jenk

This is from To Set Our Hope On Christ (PDF), the Episcopal Church's explanation of "how a person living in a same gender union may be considered eligible to lead the flock of Christ."

From the beginning, Scripture was seen as complex and contested: two creation stories; two rival accounts of how Israel got its first king; the argument of the Deuteronomist that the good are always rewarded and the bad always punished countered by Job; the argument against taking foreign wives in Ezra and Nehemiah countered by Ruth; the argument for exclusivism countered by traditions of inclusion in Second Isaiah and Jonah. Scripture itself corrected and amended earlier versions of scripture in some cases; in other cases, rival arguments were allowed to stand side by side unresolved. The idea that there is only one correct way to read or interpret scripture is a rather modern idea. For most of its history, especially in the period of its great patristic interpreters, Scripture has been understood as a living, vibrant, forum where God and humanity engage one another, seeking truth in the process of resolving difficulties, seeking understanding in the process of believing: “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit... able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

[...]

We confess that at times we have acted as though the Church has never argued about its doctrines and practices, has never changed its mind; as if “the Scriptures are perfectly clear and do not need interpretation” or that “all reasonable people will agree” with us. We confess that even though we know this is untrue, and even though the quickest glance at the history of biblical interpretation of ethical issues demonstrates its falsity, we persist in acting as if all Christians could agree on complex matters. We mention, for examples, such issues as the right use of creation, whether Christians can lend money at interest to other Christians (usury), whether slavery is justified or not, the use of force and violence, abortion, the death penalty, war, contraception, the nature of marriage, the property rights of women, child labor laws, prison systems, how many languages should be taught in schools, whether evolution should be taught in schools, and many other questions in which the Church’s appropriation of Scripture has been complex and in many cases even at odds with the most obvious sense of the biblical text.
- from paragraphs 2.4 & 2.12

Amen.