Happy Pride, MG!
Let's talk about nature, eh?
It's one of the primary talking points of fear-based Christians on the topic of gender and sexuality. They say things like, "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." They argue that homosexuality is "unnatural." They insist that the natural order of things is that gender is binary and determined at birth ... that this is not just an idea but is how God wants things to be.
But here's what you might not know:
The word most commonly translated as "Adam" in Genesis is "ha’adam" in Hebrew. It is a word (not a name of a person) that most closely translates as human, or groundling, or earthling. Literally, ha'adam is the being that God created from the earth. Ha'adam is no more about the literal sex of a man than it is when we say "mankind." Later in Genesis we see writing that suggests there were 2 biological sexes - man and woman - and let's be real for a second ... there needed to be if there were going to be any more ha'adams in the future, am I right? And as a sidetone ... if your biggest takeaway from those opening chapters of Genesis is that there were 2 biological sexes, then you're SUPER missing the point.
Romans 1:26-27 is often used to justify the claim that homosexuality is unnatural. There are lots of different interpretations of this passage that contradict this use - that the focus was more about idolatry and giving way to "lustful passion" that distracted from God (not the gender) ... that these 2 verses are taken out of context of a wider text which was intended to serve as a bit of a "bait-and-switch" for readers ... that the author is actually more worried about masculinity (aka, who's the "top" and who's the "bottom" - yup, exactly) than sexuality. Most important of all interpretations, perhaps, is that the use of the word "unnatural" is not scientific but is more about cultural norms at the time.
So yeah - let's talk about creation for a second.
Let's say we believe that God created the world and everything in it. Can you take a second to actually LOOK at the world and everything in it? Do you see how wildly diverse and unique this creation is? Y'all ... nature is queer as heck.
Same-sex behavior has been identified in 1,500 species. According to an article from wilderness.org, the world's oldest tortoise, Jonathon, is gay.
Nature also scoffs at the idea of binary genders and biological sex. Did you know that clownfish change sex based on social hierarchy? Or that male seahorses give birth? Or that 90% of flowering plants have both male and female reproductive organs?
I mean, C'mon. God's creation is abundantly queer!
So the next time someone tells you that you can't be queer and Christian, feel free to tell them to take it up with Jonathon. Because if the God of all creation can make a 193 year old gay tortoise and call him Good, then God sure as heck can do the same with you.
Happy Pride!
Pastor Jill
