Doctrine Of Demons: Progressives Twist Ruth And Naomi Into Lovers

The apostle Paul warned that in the last days many would depart from the faith, "giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1). We often think of that passage in terms of obvious heresies or pagan practices. But today, those doctrines are not coming from temples of idols--they are coming from pulpits across America. 

The latest example is Keith McQueen, a self-styled "bishop" at Powerhouse Church in Chicago, who has decided that Ruth and Naomi, one of the most beautiful stories of loyalty and redemption in all of Scripture, were not mother-in-law and daughter-in-law bound by covenant faithfulness--but instead, lesbian lovers.

This is not just bad theology. It is blasphemous twisting of God's Word. And it should alarm every Christian who still believes in the authority of Scripture.

The first play in the progressive playbook is always David and Jonathan. For years, activists have claimed their relationship was homosexual in nature. Why? Because the Bible says David loved Jonathan "as his own soul" (1 Samuel 18:1) and that their bond was deep and covenantal. But Scripture nowhere suggests sexual intimacy. David and Jonathan were warriors who stood shoulder-to-shoulder, bound by loyalty to God and to Israel. David's grief over Jonathan's death was the cry of a soldier mourning his brother-in-arms, not the lament of a jilted lover.

Even David's later actions disprove this revisionist lie. David took multiple wives. He committed adultery with Bathsheba--a sin condemned, but clearly heterosexual. And David himself declared that God's law was perfect and holy. For progressives to read homosexuality into his story is not biblical study--it is cultural indoctrination.

Now, the revisionists are turning their gaze to Ruth and Naomi. McQueen declared that Ruth's famous words--"Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay" (Ruth 1:16)--were akin to wedding vows. He suggested that Ruth and Naomi shared a romantic bond and even implied that when the child born to Ruth was said to "belong to Naomi" (Ruth 4:17), it indicated a same-sex family structure where he calls Boaz a "sperm donor".

But the text itself refutes this. Ruth was a Moabite widow who clung to her mother-in-law not because of sexual attraction, but because of faith. She renounced the gods of her people and declared, "Your people will be my people and your God my God." This was a confession of conversion and covenant, not romance. Ruth then marries Boaz, a man described as righteous, and their union produces Obed, the grandfather of David--and ultimately part of the lineage of Christ. To imply Ruth's love was directed toward Naomi rather than Boaz is not just an error--it undermines the genealogy of our Savior.

The fact that the baby was called "Naomi's" is simply recognition of the blessing restored to her family line. Naomi, once bitter and empty, now had hope again through Ruth's faithfulness. It is the story of God redeeming tragedy, not sanctifying sin.

This is part of a wider trend: redefining biblical love to fit cultural slogans. We hear it everywhere--"Love is love." But Scripture never says that. God defines love. He tells us what marriage is: one man and one woman joined together (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5-6). He tells us what sexual sin is: anything outside His design. He tells us that love "does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth" (1 Corinthians 13:6).

When progressives equate friendship with sexuality, or covenant faithfulness with romance, they are projecting their own broken worldview onto the Bible. Worse, they are teaching others to do the same, leading souls away from truth.

At the root of this issue is hermeneutics--the way we interpret God's Word. Faithful Christians read Scripture in context, understanding culture, language, and the author's intent. Progressives, by contrast, read through the lens of modern ideology. They pick and choose verses, rip them from context, and force them into the mold of contemporary politics. The result is a man-made gospel that affirms sin rather than confronts it.

This is why Paul warned Timothy to "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with complete patience and teaching" (2 Timothy 4:2). False teachers will always be with us. The question is whether the church will recognize the danger--or applaud as pastors repackage sin as righteousness.

The story of Ruth and Naomi is not about sexual rebellion. It is about God's faithfulness, His covenant love, and His plan to bring forth a Redeemer through unlikely people. To turn it into a lesbian romance is not just poor scholarship--it is a doctrine of demons.

Christians must stand firm. We must reject the lies of woke pulpits and return to the truth of God's Word. Love is not whatever we make it. Love is what God defines it to be. And when we stay within His design, we find not bondage, but blessing.