Two of the identities I hold dear to my heart are my faith and my orientation. As a child, I wondered if I could lead a "normal" life as a gay Christian. My family and I attended a Baptist church in eastern New Mexico, and I had numerous experiences within the church that shaped my core values: love for family and neighbors, a yearning for strong community, and a calling to pursue justice and equity. These values have helped me troubleshoot the most difficult times in my life and have helped foster my sense of purpose. They are the same values that give me strength to understand I will never need to choose between my faith and orientation, even though there are some who think I should.
I recently came across a story of a young Zimbabwean named Carlos Mpofu. Like myself, he is a gay Christian; he comes from a middle-class family, where he is the middle child of three; and, in his community, he also found a sense of purpose through faith.
"In the church I was given a position as a junior youth leader, leading 250 kids between 8 and 15," he said. "I became a very prominent Sunday school teacher ... It was a hectic three years but the best I ever had in my life."
Carlos struggled to come out to his family and friends but eventually found a way to make the relationships tolerable. Though he was afraid to go to school where students hurt and picked on him and other gay and lesbian students, his experience in the church was different.
"I was precocious and very intelligent. I challenged the pastors and directors of the church ... My [identity] was not [known, or] an issue there." The congregants accepted Carlos because of his dedication to his faith; the pastor promoted him and offered him two jobs for the same reason; and the church continued to provide him a medium to truly live out his purpose.
But then, something changed.
A mother of one of his students suspected Carlos was gay, and immediately told the pastor she had a problem with him around her son. "She was afraid I would molest him, or I already had," Carlos said. The pastor didn't believe her and dismissed her accusations because of his experiences working with and knowing the solid character of the Sunday school teacher. But that moment triggered something. Whispers began to spread amongst the congregation. Whispers that said, despite Carlos' character, a man "suspected" of being gay should not be welcomed in the church. Carlos' pastor did not know he was gay, but when he heard these things and "confirmed" that Carlos dated men, he fired him on the spot.
"They 'preaccused' me of things they thought I would do to school kids -- molest them or corrupt them. They said they had to fire me to prevent that. I lost both jobs within 10 minutes, and all my positions within the church."
Carlos' life took a downward spiral after that. Because he lost his job, conflict ignited between him and his family. He developed animosity toward the church that had never existed before.
"I always want to tell people, 'Don't expect sympathy from the church if you are gay,'" he said. Carlos attempted suicide for a month. He struggled with his family until he was chased out of the house. He became a heavy drinker and became promiscuous, "leading a very dangerous life." He was frequently beaten up because of the social activism he tried to pursue after being fired. And in 2002, Carlos died.
As I read his story, my heart pounded thinking about how some Christians can treat other Christians. Like many, I don't attend services as often as I would like, but my experiences within the Christian framework have inspired me to believe we should be in community with each other regardless of orientation or faith. The church is not a vehicle to cast out or destroy others; it is an environment that should seek justice, equity and welcome all persons into the sanctuary.
My recent experiences in the church have matched this reality where an individual's character is defined by their heart and mind, instead of assumptions based on fear or misinformation about their orientation. In Zimbabwe, where the Christian church is heavily a part of the local culture and has a decisive voice and influence in local politics and the economy, this becomes particularly critical.
As Carlos' story shows us, when Christians reject gay or lesbian Christians, the consequences can be severe. It can lead to unemployment in struggling economies or trigger a dangerous downward spiral that leaves many in isolation and defeat. Yet, at the same time, Carlos story shows us how the same church or congregation can also give hope and propel individuals into a future with the potential for endless opportunity.
What if our collective Christian identity were able to achieve this? This situation so clearly demonstrates the Christian community at its best and worst. But most importantly, it shows the potential within all of us to love without labeling or casting others out for impractical reasons. The lines that divide Christians around this issue are artificially constructed and dangerous. We all have the potential to welcome everyone in faith, but what will it take to get there?
Follow Joseph Ward III on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JosephWardIII
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If you are comparing Dickens' morality as a form to live by, then his outlook has some basis in the texts you jest at.
With respect to marriage, consider:
“That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.†Genesis 2:24 is clearly an addendum from a later time, because Adam did not have a father or mother, it cannot be original to the story.
Then in Mark 5:2-10 it is clear that marriage from the beginning was between a man and woman, but humanity corrupted it introducing it to adultery, and polygamy. God did not stop marriage between a man and a woman, but adapted himself to tolerate the choices humanity made regarding his plan. Just the Christian culture should tolerate the innovation of marriage equality between homosexuals.
This whole issue is as Jesus diagnosed it first, caused by hardness of heart.
When did Yeshua ever turn his back on anyone? When did he say that we should judge others with prejudice? When did he walk away from anyone in need? When did he preach that others should do any of these things?
When did Yeshua ever turn his back on anyone? He did turned his back on the Pharisees’ and Sadducees. He even called them goats that would face his judgment one day and be sent to the left. There are others Yeshua as God, turned his back on the Pharaoh of the Exodus, King Saul, Cain, and while dying on the cross even his self.
When did he…need? Matthew 19:16-26 gives one example where he puts such a stumbling block that the young ruler walks away knowing he has fallen short of the glory of God.
The Sermon on the Mount is all you need Tanzania for your other answers. Enjoy the read, please.
Ezekiel 16:49-50: “Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom; She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.â€
The decision to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah was made BEFORE the incident with the angels. Read Genesis18:16 to the end, where Abraham bargains with God not to destroy Sodom if any righteous people can be found. That's why the angels were sent, to see if there were any righteous people.
What the men of Sodom attempted to do with the angels was not homosexuality. They did not want to make love to them. They wanted to rape them. Standard practice then for humiliating or unmanning your enemies (perceived or otherwise). Rape is a crime of violence that can never be equated with a loving relationship.
You are right, however, that gays have a fight on their hands. It probably will not end until people stop twisting the words of the Bible to suit their own ends
What's Genesis 14-18 about?
The Jordan Valley city-states constantly warred for control of regional resources, setting the stage for Genesis 19.
What key strategy was used to attack ancient cities?
The book of Joshua and others recount scouts entering enemy towns to survey strategic weaknesses for the purpose of facilitating military assaults.
What was Lot’s error?
Lot was a foreigner residing in Sodom. He failed to allow the town elders to scrutinize his out-of-town visitors. Lot’s actions exposed the entire community to possible capture or military annihilation.
Who assaulted whom? Why?
“ALL the people, from every quarter†of the town of Sodom, men and women, young and old, demanded to “know†Lot’s visitors. They wanted to sexually brutalize these potentially threatening visitors. Why? Rape is a violent assertion of power designed to bring shame on Lot and deal with his unexamined interlopers.
Would this happen today?
Sure. Confronted with suspected foreign threats, male and female American soldiers attached electrodes to Iraqi prisoners’ genitals, stacked them unclad like cordwood forcing them to wear waste-soiled undergarments over their heads. Also, five New York police officers used a broomstick to rape Haitian-born Abner Louima.
Were the offenders homosexual?
No! The residents of Sodom, the American soldiers and police officers who sexually assaulted their prisoners were motivated by unbridled rage, fear and a desire to humiliate perceived foreign enemies by sexually brutalizing them.
--ez duz it ©2011
~Presumptuousness is the curse of activism~
1) You are a Christian with enough sense to know that the intention of the Bible and Christianity is to promote love, tolerance, forgiveness, and equality (remember, God created us ALL in His image). Taken literally, the Bible is pretty crazy - think about how many times it's been translated to/from languages that don't even exist anymore. Hawaiian, for example, is an example of a language that when translated into English loses the original concept of what is trying to be conveyed. Imagine translating Hawaiian (a language in use today) into English then into Arabic, then into Japanese, then into Farsi.... You get the point.
2) You're not a Christian. You are a human being living in a world with other human beings. That world would clearly be a better place if all human beings respected, forgave, loved, and embraced the diversity of our little planet and each other. When we disagree, as we often do, we don't judge others because we're right and they're wrong. We try to learn from each others' life experiences and make our minds and our views a little more tolerant.
Is that so complicated? Am I Pollyanna?
Sending aloha to ALL of you.
I was going to ask what part of "Christian" doesn't have "Christ" in it?
But then I remember having read, somewhere: "Christianity has little to do with Christ and probably never has - unless Christ was a closed-minded, misogynistic, homophobic, war-loving, imperialistic, aggressive hater of anything he didn't agree with."
Thank you for the unintended Zen slap.
--ez
I can't say its ok for a man and woman to have sex before marriage and then pretend Christianity says its ok (or practice sex before marriage myself) so how come you do?
I have yet to meet a person who wants to uphold any of the other laws laid down by God in the same texts that supposedly condemn homosexuality. So, how can you claim to be a Christian but not kill those who work on Sunday? Why don't you own slaves from neighboring lands?
Personally, I don't believe that the Bible is the word of God. However, if I did believe that, I don't see why that would mean I have to accept every single word of it as that of God. The Bible was written by many different humans over a very long period of time. It has also been altered and manipulated by many since it's inception. And let's not even get into how much of the Bible isn't even available in most translations.
So, if something in the Bible is in direct conflict with something else, is it not possible that one of the two things in conflict isn't even supposed to be there? What's to have stopped someone from adding something that WASN'T the word of God during it's development?
I don't understand why no one thinks that could have happened.
A "Sodomite" is a temple prostitute. The word is not synonymous with "homosexual".
There is no Biblical admonition against loving acts between equal, adult, consenting, committed partners. There are admonitions against abusive, coercive, and otherwise harmful sex acts.
(To forestall those who say this is biblical revisionism, this is reading the Bible in the original language without the layered on filters of translation and culturally-biased additions.)
Therefore, there is no reconciliation needed. A self-recognizing and self-affirming gay Christian comes to God as the person that God intended them to be.
How do you propose that gay people get married, so that they can express their love within the limits that you impose, when most of the world does not allow equal marriage? Do you really think that God deliberately created 10% of his children to never know the joys, support, comfort and fulfillment of a committed relationship?
There seems to be an understanding in your posting that all gay people commit "sodomy", which to you means anal penetration with a penis. Some gay people are celibate and many gay people do not participate in this sex act. Further, what restriction do you place on heterosexual couples who use "sodomy" as a natural form of birth control, or simply for pleasure?
Being run out of your religion by people who are only giving lip service to the religion to gain social status just sounds really annoying.
It is no more the right of the "Christian Community" to define me than it is the right of the "Gay Community" to define me.
If you are permitting your faith journey to be defined by other human's, it really makes me question whose journey you are on....
I also recommend Sam Harris's great book, "The Moral Landscape."
He cites a great bit of research that I read some years ago -- about how the least religious nations on earth are also the most moral. They also score higher on many measures of societal health, too.
The bible is useful only as a debating device -- christians fight among themselves about what it says or doesn't say. Let them have their fight among themselves. We have happy and productive lives to lead.
I read the End of Faith a year or two ago. It was decent but it kind of got old about half way through.
Yes, yes they are. But why stop there? You almost had it right. Here, let me help.
Homosexuals are male and female. Human beings are male & female. Therefore, Homosexuals = Human beings.
It's really quite a simple formula. If A=B, and B=C, then by necessity A MUST equal C. It's called Transitive Logic.
Yeah, I know. There I go using a word like "logic".........
Well, here's some education for you. All of the following say that homosexuality is natural and quite normal.
American Medical Association
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association
American Counseling Association
National Association of Social Workers
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Child Welfare League of America
American Association of School Administrators
American Federation of Teachers
National Association of School Psychologists
American Academy of Physician Assistants
National Education Association
Royal College of Physicians
Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS)
American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT)
World Health Organization
Chinese Society of Psychiatry
But for those Christians that believe in the Word of God I can say this. We are called upon to be the salt of the world. We love gays as God does, we have gay friends and family members like anyone may have. But as the salt of the world we are called upon to hold back evil (sin) with Gods decernment, and fight against anything that the bible teaches could seperate man from God. For us this is not a gay issue, this is a sin issue, we all sin in our own ways. This is not against those that say their gay or not gay this is an issue against satan the father of all lies. We are aginst evil (sin), only because we know first hand the raveges of sin. To most people they see our position as against those that live a gay life style or against equal rites and the marriage of gay people. But we are speaking out against sin all types of sin. In the pages of Holy Scripture it is clear that God sees a gay life style as sin. You may want to look up a Christian definition of sin to understand a little.
If by "life style" you are alluding to the myth of homosexual promiscuity, let me assure you that gays are no more promiscuous than straights and yet straights receive the approval of their church communities. And if you are concerned that gays are making love without benefit of holy matrimony, whose fault is that?
If you truly love gays as God does, you will stop slinging accusations of greater sin against them. That is not a loving action.
This in no way demonstrates how allowing gays to legally marry is going to make you change how you have to live your life day-to-day. It doesn't explain what exact things that you will have to start doing differently. How will it affect your job or your paycheck? How will it affect the way you clean your house? How will it affect who you going to church?