Reading Bible and understanding Bible in the right way is a very responsible activity. During the history many evil things were happening because of the wrong Bible interpretations. Many people were killed in the name of Jesus and many wars were started for the sake of church. Today we also have many evil activities that Christians do for the sake of God. There is a special group of people who are victims of satanic and anti-Christian propaganda that certain Christians spread by saying that LGBTQ+ people deserve to be persecuted and to disappear from this Earth. Recently I have joined an online meeting conducted by LGBTQ+ Ministry within Church of Christ the King, here in Frankfurt. We were discussing about the issues and hardships that LGBTQ+ Christian people are struggling with for years just because of wrong interpretations of the Bible. The story about Sodom and Gomorra talking about the violence and violent people who were punished because of the violence. Violent gang bang raping was also included and their desire to hurt angels. But first of all it was about violence. There are some other verses condemning ritual same-sex activities which in the context of that time might be related to pedophilia and worship satanic rituals. There is not a single sentence talking about the love between two same sex people including mutual respect, dedication, emotional and physical affection and love. As straight sexual activities are also defined sinful as we know that Jesus even said that when a men even for a moment think sexually about the women he already did adultery in his heart and further we know that adulterers should be eternally condemned. Does that mean that the Bible talks about straight people that all straight population is not going to enter the Kingdom of God? If we would interpret the Bible in a wrong way we could say so. This is why it is very wrong to interpret Bible in a way that it should not be interpreted. I would also like to add here that God when giving us Bible he has also given us a common sense to understand that if one’s biblical interpretation could lead to discrimination and make another human being feel endangered and hated just because of who he or she was born to be, a healthy functional brain and a common sense would realize that something is wrong with this interpretation. One of these wrong interpretations exists for the centuries and centuries and they are related to the definition of the Roman Catholic Pope. In today’s reading Matthew 16/13:20 we read promise to Apostle Peter that Jesus will give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven:

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^[c] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^[d] loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Even though it does not have much common sense and that it totally runs out of the entire Biblical context many people believe today that the Pope is the new Peter and representative of God on Earth. There is an interpretation that by this sentence Lord Jesus gave the power to Apostle Peter to be a new representative of God, in Latin we would say Vicarius Filii Dei which means Representative of the Son of God. Roman Catholics believe that after Peter every new bishop of Rome (read Pope) has a special privilege to be called as a representative of the Son of God on the Earth. Through the history churches have done many evils because of wrong interpretations of the Bible. And people were lacking to use brain and simply have common sense. Today that same church is fighting against human rights to love and create a family. Unless straight family. God is still showing them that it is wrong while there are over 8.000 pedophiles within Roman Catholic clergy said Pope Francis. There are many gay sex scandals happening within all traditional and homophobic churches, not only in Roman Catholic but also in Orthodox Church and other conservative protestant churches. We lack of scandals in Old Catholic, Episcopal, Anglican, Lutheran and all of those churches that respect equality and human right to love a person of same sex. And look, there are no more scandals, no more hidden sexual activities of self-called saints just because church (read believers) use the God-given common sense to admit that everyone is free to love who they want to love and that the core of our faith is love. And that is a real natural condition. For someone that is astrophysics but for someone it is just a logical thing and a common sense. And I would like to end this sermon with a message while reading the Bible please use your brain and use your heart. Your brain will tell you the common sense, your heart will tell you that where love is there is no sin. And only in this way you would have the power to understand and to preach the Bible. In the name of Love. Amen.