Friday, February 20, 2009

Bisexual Theology

There has been much theological reflection by queer folks on our place in the churches today. While it is a very constructive endeavor for lgbt Christians to claim theological language, conversations I have witnessed usually lump bisexual people in with gays and lesbians, leaving the bi perspective out of the discussion, and effectively out of the church. That is to say, the bisexual experience is not honored as unique among sexualities, leaving out any perspective that we might bring to the table.

But this trend may be changing. One website for Open and Affirming congregations has an entire page of links to resources on bisexuality. One particular resource I found helpful, primarily because it is different from anything I have seen thus far, is from More Light Presbyterians. It's called "More Light on Bisexuality" (also available in pdf from this page).

Much of the resource contains introductory information on bisexuality, so I'll spare you reading what you may already know. Here are the parts that I found most interesting.


Bi-blical Affirmations

The creation of "male and female" in God's image [Gen. 1.27] is independent of sexual orientation.

Bi-theology affirms our God-likeness, and the claim that the wideness of divine sexuality includes us. When God identifies as "I AM WHO I AM" [Ex 3.14], this affirms for us the sacred nature of God’s call for each person to be faithful to the image of God within, including our sexuality. This faithfulness to"be" who we were created to be leads us to live lives "worthy of the calling to which [we] have been called" [Eph 4.1ff].

We believe that in Jesus' incarnation we have an example of a man who loved and engaged in justice work for women and men that consistently went beyond human-made boundaries and stereotypes.

Blessed Bi-Spirit from the book by the same name edited by Debra R. Kolodny

As with many people on the margins, bisexuals bring some distinctive gifts to the church. Some of these are:
• the ability to build bridges between people
• a posture that invites moving beyond the constraints of western dualism
• a perspective that requires engagement with the "other"
• an embodied ability to affirm unity and embrace diversity
• an outlook that acknowledges the ambiguities of life
• an ability to integrate ideas, intellectual disciplines, and spiritual perspectives

A "Bi" Prayer by Susan Halcomb Craig

There is no longer Jew or Greek,
there is no longer slave or free,
there is no longer male and female,
for all of you are one in Christ Jesus
(Galatians 3.26-28).

Spirit of Life,

We are your newest bridge people,
bisexual women and men in your kindom,
at home in the middle spanning opposing shores.

Our straight friends ask us
to explain perspectives ourselves,
and our gay and lesbian friends question us
as if our place were no place.

We are pulled apart, disregarded,
misunderstood.

We pray for your Spirit of Unity.

Help others leave their banks of fear
and join us in our place of oneness.

Bring healing from envy, denial, fear of difference,
and enable others to see us, eyes open to our beauty.

We pray for your gifts of love and understanding.

Help us love ourselves, and the connection we embody.

Neither gay nor straight, we are fully bisexual,
one in our beings and one in you.

Help us know and own and share our gifts,
for your name's sake and the wholeness of your creation.

We pray in your unity,
One in Christ Jesus. Amen.

3 comments:

  1. i really enjoyed this post, i had never seen anything bi specific with regards to scripture. thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have also heard of King David referred to as bi (because of his affection for Jonathan and his wives).

    ReplyDelete

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