The Review

Issue date: 3/16/07 Section: Online

Media Credit: John Transue [Click to enlarge]

"You could go into the Bible and if you worked at it hard enough, you could probably find a passage of scripture to support anything you are in favor of,"said Brad Hinton, associate rector for Trinity Episcopal Church.

Hinton, an openly gay priest, delivered a lecture on the Bible and homosexuality as part of a series for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Questioning series on Tuesday afternoon in Gore Hall to an audience of approximately 50 people.

He said there are places in the Bible outright condemning homosexuality. There are also places in the Bible that condemn eating pork or seafood, having sex with a woman on her period and wearing a garment made from two different materials.

Hinton supplied a handout listing biblical passages supporting both sides of the argument regarding sexual orientation in the church.

He cited biblical books that condemned homosexuality - Corinthians, Leviticus - but also books that discussed male-male relations without passing judgment, such as Matthew, Luke and 1 and 2 Samuel.

"The real issue in this conversation we are having is not so much what does the Bible say," Hinton said. "The question is, 'How do we read the Bible?' "

Graduate student Michael Sturm said he attended because the speech grabbed his attention, as it reminded him of his conservative upbringing.

"I was just really curious about what he had to say because it mirrors my own conservative, Christian background," Sturm said. "This is something, part of my background, I was hoping to make peace with."

Sturm said he agreed with some aspects of Hinton's lecture.

Hinton said many people do not want to acknowledge the subject of homosexuality in the Bible, so they hide behind a well-chosen passage to shut down the possibility of a tense conversation.

He read passages from the Bible illustrating both tolerance and condemnation. He pointed to passages that are used to hush women and keep them uneducated. Hinton said ministers formerly used the Bible to support slavery and the ownership of another human being.

In his career, he studied the scriptures to make his own peace with his decision to serve God as a homosexual, he said.

"Never underestimate the power of one person sharing their truth," Hinton said.

The speech was part of a free series sponsored by the women's studies department and the sexuality and gender studies minor.

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