As many of you know, my daughter is a two-time survivor of childhood cancer. When she was about nine years-old, still bald from chemo, one of her homeschool friends quoted a scripture passage at her, letting her know she got cancer because either she had sinned, or I had. My spunky daughter didn’t buy it, but she also questioned the passage and why someone would believe it.

She didn’t tell me until we were back home, and she was more than a little miffed. (So was I) I immediately grabbed our bible and showed her scripture in the New Testament where Jesus tells his disciples a man’s blindness is not from his or his parents’ sin (Jn.9:3). Therefore, her cancer was not the result of anyone’s sin either. She knew that, but needed biblical confirmation and comparable ‘ammunition’ for the next time. I assured her there wouldn’t be a next time because I was going to talk with the little girl’s mom.

We did show them the passage and had a conversation about biblical interpretations. If the little girl apologized it was simply because she had spoken out of turn and hurt Gabrielle’s feelings, not for the actual content of what she said. Our sharing made no real difference to this family who believed and followed biblical teaching.

When we first arrived in the Carolinas, our Catholicism was also a target for those wielding scripture.

I relay these stories only because in a very, very small way my family knows what it’s like to have the bible used as a weapon against us. There’s a segment of our population who is constantly being clobbered by the bible, so much so certain scripture passages are referred to as the ‘clobber passages.’

I can’t imagine the depth of pain, anger, and weariness our LGBTQ community experiences when the holy book–a book about right relationship with God–is used to disparage or disallow that relationship. And so, this week’s …

Book Review Monday! (or Wednesday)

Clobber the Passages by Mel White, Unclobber by Colby Martin, and This I Know by Jim Dant look at each of the seven scripture passages used to justify everything from simple condescending ‘they need our prayers’ to the not so simple ‘they’re an abomination before God’ and outright anger, disgust and violence.

I know some of you may quit reading here, and while I’m saddened about that, I’m also respectful of your decision. I hope to see you by my window next week when we celebrate Memorial Day.

But I hope most of you will continue reading, especially if you’ve wondered how you can follow the Bible and still fully support and welcome your LGBTQ family and friends. If you’re a member of the LGBTQ community and feeling clobbered, then maybe one of these will provide you with a biblical response. I hope at least a few will read one or more of this week’s Book Review Monday! selections. But, which one?

Clobber the Passages by the Rev. Dr.Mel White is ‘facts only’ as White lays out each passage, and with scholarly research provides historical and cultural arguments against the accepted translations of them. He also uses facts to remind readers of hate crimes and violence against gays, lesbians, and trans and their families; to illustrate how slowly opinions have changed; and to point out scientific research that eventually caused medical, psychological, and some religious institutions to finally undermine the clobber passages. In debunking social lies about the LGBTQ community, White shares a bit about his own life of growing up gay in an evangelical church, and his 40-year partnership and marriage to his husband, Gary.

Unclobber by Colby Martin is more memoir. Martin is straight, married, a father of four sons, and a pastor. Unclobber is his story of moving from the conservative opinion that homosexuality is a sin to seeing the clobber passages as the weapon they are. He, too, used biblical, historical, and cultural research to arrive at this point, but it wasn’t easy. And there were unfortunate consequences when his Elders asked, ‘Do you believe homosexuality is a sin?’, and he answered truthfully, ‘No.’ Martin writes like the pastoral shepherd he is, with compassion and passion, with an eagerness and belief that all are welcome at the Table. This second edition also includes a study guide for groups, and a sermon series guide for pastors.

This I Know by Jim Dant is what I consider a pocket/purse-sized reference book for those who want a quick response to being clobbered. He includes some research to back up his work, but it’s just enough to say, ‘Here’s a deeper look.’ Each passage is stated as a Challenge: The Bible says … followed by a brief Response #1, then a longer Response #2/Explanation, and finally a ‘Just for fun …’, a short personal anecdote about that passage. Dant is also a minister, a dad and grandfather, but his religious upbringing differs considerably from the other two. According to his bio he was born a Jew, christened in the Catholic church, baptized a Baptist and received his doctorate from a Presbyterian seminary. He serves as a senior minister in a Southern Baptist congregation.

I’ve had people tell me, ‘God doesn’t make mistakes.’ when it comes to sex and gender. I agree. The mistakes are ours in how we’ve used what the Bible says–and more importantly doesn’t say–about homosexuality. Each of these books are commentaries on outdated assumptions and misinterpretations of what God ordained about homosexuality. When Pope Francis was asked about homosexuality, he answered, “Who am I to judge?” Ironically, judgement is the sin at least one of the clobber passages actually addresses.

June is designated National LGBTQ Pride Month in honor of the Stonewall Uprising in 1969.

I hope all of you have a safe Memorial Day weekend and I’ll see you Monday!