“Gospel”, from “Godspell“, means literally “Good News”, or “Glad Tidings” - which is why one modern Bible translation calls itself “Good News for Modern Man”. Sadly, for queer Christians, the Bible is far too often seen not as good news for them, but as very bad news indeed, wielded as a weapon to beat us over the head with the handful of well known clobber texts. It’s little wonder then, that far too often, we either step away from the Bible in fear, or approach gingerly, concentrating very defensively on strategies that counter the homophobic interpretations of those texts of terror, seldom going deeper.

More recently, a handful of writers have begun a process of reclaiming scripture, highlighting in particular some passages that are quite clearly affirmative of same- sex relationships, the stories of Ruth and Naomi, of David and Jonathan, or of the Gay Centurion, for instance. These are welcome, and can usefully be classed together under Keith Sharpe’s aptly descriptive phrase, the “Affirmative Testament” (as opposed to the “Defensive Testament”, with which we can counter the clobber the hostile texts).

But in fact, there is far, far more of value in the Bible that is of value to our community than merely the small number of passages that are clearly and directly supportive. As the editors of The Queer Bible Commentary have ably demonstrated, with substantial commentary on every single book of the Bible, virtually any passage can profitably be read from a queer perspective. Inspired by the Queer Bible Commentary, I wrote a few myself last year, but was unable to sustain my intention of developing a regular series. Instead, as part of my project to develop my resource pages, I have embarked on a process of collecting links to bible reflections by other LGBT writers.

There’s a long way to go. The list is not yet by any means complete, and it remains no more than a collection of links, grouped (like The Queer Bible Commentary) in Bible order. There are gaps to be filled, and information added, for better guidance on the content of each link (probably be providing an expanded page for each of the groups of books, eg, Pentateuch, OT History, Prophetic Books, Gospels, Doctrinal Books and so on).

Nevertheless. incomplete as it is, it is already developing into quite a substantial collection. As a teaser, I copy below the listing from the Affirmative Scripture page as it stands at present. This is just a start, and will be extended and expanded. (Any suggestions for additional content or method of handling the material, will be gratefully received). Meanwhile, explore the links - and enjoy the Good News.

OLD TESTAMENT / HEBREW BIBLE

PENTATEUCH

• Adam, Eve, & Steve (Genesis 2:18-25) (The Bible in Drag)
• Queering Genesis: “Male and Female (And Others) He Created Them” (Queering the Church)
• Sick Religion (Genesis 22:9-13) (The Bible in Drag)
• Joseph and His Fabulous Queer Technicolour Dreamcoat (Queer Saints and Martyrs)
• Abraham and Isaac (Queering the Church)
• A Queer Shine to the Face of God (Exodus 34:29-35)… (The Bible in Drag)
• Sacred Distinctiveness (Leviticus 19:1-2) (The Bible in Drag)
• Boundary Crossers (Numbers 35:1-5) (The Bible in Drag)
• Dreams Delayed (Deuteronomy 34:1-7) (The Bible in Drag)

• God and the Struggle for Self-Identity (Joshua 5:1) (The Bible in Drag)
• Sexual Minorities and Society’s Wellbeing (Judges 21:21, 23) (The Bible in Drag)
• Sexual Subterfuge (Ruth 3:6-8) (The Bible in Drag)
• Ruth and Naomi (Queering the Church)
• Erotic Authority (1 Samuel 20:17, 41-42; 2 Samuel … (The Bible in Drag)
• No Such Thing as a Good Queer? (2 Samuel 21:19) (The Bible in Drag)
• David the Prophet and Jonathan, His Lover (Queering the Church)
• Leather Cubs In Training (1 Kings 12:6-11) (The Bible in Drag)
• AIDS and the Struggle for Healing (2 Kings 5:1-3) (The Bible in Drag)
• Tribe (1 Chronicles 7:13) (The Bible in Drag)
• Fairies Welcomed (2 Chronicles 36:22-23) (The Bible in Drag)
• Acting Up (Nehemiah 1:2-4, 2:1-3) (The Bible in Drag)
• The Queer Lesson of Nehemiah: Rebuild God’s Church(Queer Saints and Martyrs)
• Rainbow Altars (Ezra 3:1-3a)
• Closets (Esther 4:13-14) (The Bible in Drag)

• Mistake to be Queer? (Job 42:5) (The Bible in Drag)
• Erotic Pride Before God (Psalm 134) (The Bible in Drag)
• Spanked by Joy (Ecclesiastes 11:7) (The Bible in Drag)
• Forbidden Eroticism (Song of Songs 1:5-6) (The Bible in Drag)
• Queering the Song of Songs (Queering the Church)
• “The Bible’s Gay Love Poem“ (The Wild Reed)

PROPHETICAL BOOKS

• Gay Bashing for God (Isaiah 53:4-5) (The Bible in Drag)
• Eunuchs and the Dry Tree Isaiah (56:3 -5) (Queering the Church)
• God’s Place in the Gay Rights Movemet (Jeremiah 15.. (The Bible in Drag)
• Screwed By God? (Lamentations 3:22-23) (The Bible in Drag)
• Amped (Ezekiel 37:1-6) (The Bible in Drag)
• Daniel the Prophet (Queer Saints and Martyrs)
• Three Young Men and the Burning Fiery Furnace (Queer Saints and Martyrs)

• Queering Communities of Faith (Hosea 11:8-9) (The Bible in Drag)
• Peacocking (Amos 7:10-12) (The Bible in Drag)
• Gender Fixation (Nahum 3:13) (The Bible in Drag)
• Vicious Time (Habakkuk 1:2)
• Healthy Religion (Micah 6:6-8) (The Bible in Drag)
• Coming Out as a Religious Obligation: Micah and Justice. (Queering the Church)
• A Queer Prophet (Haggi 2:20-23) (The Bible in Drag)
• Re-Functional Families (Malachi 4:5) (The Bible in Drag)
• Divinely Sanctioned to Hate? (Joel 3:1-2) (The Bible in Drag)

• Christ’s Queer Family (Queering the Church)

• Subversive Sexual Relationships: Joseph, Mary, and Joseph (Matthew 1) (The Bible in Drag)
• Three Queers from the East (Matthew 2) (Queering the Church)
• Queer Eye for the Magi (Matthew 2) (Jesus in Love Blog)

• Was Jesus Gay? Mark, and the “Naked Young Man” (Mark 14). (Queering the Church)
• Jesus Died A Queer’s Death (Mark 15:33-39) (The Bible in Drag)

• A Virtual Community of Prayer (Luke 4: 1-13, 1st Sunday in Lent) (Gospel for Gays)
• Gayness at its Best, That’s Peter (Luke 5: 1 - 11) (Gospel for Gays)
• Blessed Are You (Luke 6, 17: 20 - 26)
• Give Us Something to Eat! (Luke 9: 11-17) (Gospel for Gays)
• A Very Gay Story (Luke 7: 36-50) (Gospel for Gays)
• Who Is This Jesus? (Luke 9: 18 -24) (Gospel for Gays)
• Hard Sayings (Luke 9: 51 - 62) (Gospel for Gays)
• Peace, Power and Community Luke 10 (Gospel for Gays)
• My Enemy Is My Neighbour Luke 10 (Gospel for Gays)
• A Feminist Gospel Luke 10 (Gospel for Gays)
• Does God Answer Prayer? Luke 11 (Gospel for Gays)
• Queer Prodigal (Luke 15:11-13) (The Bible in Drag)
• Listen to Him! (Luke 9: 28- 36. 2nd Sunday in Lent) (Gospel for Gays)
• Gay, Straight: It Makes No Difference to God (Luke 13: 1-0, 3rd Sunday in Lent) (Gospel for Gays)
• The Tragedy of the Righteous Brother (Luke 15, 4th Sunday in Lent) (Gospel for Gays)
• Gays & Lesbians in Luke 17 (Bible Thumping Liberal)
• “Two Men in One Bed” (Luke 17:34) (Bible Thumping Liberal)
• “That Old, Old Problem: Two Men in One Bed (Bible Thumping Liberal)
• “Two Women Grinding Together” — O.T. Hebrew (Bible Thumping Liberal)
• “Two Women Grinding Together” – Sumerian, Latin, and Greek (Bible Thumping Liberal)
• “Two Lesbians without a Mill” (Bible Thumping Liberal)
• “Zeus and Ganymede” (Luke 17:24, 37) (Bible Thumping Liberal)
• Steven Bridge’s Monograph: Where the Eagles are Gathered (Bible Thumping Liberal)
• The Q Apocalypse and the Criteria for Acceptability (Bible Thumping Liberal)
• Why it Took 2,000 Years to Discern Luke 17′s Gay Theme (Bible Thumping Liberal)
• Spirit of Conformity, Spirit of Evil (Luke 23: 39-43, Passion Sunday, Year C)
• The Empty Tomb (Luke 24: 1 - 12, Vigil Mass for Easter, Year C)
• A Broken Church, and the Return from Emmaus Luke 24 (Queering the Church)

• John, the Queer Evangelist (Queering the Church)
• Flesh (John 1:14a) (The Bible in Drag)
• How the Baptist’s Vocation Resembles Ours John 1: 29-34 (Gospel for Gays)
• Jesus’ Gay Wedding at Cana (John 2) (Queering the Church)
• Water into Wine: Rereading the Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2). (Queering the Church)
• She Stands Alone (John 8: 1-11, 5th Sunday of Lent)
• The Shepherd’s Encouraging Promise (John 10: 27 - 30) (Gospel for Gays)
• “Coming Out”: A Gospel Command. (John 11) (Queering the Church)
• The Raising of Lazarus and the Gay Experience of Coming Out (John 11) (The Wild Reed)
• This Reading Is Too Radical For Me (John 13: 31 - 35) (Gospel for Gays)
• Not Us and Them, It’s Only Us (John 20: 19-31) (Gospel for Gays)
• A New Adventure Begins (John 21: 3- 24) (Gospel for Gays)

• The Gay Centurion, Matt 8: 5- 13 (Queering the Church)
• Jesus, the Centurion, and his Lover (Jack Clark Robinson, Gay & Lesbian Review)
• The Centurion, (MCC, St John’s )
• Jesus Affirmed a Gay Couple (Would Jesus Discriminate?)

• The Conversion of St Paul , Acts 9, Galatians 1 (Queering the Church)
• Not Shamed (Acts 28:30-31) (The Bible in Drag)

• Perverted Gospel (Romans 8:35, 38-39) (The Bible in Drag)
• Nonconforming Relationships (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)… (The Bible in Drag)
• The Body Spiritual (2 Corinthians 4:7-10) (The Bible in Drag)
• Hypocrisy (Galatians 2:11-14) (The Bible in Drag)
• Heed the Message of Christ: Queering Galatians (Queering the Church)
• Bitch Slapped by Prayer (Ephesians 1:15-17) (The Bible in Drag)
• Bashed: Queer Martyrdom (Philippians 1:12-14) (The Bible in Drag)
• Infinite Value (Colossians 2:20-23)
• Textual Harrassment (1 Timothy 6:1-2a) (The Bible in Drag)
• Providence as Protest (2 Timothy 4:19-20) (The Bible in Drag)
• A Sodomite Is Not a Criminal (Titus 3:1) (The Bible in Drag)
• Acceptance (Philemon 3) (The Bible in Drag)
• Harassment and Resistance (Hebrews 12:11-13) (The Bible in Drag)

• Dyking Sin (James 5:19-20) (The Bible in Drag)
• Sexually Offensive (2 Peter 3:14) (The Bible in Drag)
• bad Pride/good Pride (2 John vv. 5-6) (The Bible in Drag)
• Frustration (3 John 9-10) (The Bible in Drag)
• Strange Flesh (Jude vv. 6-8) (The Bible in Drag)

• A Drag Queen In Revelation (Revelation 22:17) (The Bible in Drag)

Related articles

• Queering the Bible
• “Practicing Safer Texts”: The Bible and Sexuality, Homosexuality
• “Blessed Are the Queer in Faith”: 60 Years Reassessing Scripture
• Queer Self- Ministry: Transforming the Churches
• Rembert S. Truluck’s “12 Steps to Recovery From Bible Abuse”.
• The Gospels’ Queer Values

 

• Ethiopian eunuch: Early church welcomed queers (jesusinlove.blogspot.com)
• “The Bible In Drag”: Introducing a Queer - centric Reading of Scripture (queeringthechurch.com)
• Time for the Church to Embrace Marriage Equality (shuckandjive.org)
• Jesus’ “Queer Death” - and the Modern Queer Resurrection (queeringthechurch.com)
• Why is the Church anti-gay, if the Bible isn’t? (wellthisiswhatithink.wordpress.com)