Theology pair flips Bible Upside Down on Sexuality

With the first sentence, 'We must reject at the outset any notion of the supreme authority of scripture', I knew something was very wrong!

Two visiting scholars, one from Duke Divinity School, and the other from The Church Divinity School of the Pacific, were speaking on "Sex, Love and Marriage in Scripture and Tradition." But, there was nothing traditional in their stance and many would say very unscriptural!

Tradition has it that marriage is between a man and woman. We teach abstinence before marriage. But these two men are teaching that we should tolerate homosexuality. But, scripture tells us in Leviticus 18:18, that it's an abomination to lay with mankind, as with womankind. First off, God made man in His image and then took his rib to make the woman for his helpmate. He also gave them the charge to 'replenish the earth'. But, this is very impossible with two women or two men engaged in sex!

Crenshaw's Duke Divinity School is associated with the Methodist church, which allows gays to be members, but not ministers. Countryman is ordained in the Episcopal Church and had been outspoken in debates over homosexuality in that church.

Countryman said at the Lakeland symposium:

The apostle Paul wrote: "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."

"The language is harsh," Countryman conceded, "but Paul doesn't say explicitly that it is sinful. ... All we can say is that the case isn't very strong. For myself, I'm frankly unconvinced," he concluded. "Most important of all, the gospel doesn't enter into it."

He goes on to say that, in Romans, Paul agrees with our prejudices whether against homosexuals or jews. And, that we should never underestimate the ability of humans to get things wrong! What a truthful statement from a man who has the Bible all wrong! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And, what he required of the Old Testament people, I think He still requires of us today; that is, we must live a holy life, consecrated unto Him alone. We must obey his commandments, and love our neighbor as ourselves. And, I find no where in there that the Lord tells us that it's okay to practice homosexuality. When we sin against our bodies, if we claim to be a Christian, then we are defyling the 'temple of God' - 'which temple ye are'. (I Cornithians 3:16-17).