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An update for the Holy Scriptures: The Bible should be made accessible to the queer community. how does it work
“Queer people can also find inspiration in the Bible.” That’s what queer feminist activist Mentari Baumann and Roman Catholic theologian Meinrad Furrer say.
Furrer is team leader at the Peterskapelle in Lucerne and is developing a queer Bible with Mentari Baumann. “We leave the Bible – a Zurich Bible – as it is and put new layers of text over certain passages,” says Furrer, explaining the project.
The Bible, but colorful
For the new Lucerne Bible, the duo looks at supposedly anti-queer Bible passages, such as the letter to the Romans in the New Testament. In it Paul warns that men and women have given up their natural relationships and associate with their own kind.
Legend:
In a queer Bible, the anti-queer Bible passages of the original should be classified with additional texts. However, nothing should be deleted.
IMAGO / Eckhard Stengel
“Now I’m going to write Paul a letter and explain what I find exciting about his thoughts and what is problematic from today’s perspective. I tell him what kind of impact his text had and how we read it today,” says Furrer. This literary reply letter is then attached to the corresponding passage in the Zurich Bible on a separate sheet of paper.
Identify and highlight queer passages
Meinrad Furrer also wants to emphasize supposedly queer-friendly passages, for example in the story of Joseph. There it says that Joseph received a robe from his father, which is referred to in other places as a princess dress.
Legend:
“There are many inspirational passages, and we highlight them,” emphasizes Meinrad Furrer while working on the queer Bible.
IMAGO / Pond5 Images
Furrer turns it into a story about a talented, hypersensitive young man and how he deals with it in his family. He asks what a queer identity might have to do with it. It is extensions like this that are included in the Lucerne Bible.
And then there are some passages in the Bible that do not contain any sexuality at all, but which one could think of as queer. There are passages that state: I am good the way I was made. “There are many such inspiring places, and we highlight them,” emphasizes Meinrad Furrer.
Scripture is not a rigid product
Queer people also have a right to the healing power of the Bible. That is Meinrad Furrer’s main concern. Viewing the Bible through these lenses is nothing new, however.
It is perfectly natural to continue writing the Bible.
There are queer women theologians who deal with queer theology at universities. Social media is also full of LGBTQI+ Bible interpretations. One can ask oneself: Does it make sense to adapt the Holy Scriptures to today’s zeitgeist?
«The biblical books came into being in a very long process of reinterpretations. Research can prove that,” explains Furrer: “It is perfectly natural to continue to write the Bible and to incorporate new knowledge into the old texts.”
In this sense, the queer Lucerne Bible should not be printed as a finished, rigid product, but should be constantly expanded.