It's June again. Gay Pride Month. Time for parades and for festivals, for rainbow flags and dance tents. And this year we're not only celebrating Pride; we're also celebrating the first anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decisions on DOMA and Prop 8 that paved the way for marriage equality in 19 states (plus the District of Columbia) with Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Michigan, Idaho, Arkansas, and Texas all waiting appellate court decisions after lower courts ruled for equality.
And we are not just celebrating; we are recommitting to continuing the struggle until liberty and justice for all really means "all." Everywhere.
So here's the 2014 version of my annual Pride Month FAQs about God, Jesus, the Bible and Gay People -- offered in hopes that together we truly can be the change we want to see in the world, and in rebuttal to the rabid rhetoric of the anti-gay religious right. They do not speak for me. And they do not speak for my church.
1. Is being gay a sin?
No. Sins are acts that separate us from God and keep us from loving our neighbors as ourselves. Being gay is not a sin. Bullying is a sin. Being hateful to other people is a sin. Putting yourself in the place of God to judge others is a sin. Being gay is not.
2. What did Jesus say about gay people?
Jesus said the same thing about gay people that he said about all people: God loves you beyond your wildest imagining and calls you to walk in love with God and with each other. He also said a whole lot about loving your neighbor, welcoming the stranger, embracing the outcast and ministering to the marginalized.
3. Does the Bible really condemn homosexuality?
The short answer is no, it does not. The handful of passages in the Old and New Testaments that talk about God condemning specific sexual acts have nothing whatsoever to do with sexual orientation and everything to do with contexts such as cultic prostitution or gang rape. To put it another way, using the Bible as a handbook on human sexuality makes as much sense as using it as a handbook on astronomy. Just as those who wrote the Biblical texts had no concept of the science that would prove the earth actually revolves around the sun, they had no concept of homosexuality (which wasn't defined until the 19th century).
4. How do I respond when people say "God hates f--s"?
First of all, God's nature is to love, not to hate. We believe that what God cares about is not our sexual orientation but our theological orientation -- and that the question that matters is not "who do you love?" but "do you love?" Recognizing that homophobia causes some folks to project onto God their own fears, prejudices and biases against LGBT people, sometimes the best response is simply no response. It can be a challenge, but getting triggered by hate-mongers prevents us from being the change we want to see.
5. What do I tell people when they say being gay is a sin and a choice?
Tell them that Jesus said absolutely nothing about being gay, but he said a lot of things about judging other people. Then tell them that while there is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian orientation, there is consensus that sexuality is a continuum. So the "choice" is not to be gay, straight or somewhere in between; the "choice" is to build our own healthy relationships -- and give other people the grace to build theirs.
6. How about transgender people? Where do they fit in?
The same place all God's beloved children fit in: smack dab in the center of God's care, love and desire for health and wholeness for every single human being.
7. How do I respond when politicians condemn my sexuality, citing their belief in the Bible?
Remind them that the First Amendment protects them in believing whatever they want to about what God does or does not bless, but it also prohibits them from using those beliefs to decide who the Constitution protects or doesn't protect. Tell them to stop confusing their theology with our democracy. And then campaign for and donate to their opponent in the next election cycle.
8. So is the Episcopal Church in favor of marriage equality?
Yes. In 2012 the Episcopal Church adopted a resolution entitled "End Discrimination Against Same-Sex Marriages" urging "members of the United States Congress to pass legislation that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and allow the U.S. federal government to provide benefits to couples in a same-sex marriage." And here in Los Angeles all three of our bishops signed on to the amici briefs calling for the repeal of DOMA and overturning Prop 8.
9. Do you have women and LGBT clergy in your church?
Yes. The Episcopal Church has been ordaining women to the priesthood since 1974, and we have women deacons, priests and bishops throughout the church -- including two women bishops here in the Diocese of Los Angeles. When it comes to gay men in the priesthood, the issue is not homosexuality; it is honesty. The church has ordained gay men for centuries, but finally the Episcopal Church added "sexual orientation" in the non-discrimination list in 1994 and "gender identity" in 2012 ending our version of "don't ask, don't tell." Because the Episcopal Church allows for diversity of practice, the leadership of "out" LGBT and women clergy is more prevalent in some places than in others. But the Diocese of Los Angeles is proud to have been in the forefront of inclusion.
10. Should I try to "pray away the gay"?
No. If you need to pray away something, pray away homophobia. Homosexuality doesn't need healing. Homophobia does.