A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson, Translator of The Message

by Winn Collier

First, I need to say that [this] is the most difficult area to deal with that I have had to deal with in my lifetime. And I don’t have a clear “position” worked out. But I do have some reflections. Two, it is pretty clear that homosexual orientation as such is not a sin. I think the evidence is pretty clear on that by this time. Three, it is not at all clear that the citations of homosexuality in the Bible are covered by what is being discussed now by the church. The ancient world was rife with male prostitutes and temples were where they did their business. What Israel and [the] church were faced with was widespread promiscuity associated with pagan religion. Four, matters of sexuality are very much shaped by culture. Polygamy was common in the Hebrew world—David had nine wives! As for “adhering to scripture” there is a great deal that we commonly interpret contextually: the food laws in Leviticus, for instance; the acceptance of slavery; the rule to stone an adulterer; the death penalty for not honoring father and mother…and even more recently, citing Bible verses, adultery (even for the “innocent” party) disqualified a person from any leadership in church. Five, there are a considerable number of biblical scholars and theologians who are evangelical and take the Bible with utmost seriousness who are convinced that the homosexuality mentioned in scripture has to do with promiscuity and pagan religion (as I mentioned above). The biblical world had no notion of what is bei...