Jim Coppoc, Ripley United Church of Christ.

Last week, before a show, I was chatting with someone I had just met. He asked me about my job, my church, my theology. When I told him that I believe the Bible leads toward love, grace, justice and inclusion for all people (and in fact all Creation), he pushed back. He reminded me that the Bible says “man shall not lay with man,” and he used that quote to express his disapproval of both gay men and, by extension, all LGBT+ people.

The Bible does say that. In any translation, those words, or something like them, plainly appear in the 18th chapter of Leviticus. And I’m sure the man I was talking to had been quoted those words many times over by his church and people connected to it.

But of course, that is only the first half of that sentence. The rest of the sentence, roughly translated, goes something like “…in the bed/couch of a woman/wife.” Reading the entire sentence, in the original Hebrew, it is clear that what Moses actually meant was, “men, don’t cheat on your wife with another man.”

I agree with Moses. It is a terrible idea to cheat on your wife under any circumstance, including all of the various circumstances listed in Leviticus 18. What I do not agree with is this man, and his church, quoting only half a sentence in a way that changes the full sentence’s meaning. I also very much disagree with the many English translations that leave out the word “bed” (“mishkab”), even though it is plainly there in the sentence, to hide the original Hebrew meaning. Both of these actions are intellectually and spiritually dishonest. Both of them fuel homophobia around the world, often leading to serious violence and oppression.

This is only one example. I come across others pretty regularly. Does God endorse racism? Does God hate immigrants? Does God believe women should be subservient to men? Is your neighbor going to hell because they don’t believe all the same things you believe?

The answer to all of these questions is that scripture is complicated, and nothing real ever comes from half truths and out-of-context sound bites. But the Bible I love does have at least a few major overarching themes. Love God. Love your neighbor. Take care of each other. Don’t get distracted by the things of the world.

Anything you hear that runs counter to these basic themes is likely every bit as misleading as the quote above.

Jim Coppoc serves Ripley United Church of Christ at 400 S. Main Street in Traer. After a long career in both academia and human services, he has settled into a comfortable existence as a writer, part-time “Bridge Pastor,” and full-time musician in the memory care unit at the Iowa Veterans Home. You can find Jim online at www.facebook.com/jim.at.ripley.