African American feminist theologian the Rev. Irene Monroe addressed a group of Miami University students, faculty and staff about world religions, sex and the Bible Thursday afternoon in the Shriver Center Heritage Room.
As part of the religion and community lecture series, Monroe discussed different interpretations of various Bible passages.
Monroe said interpretations have led to problems since the start of Biblical translation, since the power of translation is in the hands and the mind of the interpreter.
Monroe explained that words can hold different meanings throughout history. She said the word "virgin" historically meant young lady, therefore it is possible Mary, the unmarried virgin mother of Jesus, may have been marrying Joseph in an attempt to avoid dishonoring her family.
"Interpretations create distortion, which are carried from one generation to another, from the pulpit to the mouths of babes," Monroe said.
Mary Jane Berman, director of the Center for American and World Cultures (CAWC) and associate professor for the department of anthropology, helped bring Monroe to the Oxford campus, hoping her speech would address Biblical analysis and translation.
"There are various areas within the Bible where there are multiple interpretations," Berman said. "It depends on who's reading it, who wrote it, who translated it as well as the historical and current context it is taken."
Monroe said she believes the discrimination people justify with religion often isolates certain social groups and leads to a loss of faith.
"The Bible has played a salient role in discrimination in different times in the history of our country," Monroe said.
Monroe mentioned the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah, in which God destroyed two cities for their sins, specifically sodomy. According to Monroe, homosexuality was common among men in that time period because it was a way to lower the birth rate. However, Monroe said the fear of a population decline led to oral myths about homosexuality and eventually led to laws prohibiting it.
Monroe said if the Bible had been translated before the laws against homosexuality, the interpretation would have been different.
"Jesus understood that sexuality was a central part of being human," Monroe said.
According to Monroe, Jesus did not say sexual acts have to be heterosexual. Monroe said sexuality is a means to express spiritual needs and is a way to self-understanding.
Monroe said interpreting the Bible to say that homosexuality is a sin prohibits our ability to be our true selves.
"These walls that we put up contribute to the false spiritualization of who we are," Monroe said.
According to Monroe, a culture's oral traditions desecrate homosexuality and create myths about the GLBTQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer) community.
"It is hard to change a culture because oral traditions keep the myths alive," Monroe said. "We are currently coming up against oral traditions that will not die."
Monroe said religious intolerance shatters America's goal of democracy.
Berman said Monroe was chosen to speak on campus because her lecture, "Que(e)rying the Bible: What's sex got to do with it?" gives an interesting perspective on world religion.
"Our committee tries to bring in speakers that will enhance the student's religious literacy," Berman said.
Heather Weaver, a Spectrum chair, said Monroe had an interesting perspective because it is not common to hear a positive message about being gay in the religious community.
"Religion is an issue that we often don't talk about because we are sometimes shunned from it," Weaver said.
Weaver said she believes Monroe's lecture will have a positive effect on Miami's campus because it will lead to more tolerance.
Sophomore Randolph Shantz, who attended the lecture for his anthropology class, said he now realizes interpretations should be questioned.
"It is up to us to interpret what we have heard and read from the Bible," Shantz said. "If we keep adhering to what we have been essentially trained to think, no change will ever come."
