Homosexuality, Part 3

I recently came across two outstanding essays by Walter Wink regarding homosexuality and the Bible. Wink is Professor Emeritus of Biblical Interpretation at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City and is a theologian and author of note.

His in-depth analysis on Biblical sexual mores provides a great deal of food for thought on how Christians in the 21st Century might view homosexuality. I thought the following paragraphs were particularly insightful:

"Approached from the point of view of love rather than of law, the issue is at once transformed. Now the question is not "What is permitted?" but rather "What does it mean to love my homosexual neighbor?" Approached from the point of view of faith rather than works, the question ceases to be "What constitutes a breach of divine law in the sexual realm?" and becomes instead "What constitutes integrity before the God revealed in the cosmic lover, Jesus Christ?" Approached from the point of view of the Spirit rather than the letter, the question ceases to be "What does Scripture command?" and becomes "What is the Word that the Spirit speaks to the churches now, in the light of Scripture, tradition, theology, and yes, psychology, genetics, anthropology, and biology?"

"The fact is that there is, behind the legal tenor of Scripture, an even deeper tenor, articulated by Israel out of the experience of the Exodus and brought to sublime embodiment in Jesus' identification with harlots, tax collectors, the diseased and maimed and outcast and poor. It is that God sides with the powerless, God liberates the oppressed, God suffers with the suffering and groans toward the reconciliation of all things. In the light of that supernatural compassion, whatever our position on gays, the gospel's imperative to love, care for, and be identified with their sufferings is unmistakably clear."

Here are the links to Wink's essays:
Homosexuality and the Bible`
Biblical Perspectives on Homosexuality