The preserved ruins of the city of Pompeii are a treasure trove for those interested in learning more about the ancient Roman empire. And one British Christian leader is convinced that Pompeii provides important lessons for Christians ― particularly those who want to use the Bible to persecute queer people. The Rev. Canon Steve Chalke is a prominent evangelical Christian from the United Kingdom. In a video created for the Oasis Open Church Network, an organization Chalke heads that advocates for LGBTQ inclusion, Chalke preaches about the importance of understanding the context in which the Bible was written. “500 years ago, Martin Luther and Calvin didn’t have the tools that we now have to assist us in our contextual understanding of the writings of scriptures. We’ve come miles because of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, miles because of archaeological discoveries around Pompeii, and we’ve had all sorts of other cultural and linguistic leaps forward,” Chalke told HuffPost. “It’s our job to use them and I think in using them, we find these old understandings really don’t work anymore.”

Open Church network / Vimeo Rev. Steve Chalke is a Christian leader from the United Kingdom.

There are six passages in the Bible that refer to same-sex behavior in some way. These verses are often referred by progressive Christians as “clobber passages” because they are repeatedly used to reject, demean, and attack queer Christians. Three of these passages are located in the New Testament, in the books of Romans, 1 Corinthians, and 1 Timothy. Another passage that conservative Christians sometimes refer to is Matthew 19, where Jesus speaks about divorce. It’s these verses that Chalke turns to in his defense of queer Christianity.

MARIO LAPORTA via Getty Images Picture taken 26 October 2006 of an erotic fresco in Pompeii. Art officials have restored an ancient brothel in the archaeological complex of Pompeii, believed to be the most popular one in the ancient Roman city.

Chalke explains that the Apostle Paul was writing during a time when it was perfectly acceptable for people on the lower rungs of society ― slaves, prostitutes, gladiators, refugees ― to be sexually exploited and abused by rich and powerful Roman citizens. The minister claims it was normal and even expected for Roman men to have sexual playthings apart from their wives. This meant having sex with concubines and young boys. Some Roman women also used people of lower status for their own sexual pleasure, Chalke said. But one thing Romans couldn’t do was abuse another Roman citizen. “Roman boys were protected in a way that slave boys weren’t. For a Roman man, sex was a legitimate part of life, but you had to have sex with an inferior and you had to penetrate them, you weren’t allowed to be penetrated,” Chalke said in his talk.

Reuters Photographer / Reuters A restored erotica fresco is seen in the newly restored public bath in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii November 14, 2001.

In order to illustrate the time period in which these words were written, Chalke turns to August 24, 79 A.D., the day historians believe the eruption of Mount Vesuvius began, burying and preserving nearby towns in around 20 feet of volcanic ash and debris. It was roughly around the same time period that evangelicals believe the Apostle Paul wrote the letters that would one day form a significant part of the New Testament. Much of the artwork recovered from Pompeii and other nearby towns affected by the eruption is sexually explicit. There are scenes of threesomes and people in a variety of sexual positions. After excavation of the site began in the 19th century, King Francis I of the Two Sicilies was so appalled by the sexual nature of the artwork that he ordered all explicit imagery from Pompeii at the National Archeological Museum of Naples to be locked away and out of sight from general display.

Ho New / Reuters A restored erotica fresco is seen in the newly restored public bath in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii November 14, 2001.