a human product, then we are told only that homosexuality was considered unacceptable in ancient Israel. Most Christians today don't enforce ancient Israel's legal codes. This one is also embedded in a collection of laws that prohibit wearing garments made of two kinds of cloth. How many of us wear blends today? Why single out the prohibition of homosexuality as a "law of God?" And that single New Testament passage that might (but need not) be interpreted as condemning homosexuality (Romans 1:26-27), must be set alongside others that ban full participation of women, tolerate slavery and presume the earth is flat. The question then becomes: How do we discern what love of God and neighbor means for us in our time? We must clearly distinguish Christian love from social hate. In the United Church of Christ, we welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons fully into our campus community, just as they are, just as created by God.

Mark Rutledge

Chaplain,

Duke Religious Life

The author is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.