Reporting of’Gender Observatory
Of Rodolfo de Mattei
“Queering the Bible”, this is the emblematic title of a course in which students of a prestigious US private humanities college can enroll which has the declared objective of "destabilize long-held assumptions” on the Christian faith. In other words, to dismantle Christian teaching on sexuality piece by piece for one's own use and consumption.
As we read on the website of Swarthmore College, this is the name of the elite university institute, near Philadelphia, founded in 1864 by a group of Quakers, the course, scheduled for the fall semester of 2018, will examine the "queer and trans readings * of biblical texts“, introducing students to “complexity of constructions of sex, gender and identity through one of the most influential literary works produced in antiquity“.

The course, held by Gwynn Kessler, PhD in rabbinical studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, therefore promises its participants to offer an "innovative" interpretation of the Old Testament in terms of gender and sexuality: “Reading the Bible through a queer and trans* theoretical approach, the class will destabilize long-held assumptions about what the Bible and religion say about gender and sexuality.”.
It is not surprising that the teacher Kessler both notoriously lesbian, dal 2004 united in “marriage” withTamara Ruth Cohen, come rreported at the time by the New York Times in its section dedicated to weddings and celebrations.
However, “Queering the Bible” is not the only “educational” program offered by Swarthmore's religion department. In addition to this course, students of the historic Pennsylvania college will also be able to attend "Queering God: Feminist and Queer Theology”, a course that “examines feminist and queer writings about God, explores the tensions between feminist and queer theology and seeks to extend the limits of the sexualization of the divine”.

CHRISTIANITY AND HOMOSEXUALITY ?

The theories disclosed by Kessler constitute the unlikely attempt to conciliate Christianity e, in the case of the teacher of Swarthmore College, Judaism e homosexuality. An effort in Italy carried out busily by Jonathan project, international member ofEuropean Forum of lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender christian groups (European Forum of Christian Lesbian Groups, gay, bisexuals & transgender) That, as stated on their website, aims to "make known the journey that homosexual believers take every day in their communities and in the various Churches”.

In their section dedicated to the topic “Bibbia Queer” a brief introduction explains how such oxymoronsignifies a "necessary" change of perspective in reading the Old Testament:

“Talking about a queer God means talking about a transcendence that is a harbinger of transformation, of an immanent source of revolutionary disruption, to bring out what contradicts the status quo, and therefore also the norms that regulate sexuality and the power that derives from it. The very biblical texts that have been used to stigmatize LGBT people are texts that, rereading them carefully, they fight against the human presumption that is so quick to classify, judge and condemn, because they want to make believers rediscover that we are all in the same position before God, may we all benefit from his grace. Would you like to reread these biblical pages from a queer perspective?”

In one of the published texts entitled The Bible talks about Adam and Eve, therefore marriage is only between a man and a woman?, taken from Queer Grace – Encyclopedia for LGBTQ Christians (USA), an example of such is given queer rereading of the Genesis passage 2:18-25:

“This text of the second creation found in Genesis tells the story of God seeking adequate help for the first human creature, Adamo. God sees it and says: “It is not good for man to be alone”. It is said of God who satisfies the human need for companionship and intimacy. (…) Some biblical scholars both Christian and Jewish interpret the text of Genesis 2:20-25 which affirmation that heterosexual relationships are the only ones that are natural because they were created by God. When a suitable helper/partner for Adam was created (a man), the only person suitable for this intimacy was Eva (a woman). This text is often used as a statement in favor of heterosexuality and, by extension, against homosexuality. Adam was not given a male partner, but a female one. God wanted male/female relationships and not homosexual ones, therefore the latter are unnatural.
Other scholars they interpret this text as a need for company and intimacy which however does not depend on gender. God did not create a heterosexual relationship: it simply created a relationship. These scholars claim that Eve was created as a suitable partner for Adam because both are heterosexual (or in any case attracted to an individual of the opposite sex). If Adam had been a gay man, the only logical choice would have been a male helper/partner. If Eve had been created first, and had been bisexual, his partner could have been of either gender. In this interpretation, the creation of Eve is not an endorsement of heterosexuality, but rather the story of how God meets people's need for companionship and intimacy.".

GENDER FRIENDLY EXEGESIS

In light of these words, the title of "Queering the Bible" seems appropriate as it is evidently a ideological biblical exegesis, aimed solely at "distorting" the authentic meaning of the sacred texts clearly depicted by the famous episode of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18, 20; 19, 12-13; 19, 24-28) incinerated by God due to the unnatural sins of their inhabitants.
Se, over the centuries, society has changed its judgment and attitude towards homosexuality, the same did not happen for the Catholic Church, which is faithful to its doctrinal Magisterium, it has never varied, over the course of two thousand years, his teaching on the subject judging the practice of homosexuality as an unnatural vice, which causes not only the spiritual corruption and eternal damnation of individuals, but also the moral ruin of society, hit by a deadly germ that poisons the very roots of civil life. Over the centuries this teaching has been transmitted and confirmed continuously by Sacred Scripture, by the Fathers of the Church, by the holy Doctors and Pontiffs.