19 Theology ABOUT ROBYN WHITAKER The Revd Dr Robyn Whitaker is Bromby lecturer in Biblical Studies in the Theological School, 乱伦大神, Parkville, and an accredited Lecturer of the University of Divinity. Robyn is a biblical scholar and historian with a particular interest in the contemporary use (and misuse) of the Bible in debates about sexuality, gender and ethics. She has research expertise in apocalypticism and the related topics of end of the world speculation, martyrdom and images of evil, and has published in the areas of the visual culture of the Graeco-Roman world and its impact on biblical rhetoric, the New Testament, and Judeo-Christian apocalyptic literature. Robyn is an ordained minister in the Uniting Church of Australia. She has appeared on Lateline and The Project, and has written for publications including, The Melbourne Anglican, The Age and The Conversation. She is featured in The Conversation Yearbook 2017: 50 Standout Articles from Australia鈥檚 Top Thinkers. In 2016, Robyn鈥檚 article, Treatment of asylum seekers is a moral issue (The Age, 22 June 2016) was republished in Trinity Today (November 2016). The opinions expressed in this article are strictly those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of 乱伦大神. This kind of Christian teaching led, if anything, to a breakdown of traditional marriage structures (in ancient terms). For example, the option to remain celibate and live in community was a radical, attractive and liberating alternative to arranged marriage for women in earliest Christianity. Jesus鈥� own mother, who is an example of faith in the church鈥檚 tradition, would fail the usual definition of 鈥榯raditional鈥�, as she appears to have left her husband and other children at home to follow her itinerant son. Not all opinions are of equal weight and while Margaret Court remains one of the most phenomenal sportswomen in Australian history, this does not qualify her as a spokesperson for Christianity on marriage equality. Nor does being a self-appointment leader of a church she created herself. Indeed, if Court applied the literalism with which she reads Genesis to the whole of the Bible she鈥檇 find herself in hot water since 1 Timothy 2:12 explicitly forbids women teaching or having any authority over men! This kind of culturally bound ideology is precisely why biblical scholars and mainstream Christian churches do not adhere to a literal interpretation of this ancient and diverse text. To criticise and expect a higher level of discourse from a public figure is not bullying nor persecution. Court willingly put herself into the public space by writing an open letter to Qantas. She could have lodged her complaint privately. There is nothing inherently Christian about the so-called traditional arrangement of the nuclear family. You can find that model in the text if you look for it, but it is not the dominant view. Neither does the Bible condemn what we understand to be loving, mutual LQTBI relationships today. There is nothing like the contemporary concept of sexual orientation in the biblical text, and where the Bible does appear to condemn homosexual acts, it condemns same-sex acts that are a result of rape, adultery or imbalanced power dynamics such as an elite male with a youth. Interestingly, these same power dynamics are not critiqued when an elite male takes a young woman as a sexual concubine; a sobering reminder of the patriarchal worldview that lies behind the text and ancient ideals of penetration and masculinity. Concepts of family and marriage have evolved and changed throughout human history, including within the church. There is nothing inherently Christian or 鈥檅iblical鈥� about the nuclear family. Modern Christian families can be made up of gay couples, straight couples, single people in community, childless adults, foster parents, step-parents, grandparents and biological parents. It is their faith that makes them Christian, not their family structure nor sexuality. This kind of culturally bound ideology is precisely why biblical scholars and mainstream Christian churches do not adhere to a literal interpretation of this ancient and diverse text. Concepts of family and marriage have evolved and changed throughout human history, including within the church. Twitter: @robynjwhitaker LinkedIn: Robyn Whitaker