The Power of the Bible
By Rev. Mona West, Ph.D.
The Bible is a powerful book. What is more important to realize is thatinterpretations of the Bible are just as powerful. New Testament scholar, MaryAnn Tolbert, points out that every interpretation of a text in the Bible is acombination of the stories themselves and the interests, commitments, andbeliefs of the person or groups reading the stories.Different Voices Interpreting ScriptureBecause the Bible was written centuries ago and came from an ancientnear eastern culture, it is difficult at times to know exactly what the Bible saysabout certain issues—especially contemporary ones. For a long time it wasthought that the best way, the scientific way, of interpreting the Bible was todiscover the original intent of the author of a particular biblical passage. It wasalso thought that meaning could only be found in the words of the text of theBible itself.However, in the 1980’s this approach to interpreting the Bible was calledinto question, most specifically by women. Feminist approaches to scripturediscovered that what had been presented as ‘objective’ and ‘scientific’ biblicalinterpretations, were actually forms of interpretation done from the bias of aparticular group: white, heterosexual men with a Eurocentric focus—a group thathad been (and continues to be) in positions of power in universities andseminaries where the Bible is studied and biblical interpretation is taught. Thissame group also dominated (and still does) pulpits where the Bible is interpreted.Feminists and other groups discovered that there has been a long legacy ofbiblical interpretation that kept a certain group in power. Such groups influencethe way the Bible is read and understood in any given society.Once this bias was exposed by feminists, there were other groups thatbegan to realize they had been left out of the interpretive enterprise: African,Latin, Asian and Native peoples in particular. These groups began to add theirown voices and understandings to biblical interpretation.Readers Make MeaningIn addition to these new voices, the theological community has alsoshifted the focus of how meaning is made when one reads and interprets abiblical text. Not only can there be meaning in the author’s original intent (whichin many cases may never be known with an ancient text like the Bible), butmeaning can be derived by the reader. Meaning actually happens in theinteraction between reader and text. This concept has greatly impacted biblicalinterpretation because now who is reading the text is just as important as whowrote the text.There really is no unbiased, objective reading of the Bible. All of us bringa particular ‘self’ to the text; a self that is shaped by a variety of factors such asrace, ethnicity, gender, class, religious affiliation, socioeconomic standing,education, and sexual orientation. Readers are also members of specificcommunities and personal history with that community shapes the way theyapproach a biblical text. These unique perspectives of readers are called one’ssocial location. Another term for social location is ‘community situationapproach.’ The community’s life experiences and the relation of scripture to thecommunity’s needs determine the ways in which the community makes sense oftexts in the Bible. Each group finds a point, or points, of reference from which toread, reclaim and re-appropriate the meaning of scripture for the community inliberating and affirming ways. In African American communities the point ofreference is often the theme of deliverance. In gay, lesbian, bisexual andtransgender (GLBT) communities, the point of reference is often the theme ofcoming out.Ironically, the readers most in touch with their social locations as theyrelate to the Bible are members of communities who have been marginalizedbecause of the dominant group’s use of scripture against them. Women andAfrican Americans for example have traced the history of biblical interpretationwithin their own communities and identified key concerns and strategies forappropriating and reclaiming scripture.GLBT people also have a particular history with the Bible. Like womenand African Americans, the Bible has been used against us to justify oppression.And like women and African Americans, we have developed strategies forappropriating and reclaiming scripture.A Brief History of GLBT Biblical InterpretationThe history of GLBT biblical interpretation can be traced through thepreaching and scholarship that has taken place in Metropolitan CommunityChurch, a denomination founded in 1968 by Rev. Troy Perry. The Bible hasbeen read and interpreted consistently and intentionally in the classrooms andpulpits of MCC congregations since the beginning of this denomination. Morethan any other community, the members of MCC have brought their particular lifeexperiences to bear on reading and interpreting scripture in liberating ways forGLBT people.A handful of scriptures that are used against the GLBT community topromote homophobia and violence. These texts are often called the ‘clobberpassages’ because of the abusive way they have been used. Over the years,GLBT biblical interpretation has moved from a defensive stance toward the Bible,to an offensive stance. For instance, historical criticism and linguisticsdemonstrated that there is much ambiguity concerning the translation andinterpretation of such words as yadah ‘to know’ in Genesis 19, mishkav zakur‘the lyings of a male’ in the Leviticus passages, para pusin ‘against nature’ inRomans 1, malakoi ‘soft’ in 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Timothy 1.More recently GLBT people have moved toward embracing the Bible as afriendly text. Instead of limiting our energies to always defending ourselvesagainst a few obscure passages, energy is being spent on reading the wholeBible as the Word of God for our community.This offensive stance assumes that there is more to addressing themessage of the Bible than just silencing the clobber passages. This offensivestance includes identifying texts that affirm same sex love and the goodness ofhuman sexuality. The stories of Jonathan and David and Ruth and Naomi havebeen preached from many MCC pulpits as examples of same sex love. The Songof Songs has been lifted up as a text that celebrates the joy of human sexualitywhich is not measured by marital or procreative status.Reading StrategiesIn addition to this particular history of biblical interpretation, GLBT biblicalinterpreters share at least three reading strategies with feminists that disarmharmful interpretations of biblical texts and highlight the positive role of scripture:a revisionist approach, imaginative identification, and, as previously mentioned,social location.For feminists, the revisionist approach attempts to rediscover all theinformation about women that still can be found in biblical writings. GLBT biblicalinterpreters have used this strategy to rediscover all the information we canabout same sex relationships in the Bible. The feminist revisionist approach alsoseeks to address layers of androcentric (emphasizing masculine interests orpoint of view) interpretation of biblical texts, claiming that biblical textsthemselves are not misogynist but have been patriarchalized by interpreters whohave projected their androcentric cultural bias onto biblical texts. Likewise, GLBTscholars have claimed that the Bible has nothing to say in the current debateabout homosexuality as a sexual orientation and any attempts to use scripture inthe debate is the result of the homophobic bias of the interpreter. Also, alongwith feminists, GLBT biblical interpreters have learned Greek and Hebrew inorder to correct false translations and commentaries.The feminist reading strategy of imaginative identification imagines orassumes women characters in biblical stories where they might not be explicitlymentioned. For example it would stand to reason (or imagination) that thedaughters of Israel would be gathered at Sinai if the sons of Israel were there.Nancy Wilson, in her book Our Tribe: Queer Folks, God, Jesus, and theBible, applies imaginative identification to biblical texts and claims that if at anygiven time in history and cultures there have been a percentage of people whohave a same sex orientation then it would stand to reason and imagination thatsome of these people are in the biblical story. She wonders if the eunuchs—sexual minorities in the biblical story—might be the spiritual ancestors of gay andlesbian people today. How might their roles as ‘go betweens,’ and mediators berelated to a similar priestly function of ‘two spirited’ (transgender) peoples inancient tribal cultures?The Formative Power of ScriptureAll three reading strategies are important for gay, lesbian, bisexual andtransgender people. They are necessary for our survival—physical and spiritual.They begin to move us toward the Bible as a friendly text, rather than a text ofterror.Still another shift needs to take place for GLBT people of faith and ourrelationship with the Bible. All of the strategies outlined approach the Bible as anobject to be studied, interpreted or debated. They function in the realm ofreading for information. We are the ones asking questions of the text, its history,its interpretation.As gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people begin to feel safe withthe Bible we will be able to trust the formative power of scripture. In addition toreading the Bible for information, we must read the Bible for formation—ourspiritual formation. In our desire to grow spiritually, all of us, regardless of sexualorientation, are invited by the Holy Spirit to let the Word of God read us.Sources for Further StudyFiorenza, Elisabeth Schussler (1992). But She Said: Feminist Practices ofBiblical Interpretation. Boston: Beacon Press.Goss, Bob and Mona West, eds. (2000). Take Back the Word: A Queer Readingof the Bible. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press.Segovia, Fernando and Mary Ann Tolbert, eds. (1995). Reading from the Place:Social Location and Biblical Interpretation in the United States. Philadelphia:Fortress PressWilson, Nancy (1995). Our Tribe: Queer Folks, God, Jesus, and the Bible. SanFrancisco: Harper & Row.