WAS JESUS WAS GAY? EPISCOPAL
BISHOP SPECULATES
April 7, 2005
"Interestingly
enough, in this day of traditional family values and so on, this man that we
follow ... was single as far as we know; who traveled with a bunch of men,
although there were lots of women around; who had a disciple who was known as
'the one whom Jesus loved;' who said my family is not my mother and
father, my family are those who do the will of God -- none of us like those
harsh words. That's who Jesus is, that's who he was, at least in his earthly
life."
"I
happen to think the traditional family is a wonderful thing. I'm a product of
it," Robinson said at the forum. "I dearly love my family, and I love
my own family, with my own two kids. It just looks a little nontraditional. But this Jesus, when you ask who is Jesus, he was not
terribly mainstream, was he?"
When
later questioned about these comments, Bishop Robinson said "(Jesus) lived
a very untraditional lifestyle. Which is not to say that I in any way asserted
that he was gay, or anything about his sexual orientation."
Robinson
told the New Hampshire Union Leader he is "being flooded with angry
messages" because of his comments at the Sexual Issues Forum."
He said that, "even for his time, Jesus apparently led a nontraditional
life. I was just pointing out that you best check Scripture again before you
use the life of Jesus to try to pronounce a blessing on that."
The Episcopal Church, with 2.4 million
members, is the
Footnote:
1. From recordings on the church's Web site: