The Clobber Passages: Finding Affirmation in Scripture
Safe Zone Religion Advanced Session – LGBTQA Resource Office - University of Illinois Springfield
“Given how often some Christians preach against homosexuality, you would think there must be hundreds of Scriptures on the subject. In fact
there are only six traditional clobber passages and none of them speaks to the situation of twenty-first century gay people who desire to live
in loving relationships with the blessing of God.” – Rev. Jeff Miner & Rev John Tyler Connoley
The Story of Sodom & Gommorrah: The Sin of Inhospitality (Genesis 19):
•The story is about inhospitality, attempted mob violence, abuse and rape, but not
homosexual desire.
•Lot was the only person in Sodom with the kindness to invite strangers in for the
night and refused to expose them to the abuse of the men of Sodom. Doing so
would have violated a sacred law of hospitality (Helminiak, 1995).
•Other Scriptures affirm that it “is more generally a condemnation of the
mistreatment of those who are most vulnerable, including strangers. It is ironic
that the story of Sodom is now used by (some) Christians to justify hatred
toward another vulnerable group – gay people” (Miner & Connoley, p.6). Even
Jesus understood this to be about inhospitality.
•Wisdom 19:13: the sin of Sodom was a “bitter hatred of strangers” (Helmniak, p.
40).
•Matthew 10:5-15: Jesus referred to the rejection and inhospitable actions toward
his disciples. “…Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy,
and stay there until you leave….If any one will not welcome you or listen to your
words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I
tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day
of judgment than for that town.” (Helmniak, p. 40).
•Forcing sex on men was a way of humiliating them in Biblical times and perhaps
still is today. The idea was to insult the men by treating them like women. If a
homosexual man is engaging in anal sex with another man, and not all gay/bi
men do, they certainly aren’t raping (“sodomizing”) each other.
Do not lie with men as you would with women. (Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13)
•“Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is an abomination.”
(Leviticus 18:22)
•If a man also lie with mankind as he lieth with woman, both of them have
committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood upon
them.” (Leviticus 20:13)
•The Leviticus passages were written to address pagan religious rituals, fertility
rites consisting of sexual rituals, and temple prostitution between all sexes. Since
we are not questioning the appropriateness of cultic sexual practices then this is
not referring to modern day society. (Miner & Connoley, 2011)
•Neither of these passages speaks to whether two people of the same sex can live
in loving relationships with the blessing of God.
Trading natural relations for unnatural (Romans 1:21-28)
•“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did
change natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men
leaving that natural use of the women, burned in their lust one toward another;
men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that
recompense of their error which was meet.”
•“The model of homosexual behavior Paul was addressing here is explicitly
associated with idol worship (temple prostitution), and with people who, in an
unbridled search for pleasure (or because of religious rituals associated with
their idolatry), broke away from their natural sexual orientation, participating in
promiscuous sex with anyone available.” (Miner & Connoley, 2011)
No fems? No fairies? (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and 1 Timothy 1:10)
•“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not
deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor
abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves … shall inherit the kingdom of
God.” – King James version.
•“Effeminate” translated from the original Greek work “malakoi” meant soft
which referred to laziness, degeneracy, decadence, or lack of courage.
•It is important to understand the difference between ancient and modern
notions of what makes one effeminate. Paul wasn’t condemning men who swish
and carry purses; he was condemning a type of moral weakness (vain, fearful,
and self-indulgant) (Miner & Connoley, 2011).
The following are stories of inspiration from the Bible that are gay-positive. These stories threaten some of
long held prejudices and thus their positive messages are often ignored. Two people of the same sex can live
in a relationship with the blessing of God.
Ruth & Naomi
•"Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where
you lodge I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will
die - there will I be buried. may the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts
me from you!" (Ruth 1:16-17)
•The book of Ruth reads like the story of two women in love.
•After losing her husband and sons, this decision to place her life in Naomi's hands could result in
death, instead of returning to her family, a basic survival instince, her actions speak of love for
Ruth.
Jonathan & David
•"The soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul ...
Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. Jonathan stripped
himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword
and his bow and his belt." - (1 Samuel 18:1-4)
•"At Jonathan's death David laments: "I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant
have you been to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women" (2 Samuel 1:26).
•The love of Jonathan & David could have been a deep and faithful romantic relationship.
Same Sex Ceremonies in Ancient Europe
•Prof. John Boswell, the late Chairman of Yale University’s history department, discovered that in
addition to heterosexual marriage ceremonies in ancient Christian church liturgical documents,
there were also ceremonies called the "Office of Same-Sex Union" (10th and 11th century), and the
"Order for Uniting Two Men" (11th and 12th century).
•These church rites had all the symbols of a heterosexual marriage: the whole community gathered
in a church, a blessing of the couple before the altar was conducted with their right hands joined,
holy vows were exchanged, a priest officiated in the taking of the Eucharist and a wedding feast for
the guests was celebrated afterwards. These elements all appear in contemporary illustrations of
the holy union of the Byzantine Warrior-Emperor, Basil the First (867-886 CE) and his companion
John.
References
• Boswell, J. (1994) Same sex unions in pre-modern Europe, New York: Villard.
• Helmniak, D. (1995) What the Bible really says about homosexuality, Alamo Square Press:
San Francisco.
• Miner, J. & Connoley J. T. (2011) The children are free: Reexamining the Biblical evidence on
same-sex relationships, Indianapolis: Life Journey Press.