2008 Woodie Awards
SectionsDrury lecture addresses current religious views
Kathleen Musgrave
Issue date: 10/16/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
A theology scholar said that the Bible should not be interpreted as to condemn homosexual behavior, and that certain word and phrases used when it was written did not mean then what they mean today.
Jack Rogers, a professor emeritus of theology at San Francisco Theological Seminary, spoke to about 60 people at the Diversity Center at Drury University on Thursday. He is the author of "Jesus, the Bible, and Homose-xuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church."
Rogers explained how he came to research this subject.
"A gay man, who had earlier been elected a deacon, asked Pasadena Presbyterian Church to consider becoming a More Light Church," Rogers said. He said a More Light Church is a congregation that is more willing to ordain lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
A friend in the church asked Rogers to serve on the task force for this issue.
"My friend told me, 'If you are my friend, you are going to do this,'" Rogers said with a laugh, "and I reluctantly accepted."
In his lecture, Rogers used biblical verses to explain that homosexuality was present in Jesus' day. One example comes from the Book of Leviticus.
"The purpose of the Book of Leviticus was to help Jews maintain a pure separation from their pagan neighbors," Rogers said. "They had rules that a man couldn't lay down next to another man, but they also weren't allowed to eat shrimp cocktail."
The rules were put there to stop the popularity of other gods' temples, Rogers said. These temples included some "homosexual practices" in the temple rituals of these gods. Since the rules were targeted at pagan worship they should not be viewed as condemning homosexual behavior today.
"You need to treat the Bible as a whole narrative story through the lens of Jesus living as a teacher," Rogers said. "The translation is different now than how it was used then.
"In the book of Romans, women weren't to do unnatural things," Rogers said. "Today that is considered being a lesbian, but back then it was a woman who initiated sex. The thought was that men are always superior to women, even in the bedroom."
Gays and lesbians shouldn't be persecuted for causing social problems, Rogers said.
"The United States has the highest number of children out of wedlock and divorce," Rogers said. "Note: gays and lesbians didn't cause that problem, and they are not responsible for those statistics."
That comment brought enthusiastic applause from the audience.
Although fliers promoting the lecture had been ripped down across campus the night before, the audience reaction was mostly positive.
Mark Wood, professor of chemistry at Drury, attended the lecture.
"Rogers took an academic take to the subject," Wood said. "He understood that people don't have to leave his lecture agreeing with him. This is an initial take on building common ground."
Rogers said the Bible teaches us to "love thy neighbor as thyself." He ended his lecture the way he does all of them: "I apologize for the way you have been treated by the church, and remember God loves you."
Jack Rogers, a professor emeritus of theology at San Francisco Theological Seminary, spoke to about 60 people at the Diversity Center at Drury University on Thursday. He is the author of "Jesus, the Bible, and Homose-xuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church."
Rogers explained how he came to research this subject.
"A gay man, who had earlier been elected a deacon, asked Pasadena Presbyterian Church to consider becoming a More Light Church," Rogers said. He said a More Light Church is a congregation that is more willing to ordain lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
A friend in the church asked Rogers to serve on the task force for this issue.
"My friend told me, 'If you are my friend, you are going to do this,'" Rogers said with a laugh, "and I reluctantly accepted."
In his lecture, Rogers used biblical verses to explain that homosexuality was present in Jesus' day. One example comes from the Book of Leviticus.
"The purpose of the Book of Leviticus was to help Jews maintain a pure separation from their pagan neighbors," Rogers said. "They had rules that a man couldn't lay down next to another man, but they also weren't allowed to eat shrimp cocktail."
The rules were put there to stop the popularity of other gods' temples, Rogers said. These temples included some "homosexual practices" in the temple rituals of these gods. Since the rules were targeted at pagan worship they should not be viewed as condemning homosexual behavior today.
"You need to treat the Bible as a whole narrative story through the lens of Jesus living as a teacher," Rogers said. "The translation is different now than how it was used then.
"In the book of Romans, women weren't to do unnatural things," Rogers said. "Today that is considered being a lesbian, but back then it was a woman who initiated sex. The thought was that men are always superior to women, even in the bedroom."
Gays and lesbians shouldn't be persecuted for causing social problems, Rogers said.
"The United States has the highest number of children out of wedlock and divorce," Rogers said. "Note: gays and lesbians didn't cause that problem, and they are not responsible for those statistics."
That comment brought enthusiastic applause from the audience.
Although fliers promoting the lecture had been ripped down across campus the night before, the audience reaction was mostly positive.
Mark Wood, professor of chemistry at Drury, attended the lecture.
"Rogers took an academic take to the subject," Wood said. "He understood that people don't have to leave his lecture agreeing with him. This is an initial take on building common ground."
Rogers said the Bible teaches us to "love thy neighbor as thyself." He ended his lecture the way he does all of them: "I apologize for the way you have been treated by the church, and remember God loves you."
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