same sex marriage draft 2

Psalm 93:1, Psalm 96:10, and Chronicles 16:30 state that "the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved." Psalm 104:5 says, "[the LORD] set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved." Ecclesiastes 1:5 states that "the sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises."

            Personally, I can't consider the question of same sex marriage, without reopening the possibility that the earth is flat.  As long as I am willing to entertain the possibility that the earth is round, I have already opened my arms wide, to welcome same sex marriage.

I think the church fathers of 1633 would be proud of me in reopening the possibility that the earth is flat, in order to preserve the 'inerrancy' of the scriptures.   They admonished Galileo «1.  The proposition that the sun is in the center of the world and immovable from its place is absurd, philosophically false, and formally heretical; because it is expressly contrary to Holy Scriptures.   2. The proposition that the earth is not the center of the world, nor immovable, but that it moves, and also with a diurnal action, is also absurd, philosophically false, and, theologically considered, at least erroneous in faith. « 

One problem with a round planet, is that it removes east and west as absolute concepts.  In fact, if the earth is round, no matter where one is, if one travels far enough toward the east, one will eventually arrive at one's original vantage point by approaching it from the west.   And visa versa.  East and west are only contrived concepts.  They are useful concepts of course, because they help us apply a more encompassing concept (direction) within the microlocation we find ourselves in, at any tiny point in time and place.     But east and west do not really exist, in and of themselves, if the earth is round.

            Should we then throw out large passages of scripture as nonsense or full or errors? For instance :  Psalm 103 : 9 -12.   He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.  He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.   For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

            If there is no east and west, does this mean God cannot remove our sin from us?  Because as far as the east is from the west, is right exactly in the place we are standing, if the earth is round.   Does this mean there is no merciful Creator, loving Father God? Because if the earth is round, whenever he takes our sin and moves it as far as the east is from the west, he is dumping it right back onto our own head.   This clearly denies the Cross.  Those who blur the concepts of east and west and deny that the earth is flat, are making a mockery of the forgiveness of God.

Or just maybe…. The Bible is 'inerrant' in a way that actually makes a bit more use of our gifts of mind, body, soul, heart and free will.  A bit more use of these gifts, and involving, within each of us an individuals, and within church community overall, the appreciation of :   poetry, language, culture, history, learning, humility, prayer, compassion, sacrifice, charity, faith.

1 Corinthians 13 :8-12.  « Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. »

When I read the scriptures, I always get the impression we should be humble about human knowledge.  We should be humble about our individual ability to discern truth.   We should be wary of anyone who professes to know 100% the meaning of  words in the scriptures. We should run for cover from anyone who says that their interpretation of words is the only true interpretation.    East, west, male, female, heavens, earth, planets.  These are words.  I am wary of anyone who claims to know exactly where east is.  I am wary of anyone who claims to know what exactly male and female are.

God created them male and female, with about the same definable absoluteness as he created east and west.  All four (male, female, east, west) are extremely useful concepts in any microenviroment.   But just as east and west are encompassed at a higher plane of interruption by a higher appreciation of history, culture, learning, prayer and spiritual sophistication, and the love of our Creative God, so too are male and female.   This does not make the Bible full of 'errors'.  Rather, it makes the Bible a greater challenge for the committed Christian :  the humility to realize there is no facile clinging to culturally rooted ego agenda when one is seeking truth and reading God's guiding book.    For the Bible to be 'inerrant', the Christian has to be remarkably sophisticated and open to throwing everything they understand at any given point in time, out :  as they gain greater understanding of God and scriptures over their lifetime.   And even then, we only just begin to understand.

We can all fairly much agree that the Bible requires us to submit to God with humility;  to admit we will never understand a fraction of Him; to spend a lifetime chipping away at our own manipulative ego agendas ( and gradually discern how often we blaspheme :   use the word of God in order to manipulate others).  We all fairly much agree we are given choice and free will on our journey and that this journey is about learning compassion and sacrifice.  

Too too often we cling to culturally and historically rooted interpretations of small isolated passages or words, and pretend compassion, sacrifice and humility do not have to be reworked in every moment of our individual lives and in every era, every time and place on this little ball of dirt. Christianity is a whole lot of work.  It is radical.  It is difficult.  We have to leave the ego child in us, behind :  over and over and over.

I am fairly well versed in postGalilean fun facts on gender:  variations in phenotype, genotype, self identity, cultural labelling.   Essentially, male and female are not absolute concepts.   There are many interesting variations on the theme.  Just plain born that way.  I know two gorgeous yount women who are XY.  That is, their genetype is male,   their phenotype is female.  They are simply created that way.  No abomination.   It is necessary  to say that such people are male or female, except perhaps by their own choice.  By birth right, they have a choice in self labelling.  (I suppose we all do to some extent, though most of us would look ridiculous making a choice which appears contrary to our birth 'facts'.  But when birth facts vary from our own, we can have the grace to understand that for some, there is gender choice).  Prior to the mid20th century, their mix of gender was unknown and they caused no gender identification dilemma for themselves, for the church, for human intellect.  Just as a round earth was of little concern to the average European until well after if was understood by isolated Muslim scholars.

But essentially, what gets into the papers in the form of a 'same sex marriage debate' is only a fraction of what there is to know about God's wonderful creation when it comes to variations on gender male/female.  It takes centuries for new insights about God's creation to be incorporated into the collective global consiousness in ways that are compassionate, humble, useful and consistent with the intent of the scriptures.  So perhaps debates, such as the same sex marriage debate are the necessary groanings of our spiritual journey.  God will guide, with patience.  Just as He must have rolled his eyes with patience and humour as humanity grappled with incorporating the new insights of Copernicus and Galileo.  Christians take round earth for granted now.  We unconsciously read 'east' and 'west' words in the psalms poetically, and understand the 'inerrant' truth and intent of the psalmist's use of east and west.  We can now begin to understand the poetic use of "God created them male and female" and celebrate two-become-one with a more encompassing appreciation for loving and joyful union.