The Treacherous Road of Biblical Misinterpretation
While we have been marching, our church has been getting phone calls. Not all of the calls have been pleasant. Some callers have been upset over our marching. They quote Bible passages and tell us that we don’t know the Bible. I find this odd since the Bible doesn’t have anything to say against marriage equality. Concepts like “homosexuality” did not exist back then. They didn’t even have a word that would be anywhere near the equivalent of the word “gay.”
Still, I know what passages they quote when they call, and I know that they have headed down the treacherous road of biblical misinterpretation. They are reading scriptural verses without putting them into their proper context. The apt observation that anyone interpreting the Bible should know is this: a text without a context can be used as a pretext for anything. In this entry, I am not able to dissect all the “clobber passages” used against LGBT persons, but I would encourage people to research these passages for themselves with resources like Mel White’s essay “What the Bible Says–And Doesn’t Say–about Homosexuality” or the biblical interpretation resource provided by the More Light Presbyterians.
The Steep Mountain of Challenging Abusive Religion
On our march today, we encountered the most difficult gain of elevation that we will face during our entire march to Olympia: Green Mountain. For three miles, we hiked up Green Mountain. As we hiked, it occurred to me that this mountain was a fitting metaphor for the task we faced as progressive Christians challenging the abusive Christianity that perpetuates dehumanizing and damaging beliefs about LGBT persons. As we walked up the mountain, our breathing became heavy, our thighs became sore, our physical and mental endurance was tested. Likewise, in addressing the harm caused by abusive religion we can feel like we are facing an uphill battle that will test our resolve and stamina.
The Renewing Light of a Higher Purpose
Our final destination today was Kalama. For the last mile, I had trouble thinking about anything other than my aching feet. My focus did not change until I saw the light–more specifically, the flashing lights of Poker Pete’s Pizza Parlor in downtown Kalama. When I saw that, I knew we had finally reached the end of our day’s journey. As we walked down the street, one of our marchers encountered a passerby who inquired about the purpose of our march. When she was told that we were marching for marriage equality, she replied, “March for my sister.”
This encounter renewed my spirits. It was a burst of light on what was literally a cloudy day. The encounter reminded me of how important our march is and why it is worth sore feet and blisters. It almost seems misleading to say our march is for a cause, because ultimately our march is about real people. It is about real people with families and faith communities. It is about real people who are affected not only by what each of us chooses to do but also by what we choose not to do. We have chosen to march, and I believe that we are making the world a better place with each mountain we climb.