Looking Beyond the Symptoms

Symptoms are what motivate us to seek the help of a doctor. The doctor, in turn, looks beyond the symptoms to what is causing them. The doctor seeks to address the underlying germ or virus or disease that is causing the symptoms. The symptoms only go away when the root cause has been addressed.

Using this symptom-disease metaphor, we United Methodists are focused on symptoms without recognizing or addressing the underlying cause.

The conflict over how to deal with LGBTQ+ issues is a symptom. It only exists because of other, underlying issues. Those underlying issues have produced the conflict over LGBTQ+ issues. Until those underlying issues are identified and addressed, the issues related to LGBTQ+ individuals will never be resolved.

In my mind, the primary underlying issue is the interpretation of scripture. People on both sides of the LGBTQ+ issue value the Christian scriptures as the source book of faith. Interestingly, the statements about scripture in the Book of Discipline of the Global Methodist Church and of The United Methodist Church are identical. The difference lies in how scripture is viewed, interpreted and, consequently, used.

Most who identify themselves as traditionalists or conservatives view the Bible as the Word of God (capital W). For them, it is a divine book. They believe everything in the Bible reflects God’s truth. (Well, almost everything. There are some things they don’t accept, such as the stoning of a rebellious son or of a daughter who is pregnant outside of marriage, but they seldom talk about those kinds of things.) They read the Bible literally, understanding the Bible means what it says and says what it means. Reading the Bible literally does not require interpretation (in their minds). Following this way of reading scripture, the Book of Discipline of the Global Methodist Church condemns homosexuality as a sin, identifying it as a chosen sexual perversion. Their position is based upon what the Bible says. In turn, anyone who does not identify homosexuality as a sin is viewed as not believing the Bible.

Rather than reading scripture literally, the traditional United Methodist approach to interpreting scripture (what is today referred to as progressive) uses tradition, reason, and experience. It values and relies upon biblical scholarship. This approach speaks of Jesus rather than the Bible as the Word of God (capital W – John 1:1-5, 12-14, 16-18). It views the Bible as God’s gift to us, given through the work of numerous authors and editors. “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1). Thus, the Bible is a human book as well as a divine book. God’s truth comes to us wrapped in a human wrapper. Identifying divine truth (the task of interpretation) requires us to identify the human dimensions—historical setting, cultural setting, theological viewpoint, language issues, etc. We find God’s word for us today in God’s word to the original audience within its historical and cultural situation.

This tradition-reason-experience approach recognizes the different voices in scripture. Each voice reflects the author’s attempt to understand God and how to relate to God. The voices often contradict and challenge each other. The challenge of interpretation is identifying the different voices and determining which voice best reflects the voice of God. Because Jesus is the fullest revelation of God—as opposed to the “many and various ways” God spoke in the past (Hebrews 1:1)—this way of interpreting the Bible reads through the lens of Jesus. It “hears” the voice of God primarily in the life and ministry of Jesus. “In these last days, God has spoken to us by a son. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being” (Hebrews 1:2, 3). In this way of interpreting scripture, every verse is not given the same weight of authority nor does every verse reflect God’s final revelation of truth. That most complete revelation is found in Jesus.

The task of interpretation calls us to distinguish between that which reflects the truth of God and that which reflects the human situation in which that truth was expressed. Consequently, the task of interpretation calls for our best thinking. Failure to distinguish between the human dimensions and the divine can result in viewing time-bound, cultural norms as divine truth. We end up chewing on the wrapper rather than tasting the sweetness of God’s truth.

The literal approach to reading scripture appears to be simpler. However, it has inherent dangers. When we read scripture literally, we open the door to using the Bible to validate what we already think and believe. We are confident in our belief because “the Bible says!” That confidence (arrogance?) leads us to use the Bible as a rule book, identifying right and wrong, righteousness and sin. From that posture, the Bible can easily be used as a weapon to condemn sin and the sinner. This use of scripture focuses upon behavior, particularly sinful behavior. It blocks self-awareness, blinding us to the critical, judgmental, condemning spirit and arrogant attitude that reside in our hearts. This process allows us to unconsciously create God in our image. Our way of thinking and living becomes identified as God’s ways and God’s will. Ultimately, this process blocks the renewing of the mind that is the catalyst to a cleansed heart and transformed life (Romans 12:2). We remain essentially unchanged, trapped in merit-based thinking and living.

In this literal way of reading and interpreting the Bible, Jesus is seen primarily as our savior who saves us from our sins and from hell. He is seldom looked to as the fullest revelation of the character of God and the ways of God. The focus on sin overshadows his emphasis upon the heart. Repentance becomes a prerequisite for forgiveness, making forgiveness conditional.

How we interpret scripture is, in my mind, the primary issue underlying the LGBTQ+ issues. It determines the other underlying issues, as well: the nature of the Christian life (“A good Christian does … doesn’t”), the nature of the church, the nature of grace, and, ultimately, the nature of God.

For those who read scripture literally, the Christian life is expressed in right belief (orthodoxy), right behavior (morals), and right worship. It is rule-oriented. For those who view scripture as a human-divine book and interpret it through the lens of Jesus, the Christian life is expressed in love, manifested in grace and forgiveness that embraces every person as a beloved child of God.

For those who read scripture literally, the church is the guardian of right belief, right behavior, and right worship. It serves as the moral policeman to society, condemning and resisting sin (behavioral sins). For those who interpret the Bible through the lens of Jesus, the church is a spiritual community who offers the world an alternative way of thinking and living. It embodies the grace and forgiveness of Jesus, valuing and embracing every person as a beloved child of God.

Those who read scripture literally proclaim grace and forgiveness. That grace and forgiveness is conditional, accessible only through repentance. “If you repent, God will forgive you.” Those who interpret the Bible through the lens of Jesus view God’s grace and forgiveness as unconditional. God’s acceptance and forgiveness are gifts freely given. We respond to these gifts in faith. God’s grace and forgiveness move us beyond a focus upon sin. They free us from slavery to guilt, shame, and fear. They free us to love God and others, including those who are not like us.

When we recreate God in our image — one of the inevitable results of a literal reading of scripture — we generally think of God in terms of authority, viewing him (and in this way of reading, God is always male) as a judge who gives us what we deserve. When we read scripture through the lens of Jesus, we come to know God as a God of steadfast, faithful love (Hebrew: chesed) whose love never waivers, who never gives up on us or abandons us. We come to know God as a God of grace and forgiveness who responds to us with compassion and mercy.

How we resolve each of these underlying issues — how to interpret scripture, the nature of the Christian life, the nature of the church, the nature of grace, the nature of God — determines our position on the LGBTQ+ issues facing The UMC. The LGBTQ+ issues are but the symptoms of these deeper, underlying issues.