I know that many of you who read my posts prefer when I write my own stuff, but i share the article below because Walter Bruggemann is one of the most influential, brilliant AND very faithful Bible scholars on the planet. He has influenced a whole generation of preachers and teachers… including this one. You may be challenged by what he says; you may feel you must disagree. But, like the old EF Hutton commercials, when Bruggemann speaks – people listen. You cannot dismiss his thought or his faith. You have to allow it to speak to you.
“It’s Not a Matter of Obeying the Bible”: 8 Questions for Walter Brueggemann – OnFaith.
A Beggar's Take 
I read the post with great interest, and also the comments that followed. I agree that we should do our very best to love our neighbors and care for them, and without question a society that is physically and mentally healthy is a strong society, so that means healthcare should be available to all. How to get there is the big question, and we can have disagreements about the means (not the end), without casting aspersions on those who disagree with us. Likewise, the comments about homosexuality. We were all made in God’s image, that is true, but it is also true that God made us man and woman. If we accept that God does all things for a reason, then there is a reason for that, too. Otherwise he simply would have made us of one gender, able to reproduce without the assistance of anyone else. That probably would have made it a lot easier, although not necessarily as interesting. Perhaps someday we will visit a planet where this is the norm. Then we’ll see how good of an idea it was.
David, I don’t know you so I’m replying blindly. First, I’m not in a position to speak for Walter Brueggemann, Perhaps your comments are better directed to him through the post I shared. I would say that he might reassert that the central issue is not obedience to the law of scripture – that is secondary to the obedience to the gospel revealed in Christ which is at it’s core about forgiveness, acceptance, loving neighbor and reconciling with all sorts of folks who don’t meet perceived “standards.” This is not some new cultural hermeneutic, but one as old as Luther, Calvin and even Augustine. If I have read Dr. Brueggemann rightly in his commentary on Genesis, he would likely say that your appeal to the creation narrative in Genesis 1 for God’s primary action as establishing male-female marriage overlooks the centuries older story of creation in Genesis 2 which is primarily concerned about human loneliness. Yes it does result in a male and female pairing. However, the but the action of God seems to suggest that companionship and community is very important. Your appeal to an imaginary planet’s existence to prove your point does not help me at all. In that logic, my wife and I, both knowing that we could not have biological children when we married, should not have done so because we couldn’t fulfill the singular purpose of marriage as you describe. To imagine that humans can somehow ever fulfill the law of scripture successfully is an assertion completely undone in Romans, Galatians and by Jesus’ teaching on so many things. The only thing we have to cling to is that grace and the good news of Christ. His works are what matter, not ours. When we manage to get anything at all right, it is in response to his love and the work of the Spirit. Peace to you – and God’s grace be with you.