Christians who join in the persecution of religious or gender minorities may quote Paul, but they have not understood that Paul’s ultimate punchline is almost always that we are all in need of grace. Paul said a lot of unhelpful things, but his summary statement was almost always that the law is only fulfilled by love. Paul expected us to outgrow his limited understanding. Even if we find verses in Paul’s writings that directly contradict Jesus’ ever expanding message of love, Paul himself taught we are to follow love, not religion, and not Paul.
And, let’s be clear, when someone says they take the bible literally it means they take it superficially. To persecute people because they do not fit your religious stereotypes based on a superficial understandings of ancient texts is not piety- it is spiritual ignorance and political fascism. Spiritual piety is not appointing ourselves as God’s bouncers. Spiritual piety is living our own lives as sacrificial offerings for others whether we think they are worthy or not.
Judgement finds no place in the Sermon on the Mount and it should have no place in the church today. It is strange indeed for Christians to claim that providing food and housing is government overreach, but that imposing our own sectarian moralism on everyone else is not.
To the LGBTQ siblings in our human family, I offer my deepest apologies for those members of the Christian faith who have offered you judgment instead of grace, rejection instead of hospitality, and ancient moralisms instead of love in our own place and time. Please know If a Christian cannot look beyond your genitals and see your loving heart, it is they who are trapped in perversion, not you.