How I Became Affirming, Pt. 1: Scripture

God doesn't stay in boxes.

Just a quick note here: I attempted to fit all of this into one post, but very quickly went over the Substack word count. That said, please know this is only part 1, with subsequent parts coming during June. My particular journey towards this belief has been ongoing for about seven years, so there is a lot in it. Thanks for letting me be exhaustive. I know it is…exhausting.

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This post is for the Bible nerds.

I had an entire post written about my own personal experience towards claiming an affirming¹ theology, but when I asked on socials for questions, one rose to the surface, so much so that I felt it was important to address it right out of the gate. If this question was the overarching one, any story about my own personal experience would be a distraction.

So let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we?

“I am affirming, but want to be affirming with a high view of scripture. How?”
”Can you share some scripture that helped you in this shift?”
”It’s confusing how people on both sides use scripture to support their positions. Who’s using it out of context here? Both? Neither?”
”The Bible doesn’t change so I’m legit interested in verses and how you got here.”
”What is your view of scripture?”
”I don’t really think the church has had the right response, but why is homosexuality talked about with such strong terminology in scripture?”
”How do you reconcile being affirming with a plain-reading of the text?”
”I’ve read a lot of people who say “‘God is love’ and that’s how I know this is okay.” I would really love someone to offer exegesis as opposed to eisegesis on this subject.”

So what the people want to know: how the heck does one reconcile being affirming with what scripture says?