This clear, concise, and consistent presentation is a valuable resource for the entire religious community. Those who read each verse of the Bible in a literal fashion will be challenged to think beyond what others have told them it means. Those that know that the Bible has much to offer, but who have trouble accepting its teachings in the light of their own experience, will feel empowered to look for the Truth, which is sometimes veiled by timebound language, metaphor, and illustration. In particular, lesbians and gays who believe in a good God, who reverence the Bible, and who also want to believe in themselves, to whom the author dedicates his work, will find a very Friendly invitation to continue their faith journey with the Bible as an affirming companion along the way.
Lyle Jenks
Friends Journal April 1995
Among the Millennium Edition updates:
... Luke and Matthew in the gospels speak of the Centurion and his slave boy that Jesus healed. Analysis of the translations shows that the slave boy was doubtlessly the Centurions same-sex lover, yet neither Jesus, Matthew nor Luke casts any negative judgment on this.
... New research uncovers a broad awareness of female same-sex love in the ancient world.
... Original and novel research suggests that David not only had a loving sexual liaison with Jonathan, but also may have had a sexual liaison with Jonathans father, King Saul, and this was a cause of jealousy between father and son.
What the Bible
Really Says
about
Homosexuality
T he law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple;the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes;the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever;the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogetherMore to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;sweeter also than honey, and dripping of the honeycomb.
What the Bible
Really Says
about
Homosexuality
Millennium Edition
Updated and Expanded
Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D.
ALAMO SQUARE PRESS
New Mexico
What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality (Millennium Edition)
2000 by Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D.
First Printing, April 2000
Second Printing, April 2001
Third Printing, April 2002
Fourth Printing, April 2003
Fifth Printing, April 2004
Sixth Printing, April 2005
Seventh Printing, April 2006
Eighth Printing, September 2007
What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality
1994 by Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D.
First Printing, May 1994
Second Printing, October 1994
Third Printing, March 1995
Fourth Printing, August 1996
Fifth Printing, April 1997
Sixth Printing, May 1998
Seventh Printing, August 1999
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For permissions or editorial information, address: Alamo Square Press, 103 FR 321, Tajique, NM 87016.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 94-070336
ISBN: 1-886360-09-X
10 9
To lesbian women and gay men
who believe in a good God and reverence the Bible
and who also want to be able to believe in themselves
Table of Contents
L et us therefore no Conger pass judgment on one another,but resolve instead never to put a stumblingblocks or hindrance in the way of another.
I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself;
but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
Romans 14:13-14
There is no book I love more nor one that has shaped my life more dramatically than the Bible. Yet, had I not escaped the literalism of my Christian fundamentalist upbringing, I could not make that statement, for long before now I would have either dismissed the Bible as a hopelessly ignorant and prejudiced ancient religious document or I would have denied reality and become myself a small-minded religious bigot, using literal scriptures to justify my prejudices. A literal Bible, in my opinion, admits no other options.
In my priestly and episcopal career I have watched the literal Bible be quoted to justify racial segregation, to ensure the continued sexist oppression of women by the Christian church, and to perpetuate a killing homophobia in our corporate life.
Had I lived in an earlier part of history, I would have seen the Bible quoted to condemn Copernicus, who asserted that the sun did not occupy the center of the universe, and Galileo, who said that the sun did not rotate around the earth. I would have seen the insights of Isaac Newton challenged by a biblical view of God that could only be described as supernatural magic. I would have witnessed the churchs attack upon Charles Darwin in the name of a brand of creationism that today is totally dismissed. Perhaps worst of all, I would have watched while religious people appealed to the literal text of the Bible to support the most inhumane treatment of fellow human beingsthe institution of slavery.
In this volume, Daniel A. Helminiak, a Roman Catholic priest, brilliantly and courageously explores the biblical texts which are today used to condemn, oppress and marginalize Gods children who are gay and lesbian. He brings to his scriptural analysis the heart of a Christian pastor who has stood beside the victims of a virulent prejudice. He goes beyond the literal words of the text to enter into the spirit of the Bible, where he confronts a God who created us all in the divine image, a Christ who values each of us infinitely and a Holy Spirit who calls us into the fullness of our humanity. He dares to set aside the culturally conditioned biblical words for the power of his Lord, who embraced the outcasts of his society whether they were lepers, Samaritans or those who were thought to be possessed by demonic spirits.
Father Helminiaks words will bring hope to many who feel that God has rejected them, and his book will help to make the church aware that it cannot claim to be the body of Christ if it fails to welcome all whom Christ would welcome. His work will also engender hostility, maybe even in official church circles. That is always the way it is when prejudices are challenged, even the prejudices of those who claim to speak for God.
I welcome his work and commend it to all who seek to know both the heart of Christ and the work of God that sometimes works unseen and unrecognized beneath the words of scripture.
The Right Reverend John S. Spong;
Bishop, The Diocese of Newark
The Episcopal Church
Since the first edition of this book appeared in 1994, over 50 thousand copies have been printed. The book has sold consistently over the years. Its goal was to make available in easily readable form a summary of a growing body of scholarly literature on homosexuality in the Bible. Even in 1994, the inevitable conclusion of the scholarly research was already clear. Taken on its own terms and in its own time, the Bible nowhere condemns homosexuality as we know it today.
