If I ever again start attending church on a regular basis, I think I will look for a church with a gay minister, and/or a gay youth minister. (And as long as I'm living in Hooterville, that probably won't happen.)
I think I've already mentioned how I feel about modern Christianity essentially ignoring Jesus, only to fawn all over the OT prophets. You know, using the ten commandments and Leviticus, etc. as weapons of judgment and exclusion. (I've never met a single Levite in my 47 years as a Christian; exactly how do their laws apply to me again?) Suffice to say that not only do I believe homosexuality is not a sin, I also believe that persecuting gays to any degree whatsoever is a sin. And if by chance it might be a sin against God to be exactly what God made you to be, (?????) judgment is His domain, not ours. We need to stick to ordinary human justice, since that's a concept we can actually comprehend, and sexual preference is not related to justice. (Mine sure isn't, so how is anyone else's?)
Why Gay?
1. Dedication: Who could be more committed to God than someone who dedicates his life to serving those who, at best feel superior to him and pity him, and at worst despise and reject what he is?
2. Empathy: Need spiritual guidance? Would you seek it from a "respectable," possibly revered person whose faith may or may not ever have really been tested? Whose moral authority is rarely questioned? Or would you want to seek out someone who's been in the trenches most of his life? Someone who really understands the nature of compassion, and conflict, and the pain of rejection, abuse and injustice? Trust me, a gay minister knows how you feel when you're hurting; he has walked that path.
3.The children: There are a lot of emotional abusers and pedophiles in the church, and their authority goes unquestioned! The vast majority of pedophiles are straight males, and many are ordinary-looking married dads who love to take part in family-oriented activities. Like church. Like youth programs at church. The chances of your children being victimized by a gay minister? Just about nil. And no, he won't "recruit" them. For one thing, he can't - it's not a choice. Additionally, he wouldn't if he could. Why would a person who cares about the well-being of kids, entice them into a "lifestyle" that would guarantee them a lifetime of abuse and rejection? Duh. And rest assured, the ignorant, narrow-minded members of the congregation would keep him under a microscope; I suspect a gay youth minister would never even have the opportunity to abuse a child, were he so inclined. So the worst he could do is to teach the them that it's okay to love the people that "Good Christians," um, DON'T, because God does love them.
Any homosexual who has the the strength and the courage to follow Christ, in spite of Christ's other followers, is probably the truest sort of Christian on earth.
Well said! I'ts not MY place... I just need to treat others decently, mind my p's and q's and let Him worry about the judgement thing. I keep my judgement to things like "That guy is parked illegally" and "um... wasn't that a STOP sign Mister?!!!". Seems easier that way.
ReplyDeleteI've yet to have anyone point out a single passage in the NEW Testament that mentions homosexuality.
ReplyDeleteThough Paul is often quoted, between culture, definitions and translations, it's a safe bet that he spoke against SOME homosexual acts, but not all. Not a very consistent or convincing argument...
ReplyDeleteLevite's are cool. I have several pairs of them. I am a jeans kinda guy. Dressing up to me is clean underwear and Levites. Maybe a button collar shirt, but mostly gold or tee's. I suggest you get you a good fitting pair of Levites.
ReplyDeleteGood heavens Coffeypot! I've been surrounded by Levites my whole life, and never even noticed! Come to think of it I like them too!
ReplyDeleteLaughing at Coffeypot's comments. As having someone in my family close to me who is gay, and many gay friends, this has been a sensitive subject for me.
ReplyDeleteMy church is often misunderstood with their stance on homosexuality. I ignore the media and rely on my internal belief which is that God and Jesus Christ (two seperate beings to me) know us, our hearts, our intents and we will be judged on them. Gay or straight, He created us all and loves us equally. I am not the judge, but I WILL be judged on how I treat others so my job is to be kind, understanding, accepting and empathetic.
The end.
Thanks Suz! Well put. I have a friend who refers to many fundamentalist Christians as "Old Testament Christians," in that they claim Christ but only attend to the OT laws.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find intriguing is how fixated people are about "teh gay!" But, it is probably easier to focus on others (perceived) problems than to focus on our own shortfalls.
But, again, thanks. It is when the straight population start seeing this as a problem and starts talking about it that the situation will change
This is an interesting article about how the belief that only gays are pedophiles puts children at greater risk than totally ignoring gays as pedophiles.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/Articles/000,002.htm
Exactly, Ben! "The real harm is to our children. As long as we remain suspicious of the wrong people, predators will continue to have free reign to abuse innocent children."
ReplyDeleteApparently, these fanataChristians are willing to sacrifice their own children to this anti-gay principle that they so idolize! Do they think the worst sin in pedophilia is homosexuality?
I was perplexed because the article addressed only the sexual attraction issue, and neglected the power issue. When an adult exploits any "weaker" person, control and power are a huge part of it. I guess it makes some sense in an article about homosexuality, but the underlying need for control is one of the biggest reasons why molestation has little or nothing to do with orientation. I harbor a theory that one of the reasons many "straight" men molest adolescent boys, is that they are aroused by the idea of dominating another male. They either feel powerless among grown men, or they already have power among adult men, but they need MORE, absolute power. Sexual orientation isn't a factor, except among those who emotionally identify with pre-pubescent children, whose sexuality is still RELATIVELY ambiguous and undefined.
And thank you for the reassurance about straights who address this issue. We already know that the ignorant 'phobes will assume we're gay, and we don't give a hoot, but I'm a little leery of being dismissed by some gays, with a "Pfft! Like she knows what she's talking about!"