From the birth of Christianity until circa 1980, no one in their right mind disputed the fact that the Bible condemns homosexual behavior. But then a handful of scholars and journalists realized that Biblical literacy had declined to the point where they could write a book or article about “What the Bible Really Says About . . . ” and the gullible masses would deem any idiotic interpretation worthy of consideration.
The latest example is Jennifer Wright Knust, a professor of New Testament at Boston University, who has written a book called Unprotected Texts: The Bible’s Surprising Contradictions About Sex and Desire . Based on her “research” she wrote an article for CNN’s Belief blog that is so embarrassingly misguided (“ . . . it would seem that God’s original intention for humanity was androgyny, not sexual differentiation and heterosexuality.”) that it makes you question what BU considers a “scholar.”
Fortunately, CNN allowed a rebuttal from Robert A. J. Gagnon , an associate professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Gagon absolutely skewers Knust’s claims and shows that she really has no idea what she is talking about:
In her recent CNN Belief Blog post “The Bible’s surprisingly mixed messages on sexuality,” Jennifer Wright Knust claims that Christians can’t appeal to the Bible to justify opposition to homosexual practice because the Bible provides no clear witness on the subject and is too flawed to serve as a moral guide.As a scholar who has written books and articles on the Bible and homosexual practice, I can say that the reality is the opposite of her claim. It’s shocking that in her editorial and even her book, “Unprotected Texts,” Knust ignores a mountain of evidence against her positions.
It raises a serious question: does the Left read significant works that disagree with pro-gay interpretations of Scripture and choose to simply ignore them?
