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Biblical Self-Defense

The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love heterosexuals. It’s just that they need more supervision. — Lynn Lavner

Because so many anti-gay attitudes are based in religion, this section will offer essays and resources to help people respond to anti-gay religious ignorance and defend themselves when scripture is used as a weapon.

Clobber Passages
The passages most commonly used to attack GLBT people. Click on the passage to find Quick Responses, what Jesus would say, as well as in-depth analysis.

Genesis 19:1-5
Leviticus 18:22 (forthcoming)
Leviticus 20:13 (forthcoming)
Deuteronomy 23:17 (forthcoming)
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (forthcoming)
1 Timothy 1:9-10 (forthcoming)
Romans 1:21-31 (forthcoming)
Jude 1:6-7 (forthcoming)

General Commentary

Gay rights activists must address religion (link to The New York Blade)
Argument versus Debate (forthcoming)
Things to Consider (forthcoming)

  • Translation Issues
  • Historical Context
  • Internal Contradictions and Inconsistencies

Bible Abuse (forthcoming)
Hypocrisy: If marriage were really based on the Bible
The seven kinds of marriage in the Bible
GLBT-Friendly Passages (forthcoming)
Miscellaneous Commentary:

List of Recommended Reading and Resources

Miller, Lisa. “Our mutual joy.” Newsweek, 15 December 2008. http://www.newsweek.com/id/172653 (retrieved 9 December 2008). A fantastic, succinct and thoughtful piece discussing the religious arguments against marriage equality. The article goes further than just responding to specific scriptural or theological arguments, it suggests that the Bible as a whole – with a central message of love, mutual respect and inclusiveness – supports the idea of marriage equality.

Morell, Mike. “Comment of the Day.” Beliefnet, 23 January 2009. http://blog.beliefnet.com/tonyjones/2009/01/comment-of-the-day-21.html (retrieved 3 February 2009). A well-considered look at Paul’s writings on homosexuality, with four possible takes on them.

Taylor, Pamela K. “Quranic Values as an Inspiration for Gay Marriage.” The Washington Post. 14 December 2008. http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/pamela_k_taylor/2008/12/quran_and_gay_marriage.html (retrieved 20 December 2008).

New Ways Ministry. A gay-positive ministry of advocacy and justice for lesbian and gay Catholics. The website includes a ton of information, including events and resources like gay-friendly Catholic parishes and colleges.

For The Bible Tells Me So: A Study Guide and Advocacy Training Curriculum.

Biblical Self-Defense Course on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns. An annotated reading list in PDF format.

Homosexuality in the Bible. A list of all passages in the Bible which reference homosexuality.

The Bible and Homosexuality. A long essay from ReligiousTolerance.org.

What the Bible Does (and Does Not) Say About Homosexuality. A long essay from Soulforce.org.

Gay and the Bible. An essay from Equality Mississippi.

Faith Positions. A list from the HRC on where different world religions stand on homosexuality.

Gay and Lesbian Study Bible. The homepage for a study Bible for GLBT folks.

Bible Study. 33 weeks of Bible study from the Gay Christian Network.