With same-sex marriage being legalised in Ireland, and more recently in the United States – many Christians are opposing the rulings saying it conflicts with their religious ethos. However, one theologian thinks Jesus himself was gay.

Dr. Reverend Bob Shore-Goss, an openly gay senior pastor that holds a doctorate degree in Comparative Religion from Harvard, and acts on the National Advisory Board of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion, says that Jesus was queer and that one of his disciples fits the description of a closeted gay male.

Speaking to Vice, the pastor explained his reasoning behind the theory that Jesus Christ was queer. He said, “He broke the rules of his culture, of heteronormativity. He subverted masculinities and gender codes in his culture. Queer doesn’t necessarily mean sexual orientation, but it can include that.

“St. Paul, I would say, would probably be described as a closeted homosexual today, but they didn’t have those words at the time.”

But is there any tangible evidence in the Bible that may suggest Jesus was gay?

“Hints come from John’s Gospel with the ‘beloved disciple’. He and Jesus have an intimate relationship, although there are questions as to who the disciple actually is,” he explains.

“Anyhow, the beloved disciple is lying on the chest of Jesus at the last supper and is supposedly in his ‘inner tunic’, which is what we would call underwear today. It’s a very intimate gesture, and it’s a special gesture of affection between the two.”

Shore-Goss also explained that in ancient times, homosexuality was not condemned for the sexual acts between two men, but the sin was more to do with a man feminising himself. And bringing himself down to the perceived level of a woman.

“There was no concept of sexual orientation, but there was a concept of gender,” he explains. “So, in the Bible, when a man sleeps with another man like with a woman, it’s an abomination. See, the emphasis is on a man betraying his status: He has feminised himself. So it’s a gender violation as opposed to a sexual violation. The code of masculinity is very strong in the ancient world.”

We can’t wait to hear what the Westboro Baptist Church thinks about this theory!

Read the full interview over on Vice.