Quiroz 1

Christopher Quiroz

WRI 111

Elisabeth Whitehead

March 23, 2020

A Letter Concerning Recent (yet Frequent) Sermons

Dear Pastor Mark,

While Roanoke, Virginia is a place that we are both thankful

to call home, I do not think that either of us would necessarily

boast about how tolerant and accepting it is, specifically towards

homosexuals. Or bisexuals. Or transgenders. Or... Well, anyone

who is not heterosexual and cisgender. These negative feelings

most definitely stem from widespread Christian beliefs in our

town that homosexuality is not only immoral, but an utter

abomination. I vividly recall the day that former Virginia delegate

Greg Habeeb visited our class and asked what our stance on gay

marriage was. Out of every person in the class (except for my

friend, Abby, who was genuinely too frightened to say anything or

even hint that her family was Democratic), I was the only person

on the fence regarding the issue. I knew what the Bible says, but I

also had a close friend who was gay, and I was conflicted on how
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it could be wrong to be in love with someone. So, I said I was on

the fence. I thought that would be the end of it, but my friend,

Emory, made a conscious decision to confront me after class to

discuss my response to the delegate’s question. Seemingly upset,

he asked me point blank, “Why would you say that? It’s clear. It’s

wrong.”

As you already know, the Bible appears to have a good bit to

say about homosexual behavior; a whole six passages (give or

take) are dedicated to the topic. Having regularly attended four

different churches of four differing theologies and worship

practices, I have gathered that homosexuality is of the utmost

importance to our local churches – they seem to have a lot to say

about it, actually. Lately, I have begun to notice a similar trend in

your sermons. A few weeks ago I was talking with a few church

friends, as well as a couple day workers and this topic arose. As it

appears, we have all have noticed a pattern of brief, yet

recognizable messages regarding homosexuality that have come

up in sermons. Something to note about these messages,

however, is that these sermons (for the most part) seem to have

nothing to do with homosexuality at all, yet the topic is given a

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good deal of attention. Now, I know that due to the recent buzz

about movements related towards homosexual rights, many

churches feel the need to address these pleas for equality by

reminding people that homosexual actions, as outlined in the

Bible, are immoral and offensive to God. However, should they

even be preaching their stance as firmly as they are? Is it possible

that there is a much larger gray area to these verses than

generally thought and preaching the condemnation of

homosexuality is potentially heresy? I would say, with one

hundred percent confidence, yes. I truly believe, after an

examination of the six passages I mentioned earlier, there can be

seen a clear, logical reason to have doubt in the typical Bible

translations we have been presented with; therefore, it would be

unreasonable to so confidently condemn a theological topic that

has so much ambiguity around it.

The passages I would like you to look at in a new light are

nowadays referred to as the “Clobber Passages,” as these are the

passages many Christians use to “clobber” LGBTQIA+ members

with unacceptance, intolerance, and even hatred. The first of the

passages is the infamous story of Sodom and Gomorrah located in

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the book of Genesis, chapter 19. According to Dr. Richard Hays,

who is widely considered to be the world’s leading New

Testament scholar, insists that “The notorious story of Sodom and

Gomorrah – often cited in connection with homosexuality—is

actually irrelevant to the topic” (381). In fact, Ezekiel clearly

states the sin of Sodom when he says “Behold, this was the guilt

of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of

food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy”

(English Standard Version, Ezek. 16.49). The second passage

chronologically is a part of the Levitical Law which states, “You

shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination”

(Lev. 18.22). In his National Book Award-winning volume, John

Boswell explains “The Hebrew word ‘toevah,’ here translated

‘abomination,’ does not usually signify something intrinsically evil,

like rape or theft (discussed elsewhere in Leviticus), but

something which is ritually unclean for Jews...” (100-101). Now,

even if this explanation was somehow incorrect, you and I both

know well that the Levitical Law was fulfilled through the

Atonement of Christ through His death and resurrection so that no

one would have to be subject to the numerous rules laid out in

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the Old Testament. Moving now to the New Testament, the

apostle Paul writes:

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions.

For their women exchanged natural relations for those that

are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural

relations with women and were consumed with passion for

one another, men committing shameless acts with men and

receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

(Rom. 1. 26-27)

While this passage and verses before it are often construed to be

references to “natural revelation” or the perceived natural order

of things, it is equally as likely that Paul is referring to “cult

prostitution known to the Roman Church,” something that would

be very topical to the Romans to whom the apostle was writing

(“The Clobber Verses”). Along that same line of thinking, Paul also

writes to the Corinthians and Timothy, appearing to condemn

men who practice homosexuality – or at least, that’s what most

modern translations say (1 Cor., 1 Tim.). When looked at these

verses in context to the time (and the Greek translation), it

becomes quite possible that Paul was writing the Corinthians in

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regard to pederasty and male prostitution, advising Timothy to

speak to the Ephesians about their rampant male sex trafficking

(“The Clobber Verses”).

These passages have been scrutinized for thousands of

years, but even more heavily looked into in the more recent

decades as the demand for LGBTQIA+ rights grew louder and

louder. My brief summary of these debatable instances in

Scripture are barely the tip of the iceberg; The ambiguity of these

verses cannot be understated. With 1 in 5 cases of hate crimes

reported in the United States being anti-gay hate crimes, and at

least one-third of those hate crimes being committed in the

household, should we really continue to preach negative

messages about homosexuality to older parents who very well

may have a questioning child at home (Marzullo and Libman)?

Adding on to the concern, “26% percent of LGBT youth say that

their biggest problems are not feeling accepted by their family,

trouble at school/bullying, and a fear to be out/open (Growing Up

LGBT in America: View and Share Statistics). (Putting aside the

fact that Christ Himself never once preached on the subject, is

this message of negativity and condemnation something that

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Christ would preach if He had the audience that you have

presently? I think it is quite fair to say that the majority of the

congregation (which primarily consists of middle-aged

conservatives) already believes homosexuality is wrong. I believe

that at this point, there is no need to continue preaching these

anti-gay ideas into their heads when it has already been

conveyed to them their whole lives. 

Your duty as a pastor is to tell the congregation what you

believe that they need to hear, to guide them toward the path the

Son has made available to us. I absolutely love our church and

the people you have led and mentored. When I came to this

church, you were all a safe haven for me, and I am so thankful

that you continue to be that to this day. I know that you intend to

guide your people toward what is good, true, and beautiful, as

this is our intended mission given to us directly by God. While I

would love to hear you preach on the gray areas of what the Bible

says about homosexual actions, letting the congragation decide

what they think for themselves, I am not asking you to do that.

Instead, after considering how there is a fair amount of

reasonable conjecture on the translation of the “Clobber

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Passages,”  I would much rather hear a sermon on how we should

love every single person around us, regardless of their race,

gender-identification, or sexual orientation. This simple yet bold

choice may not necessarily be what the people of St. John are

expecting. But that, Pastor Mark, is exactly what your

congregation needs to hear.

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Works Cited

English Standard Version. Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com.

Accessed 23 Mar. 2020.

Boswell, John. Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay

People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era

to the Fourteenth Century. University of Chicago Press, 1980.

Hays, Richard B. The Moral Vision of the New Testament: Community,

Cross, New Creation: A Contemporary Introduction to New

Testament Ethics. 1st ed, HarperSanFrancisco, 1996.

Marzullo, Michelle, and Alyn Libman. Hate Crimes and Violence Against

LGBTQ People. Research Overview, Human Rights Campaign

Foundation, May 2009,

https://assets2.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/Hatecrimesandviolen

ceagainstlgbtpeople_2009.pdf?

_ga=2.5860147.1287941555.1584941327-

1466669290.1584941327.

“The Clobber Verses: Six Scriptures Cited at Gays, Lesbians, Same-Sex

Relationships, and the LGBTQ+.” The PostBarthian, 11 Oct. 2017,

https://postbarthian.com/2017/10/11/clobber-verses-six-

scriptures-cited-gays-lesbians-sex-relationships-lgbtq/.
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Human Rights Campaign. “Growing Up LGBT in America: View and

Share Statistics.” Human Rights Campaign. www.hrc.org,

https://www.hrc.org/youth-report/view-and-share-statistics/.

Accessed 1 Apr. 2020.