Unlearning the things that used to be obvious

[hedgehog]

Five hundred years ago the great reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin were blinded by the obvious. They watched the sun and stars rise and set over what seemed a stationary earth. Furthermore, there were texts in the Bible that declared "The sun rises and the sun goes down and hurries to the place were it rises" (Ecclesiastes 1:4-5) and "The LORD ... has established the world; it shall not be moved" (Psalms 93:1).

Convinced by what was obvious in nature and clearly proclaimed in the Bible, Luther called Copernicus a fool. Calvin asked, "Who will venture to place the authority of Copernicus above that of the Holy Spirit?"

But they were wrong in their understanding of both the solar system and the Bible.

I, too, was blinded by the obvious. I observed that only men and women fell in love and got married. In high school I heard of some people who did same-sex stuff but I assumed that they were oversexed or goofing around. Furthermore, I learned that the Bible says that all such behavior is "an abomination" (Leviticus 18:22).

But I was wrong in my understanding of both homosexual humanity and the Bible.

I now thank God for gay and lesbian Christians who have been my teachers. They have introduced me to a significant segment of humanity who, through no choice of their own, are attracted to, fall in love with and desire to live in lifelong partnership with persons of the same sex.

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Lowell O. Erdahl, Roseville, is bishop emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's St. Paul synod.