Gloucester Point, Virginia, Bethany United Methodist Church 'Church and Society Committee' calls seminar on the Bible and homosexuality a success

by Nancy Orth, Chairperson
Church and Society Committee
Bethany United Methodist Church
Gloucester Point, Virginia

April 30, 2013

On Saturday, April 20, from 1 - 4 p.m.,  the Rev. Steve Parelli and Mr. Jose Ortiz of Other Sheep (www.othersheep.org), invited by the Church and Society Committee of Bethany United Methodist Church in Gloucester Point, Virginia presented a seminar entitled Talking Points – What you need to know and say when they say: “But the Bible clearly condemns homosexuality!”  On Sunday, April 21, during the Sunday School hour, the Rev. Parelli and Mr. Ortiz spoke to a group about the fallacies of the “ex-gay” movement.

Approximately 50 people attended the 'Bible and homosexuality' talk on Saturday including the minister of Bethany Church. Rev. Parelli, assisted by Mr. Ortiz, gave a scholarly, and very interesting, PowerPoint lecture on what have come to be known as the “Clobber Passages,” six references in the Bible commonly used to condemn homosexuals (Gen. 19, Lev. 18:22 and 22:13, Romans 1, I Cor. 6:9 and I:10, Jude 7). In an attempt to create an informal atmosphere this event was held in the church fellowship hall with refreshments provided. The attendees sat around tables and were given paper and pencils to write down questions or comments to ask at the end of the presentation. A ten-page handout of notes that followed the PowerPoint material was provided each attendee.

The audience, for the most part, was engaged and positively receptive. There were six people who negatively challenged Rev. Parelli and Mr. Ortiz, by quoting scripture and condemning them as homosexual. This created some awkward moments but did not de-rail the afternoon. Rev. Parelli and the hosting committee did ask this group to allow him to stay on topic and offered to discuss their concerns after the presentation was over. Three of these attendees left before the end of the session and some of the others stayed afterwards and talked with Rev. Parelli and Mr. Ortiz. There were also a number of people who had very positive comments about the talk and relayed these to Rev. Parelli, Mr. Ortiz, and members of the hosting committee.

The 'Bible and homosexuality' seminar was announced in the "Church News" section of the April 18 Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal. The general public was cordially invited.  The larger amount of the attendees was from Bethany Church, a few were from the community at large.

On Sunday, April 21 Rev. Parelli and Mr. Ortiz attended the early morning worship service prior to speaking to a Sunday School class about the fallacies of the “ex-gay” movement, including their own related experiences.  This was well-received.   After Sunday School Rev. Parelli and Mr. Ortiz were taken to brunch at a nearby restaurant. Twelve church members accompanied them and continued the discussion.

The Church and Society Committee deemed the visit a success and has sent out a survey asking for input.  Of course the survey is aimed at those who attended but also welcomes comments from any member of the congregation. These results will help the committee to answer the question “Where do we go from here?”

It was certainly a pleasure and privilege to have Rev. Parelli and Mr. Ortiz visit Bethany. They were the perfect guests and very enjoyable to be around. They are welcomed back!

Other Sheep presents on the Bible and homosexuality at a Big Island, Hawaii, PFLAG meeting

Big Island PFLAG hears Other Sheep Presentation:  "Talking Points"

for the "Talking Point" paper ("What you need to know and say when they say: 'But the Bible clearly condemns homosexuality!' "), click here

by Rev. Steve Parelli
April 3, 2013
Bronx, NY

On Thursday evening of March 28, 2013, Rev. Steve Parelli, using PowerPoint, presented parts of his paper Talking Points (What you need to know and say when they say: 'But the Bible clearly condemns homosexuality!') to a group of 9 people, including two professors from the University of Hawaii (one, a professor of history who also speaks on occasion on the topic of the Bible and homosexuality, and the other a professor of feminism).



Janno (left) and her partner Laurie who are
the owners of Hairy Monkey Books and
who hosted, as PFLAG leaders,
the Other Sheep presentation.
Jose Ortiz (right).
The Big Island, Hawaii.
March 28, 2013

The group varied in their background from one self-declared atheist to a lesbian with an evangelical brother who pastors a church (on the main land of the United States) and whose approach with her on the issue of homosexuality is evangelistic.

The meeting was hosted by the Big Island PFLAG (sse their Facebook page) and was held in a meeting space at Hairy Monkey Books, 92 Kalanianaole Ave, Hilo, Hawaii.  Janno, the PFLAG leader, and Laurie, her partner, are the owners of Hairy Monkey Books, home of the largest book signing in the history of Hilo ("Roseanne Barrs Roseannarchy").  Hairy Monkey Books carries retro, vintage, antique and collectible items from all over the planet and offers the largest selection of LGBT cards, gifts and books on the Big Island Hawaii.

The Big Island PFLAG announced the Other Sheep meeting in the March 27 Big Island Weekly free publication under the "Big Island Calendar" column.  The announcement gave the topic of discussion and a description of the ministry of Other Sheep

Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson asks Other Sheep Steve Parelli to comment on Leviticus 18 and Romans 1 in view of Rev. Donald Spitz's "hateful comment" that gays, according to the Bible, should be criminalized

By Rev. Stephen Parelli
December 21, 2011
Bronx, NY

Today, OUTTAKE posted my comments on Lev. 18 & 20 and Romans 1 with the following title and introductory remarks:

"REV. DONALD SPITZ SAYS CRIMINALIZE GAYS"

" . . . We called on our openly gay Bible expert Rev. Stephen Parelli, Executive Director of Other Sheep in New York to explain this biblical misconception once and for all.  Parelli stated . . . "

The following comments by Rev. Parelli appear on OUTTAKE blog, Dec. 21, 2011, and were written expressly for OUTTAKE on December 19, 2011, in the Bronx, NY

Lev. 18:22 and 20:13

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." NRSV

Levitical purity laws, of which Lev. 18:22 and 20:13 are a part, were Jewish religious laws, not universal moral and ethical laws, which served to define how the Jewish people were to live as a unique chosen people.

Two principles served to define the purity code, the second of which was the prohibition of mixing ‘kinds,’ such as mixing linen and wool in the making of clothes.

“The lyings-of-a-woman,” the English rendering of the Hebrew phrase אִשָּׁה מִשְׁכְּבֵי  found in Lev. 18:22 and 20:13, and which is understood to refer specifically to anal penetration, fails the second principle of the “purity” code.  Like mixing linen with wool, the male receptive partner is himself a combination of kinds – a male-female mixture.

At first sight, it is hard for us to wrap our heads around the idea that Lev. 18:22 and 20:13 have no more moral or ethical value for us today than the mixing of linin and wool in the making of clothes.  We need to dismantle our present-day frame-work and see our preconceived ideas for what they unfortunately are:  centuries-old, uninformed, so-called “biblical” biases against a misunderstood minority in society.

Romans 1:26-27a

“For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions.  Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another.” NRSV

Elizabeth Stuart, in her book Gay and Lesbian Theologies: Repetitions with Critical Difference, says Paul uses these words “natural” and “unnatural” (“against nature” in the KJV), “to describe, not homosexual people, but Gentiles who characteristically engaged in same-sex activity, a characteristic that distinguishes them, not from heterosexuals, but from the Jews” [emphasis mine].   For all the exegesis one must engage in to grasp how Paul is not talking about homosexuality as we understand it today, Stuart’s statement is the best summary I’ve found and completely fits the context.  Underline it.  Save it.  Repeat it to yourselves and others.

“Natural” and “unnatural” (“against nature” in the KJV) did not have for Paul the same meaning it has for us today.  In ancient times, “unnatural” meant “unconventional” (cf. I Cor. 11:14-15 NRSV and Rom. 11:24 NRSV where long hair on a man is unnatural and where God himself does what is “contrary to nature”).  Seneca, for example, refers to hot baths, banquets after sunset, potted plants and a man’s passive sexual role as all, equally “against nature”, i.e., contrary to custom.

Paul is not talking about homosexuals in contrast to heterosexuals, but rather about Gentiles whose customs are outside of the norm, especially in comparison to Jewish religious purity codes.  Paul, therefore, is not condemning all same-sex acts, and certainly not homosexuality as an orientation.

A gay Christian man from Hong Kong writes his story: "Being gay and Christian is definitely not contradictory -- Acutually, it is a special blessing!"

By Fergus Lo, Hong Kong
October 16, 2011

The following are excerpts.  To see the article in full, click here.

Fergus Lo

On the Blessed Minoirty Community Fellowship
There were less than 20 people at the (Blessed Minority Community Fellowship) Friday evening meeting. To my surprise, some of the members shared their stories with me as if we were very close friends. I thought I would be a stranger among them, but they treated me as a friend who belonged. It was the love and trust I experienced that urged me to go to the meeting again the following Friday and the Fridays after.

Sodom and Gomorrah

On the Bible and Homosexuality
I never had a huge struggle between my two identities – gay and Christian, like some of my fellow brothers and sisters do. I had realized and accepted my sexual orientation before I started following Jesus, and when I did accept Jesus as my Savior it was at an welcoming and affirming LGBT church. It is true, however, that I was somewhat hit hard by the six passages in the Bible which are commonly used to condemn homosexuals. My friends at the church urged me not to take the verses literally but to study each passage in its historical and literary context: what is the background of each passage; to whom was the author writing – his intended reader; what was the time period or the culture in which the passage is set. Besides, there are Bible passages we don’t observe today like what we can and cannot eat or wear; and passages where women and men are treated differently.

Left to right:  Fergus Lo, Steve Parelli, Paul Luca,
Felix Liew, Jose Ortiz.  Meeting on sending
books on the Bible and homosexuality
to Beijing Christinas. July 19, 2010.
Kowloon, Hong Kong

On living in Hong Kong
There are many challenges for the gay person living in Hong Kong, and more so for the gay Christian living here.

On being Gay and Chrisitan
I am very grateful that God created me just as I am – a gay man, and that I am a  Christian. God loves me unconditionally regardless of my sexual orientation. In fact, being gay enables me to see His abundant love from a perspective straight people do not necessarily experience. In addition, being a gay Christian enables me to put my feet in the shoes of other minoritycommunities more easily.

I would like to proclaim loudly that being a Christian and gay is definitely not contradictory. Actually, it is
a special blessing!