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    What the Bible Says about Homosexuality: A Bible Study for Progressive People of Faith
    What the Bible Says about Homosexuality: A Bible Study for Progressive People of Faith
    What the Bible Says about Homosexuality: A Bible Study for Progressive People of Faith
    Ebook46 pages35 minutes

    What the Bible Says about Homosexuality: A Bible Study for Progressive People of Faith

    By John Zehring

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    About this ebook

    What the Bible Says about Homosexuality comes from a message given by John Zehring to a United Church of Christ congregation where he served as Senior Pastor. In the bible, there are six verses by two men, Moses and Paul, which might have some bearing on homosexuality. Those six are examined in detail, applying the tools of biblical exegesis to the study so that the texts are considered within their historical, cultural and literary contexts. As always with a serious bible study, the key questions to be examined are: To whom was this passage addressed and to whom does it apply? If a person were to get that part wrong, he or she could end up with a value system or worldview that is faulty because the biblical exegesis is faulty. So, it is critical for thinking people of faith to study and understand the context of a biblical passage.

    Thinking people of faith will see that much of the bible is based upon metaphor, symbolic language, cultural idiosyncrasies, and Middle Eastern teaching techniques. If there are texts that applied to specific people in specific cultures two thousand years ago which were addressed to them and not necessarily to you, how then can you know which parts of the bible apply to you and which do not? Needing to use your mind to hard work! It would be so much easier for someone to give you the black and white rules. But that is not what the bible does. A devoted student of the bible must reflect, study, understand, analyze and interpret. That led one hearer of the message to respond with the question: “Well, then, what CAN I believe? How do I know what applies to me, if anything?” That question leads to the second part of this work, as we consider: What is the rock-solid place upon which a person of faith can stand?

    The topic of homosexuality has divided religions and caused anger, confusion, hurt, unkindness and even harm. Put aside for the moment the emotional tension and hubris to look at the actual six verses and see what they say and to whom they were spoken. May the study guide you, inspire you, inform you, and lead you to glorify God in your extravagant welcome for all people, for each and every one has been pronounced good by the Creator.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJohn Zehring
    Release dateMay 15, 2014
    ISBN9781310083167
    What the Bible Says about Homosexuality: A Bible Study for Progressive People of Faith
    Author

    John Zehring

    John Zehring has served United Church of Christ congregations as Senior Pastor in Massachusetts (Andover), Rhode Island (Kingston), and Maine (Augusta) and as an Interim Pastor in Massachusetts (Arlington, Harvard). Prior to parish ministry, he served in higher education, primarily in development and institutional advancement. He worked as a dean of students, director of career planning and placement, adjunct professor of public speaking and as a vice president at a seminary and at a college. He is the author of more than sixty books and is a regular writer for The Christian Citizen, an American Baptist social justice publication. He has taught Public Speaking, Creative Writing, Educational Psychology and Church Administration. John was the founding editor of the publication Seminary Development News, a publication for seminary presidents, vice presidents and trustees (published by the Association of Theological Schools, funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment). He graduated from Eastern University and holds graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Rider University, and the Earlham School of Religion. He is listed in Marquis' WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA and is a recipient of their Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. John and his wife Donna live in two places, in central Massachusetts and by the sea in Maine.

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    • 1/5
      This book is so off base with scripture, especially in the authors interpretation of “Sodom & Gomorrah” he states the sin in question was, inhospitality. If that is the case why does Jude 1:7 state “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

      The strange flesh in question was homosexuality or else it wouldn’t be considered strange, it would just be stated as “fornication.” I pray this author repents of his heresy. If the Apostle Paul was alive today, he most certainly wouldn’t use the terms as you stated he would use stating that there is now no longer “gay or straight we are all one in Christ Jesus.”

      If homosexuality wasn’t sinful, why did those in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 have to be justified, then sanctified after repenting of their actions that would prevent them from entering the kingdom of heaven?

      Don’t be deceived, God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Going outside the natural order of the way God created things is what caused man to be in our present fallen state now. Can the homosexual be forgiven? Certainly they can be 1 Corinthians 6:11 states they can, however they can no longer continue in their sinful state after receiving the knowledge of truth, that homosexuality is sinful an thus will prevent those who practice it from entering into the Kingdom of God.

      1 person found this helpful

    Book preview

    What the Bible Says about Homosexuality - John Zehring

    What the Bible Says about Homosexuality:

    A Bible study for progressive people of faith

    John Zehring

    Copyright 2019 John Zehring

    Smashwords Edition, License Notes

    Thank you for downloading this eBook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

    Introduction

    This work is based upon a message I gave as Senior Pastor of a United Church of Christ church in Massachusetts which is an Open and Affirming congregation. Unlike most of my messages which were about twelve minutes long, this one was thirty-five minutes. That day I reduced every other part of the service so that I could offer a teaching message about the topic What the Bible Says about Homosexuality. My purpose was to teach about the topic, but also to demonstrate what an in-depth study of the Bible would look like. I took the tools of biblical exegesis and applied them to this message so that the texts would be considered within their historical, cultural and literary contexts. As always with a serious Bible study, the first question to be studied is: To whom was this passage addressed and to whom does it apply? If a person were to get that part wrong, he or she could end up with a value system or worldview that is faulty because the biblical exegesis is faulty. So, it is critical for thinking people of faith to study and understand the context of a biblical passage.

    Because much of the Bible is based upon metaphor, symbolic language, cultural idiosyncrasies, and Middle Eastern teaching techniques, a reader of the Bible must do the hard work of thinking, understanding, and interpreting. Never is it sufficient for thinking people to say that they take the Bible literally. The Bible’s writers never intended for each word in ancient languages to be taken literally as they are translated into modern English. They were wordsmiths, crafting their sentences to glorify God and to tell about God’s mystery and majesty as best as humanly possible. In most cases, they had no idea they were writing Holy Scripture which would endure through the ages.

    After my message about What Does the Bible Say about Homosexuality, a very intelligent and highly credentialed thinking person bolted out of church saying to nobody in particular, Well, then, what CAN I believe? How do I know what applies to me, if anything? That beautiful question led me to follow-up with another message related to the first, titled What in the Bible can I stand upon? That is the second part of this work. It was a sincere question from a member who truly believed that the Bible

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