I acknowledge that this comment touches on only a part of what you’ve written here, but I feel strongly that misguided interpretations of Biblical scripture have done more damage to LGBTQ+ people than any “gut” reaction, partly because the misinterpretations validate what the lizard brains of many people are saying.
I’m working on a series here on Substack, “Making pie out of picked cherries” (four posts so far), with each post addressing some aspect of these misinterpretations and misunderstandings. My posts aren’t as erudite as yours, but I hope that at least they make people think. We need our lizard brains, but they aren’t always right.
Hi Robin, thanks for your comment! I like the sound of your series, and I'm interested to see how you'll articulate a different approach to Scripture than those that are doing us so much harm. It's such a complex puzzle, untangling the emotive center of our beliefs from the intellectual trappings that protect them. I sometimes forget not everyone has spent their life doing that work. More power to you!
If you have a chance to read any of this series, I'd love to know your thoughts—especially given your background. As a communicator, my cardinal (heh) rule is "Know thine audience." So my approach is to read anything written for a specific audience as though I were a member of that audience, as much as possible. When it comes to ancient text, of course, this is challenging. But I maintain it is not impossible to come close.
I acknowledge that this comment touches on only a part of what you’ve written here, but I feel strongly that misguided interpretations of Biblical scripture have done more damage to LGBTQ+ people than any “gut” reaction, partly because the misinterpretations validate what the lizard brains of many people are saying.
I’m working on a series here on Substack, “Making pie out of picked cherries” (four posts so far), with each post addressing some aspect of these misinterpretations and misunderstandings. My posts aren’t as erudite as yours, but I hope that at least they make people think. We need our lizard brains, but they aren’t always right.
Hi Robin, thanks for your comment! I like the sound of your series, and I'm interested to see how you'll articulate a different approach to Scripture than those that are doing us so much harm. It's such a complex puzzle, untangling the emotive center of our beliefs from the intellectual trappings that protect them. I sometimes forget not everyone has spent their life doing that work. More power to you!
If you have a chance to read any of this series, I'd love to know your thoughts—especially given your background. As a communicator, my cardinal (heh) rule is "Know thine audience." So my approach is to read anything written for a specific audience as though I were a member of that audience, as much as possible. When it comes to ancient text, of course, this is challenging. But I maintain it is not impossible to come close.