Queer History and the Bible
Examine how ancient biblical texts, linguistic translations, and queer lives have intersected across history. Discover what original scriptures actually addressed, how modern translations altered the debate, and how LGBTQ believers have reclaimed faith and community.
Like Duolingo, but for Queer History and the Bible. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes end to end, roughly 5 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Rethinking the Biblical Text and Translation, Politics, and Liberation. It starts from scratch.
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Key ideas in Queer History and the Bible
- In the ancient Mediterranean world, sexual acts were understood in terms of social status, dominance, and roles rather than fixed sexual orientations
- The concept of a person having an innate, lifelong romantic and sexual orientation (like gay or lesbian identity) only emerged in the late 19th century
- Ancient writers assumed everyone was naturally drawn to the opposite sex and that same-sex acts were simply excesses of passion or displays of dominance
- Levitical laws in the Hebrew Bible aimed to preserve distinct male and female household roles and genealogical purity in an ancient clan society
- In the Greco-Roman world, same-sex activity routinely involved powerful citizens using enslaved persons, social inferiors, or youths
- Biblical prohibitions were framed around ritual boundary-keeping, idol worship, and exploitation, not equal, loving partnerships
- In Genesis 19, the men of Sodom attempt violent gang rape against visiting angels, violating the ancient world's sacred duty of hospitality
- The biblical prophet Ezekiel explicitly identifies Sodom's sin as pride, excess of food, prosperous ease, and failing to aid the poor and needy
- Ancient Jewish and early Christian commentators understood Sodom primarily as an example of monstrous inhospitality and cruelty rather than private same-sex desire
- The word 'arsenokoitai' appears first in Paul's letters and is a compound combining the Greek words for 'male' and 'bed'
- In early Christian lists of vices outside the Bible, the word consistently appears alongside economic exploitation, robbery, extortion, and trafficking
- Translating 'arsenokoitai' as 'homosexuals' in modern Bibles is an anachronistic 20th-century choice that obscures its ancient exploitative connotations
- Major biblical interpretation traditions evaluate specific laws in light of overarching themes: love of neighbor, justice for the vulnerable, and liberation
- Christian scripture itself shows early believers re-evaluating ancient purity laws (such as dietary restrictions and the inclusion of Gentiles and eunuchs) to welcome marginalized people
- Lifting isolated verses out of their ancient cultural context ignores the overarching biblical trajectory prioritizing mutual care, justice, and spiritual fruit
- In 2 Samuel 1:26, David mourns Jonathan by declaring his love was 'surpassing the love of women'
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Queer History and the Bible the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When did people first begin to view romantic and sexual orientation as an innate, lifelong identity?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
Where Queer History and the Bible takes you
- 1
Rethinking the Biblical Text
- Untangling the Disputed Passages
- Queer Intimacy and Non-Conforming Bodies in Scripture
- 2
Translation, Politics, and Liberation
- How Translation Changed the Debate in 1946
- The Roots of Queer Faith Movements
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Queer History and the Bible is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Queer History and the Bible today.
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