Jason Collins: The Christian War?

There may be different ideas of who can claim to be speaking as a Christian, but one of the things that has to be at the center of all definitions is that we are called to love the world as God so loved the world. Jason deserves better than he has gotten from a lot of so called Christians.
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It is a busy story. Jason Collins, who has been an NBA player for many years, has announced that he is a gay man. That announcement has created a fire storm of comments around the country, of which this is another one.

One of the curiosities that I have is what has been happening in the locker rooms of his teams for all those years. There have not been any accusations that he has attempted to seduce any of those other players. I have not read that he had pictures of naked men in his locker. I have not seen any comments that he dressed strangely or walked funny. Apparently, from what I have seen or read, he was just like all the other seven foot, back up centers in the NBA.

Which brings up the next curiosity. What would people expect him to do in the locker room now that he has admitted his sexual orientation? How do they think that his confession will change the way he interacts with other players? Is there a fear that he will become some kind of sexual predator in the locker room? Is the fear that he will start looking at other players differently than he has in the past years? What exactly do people expect that this confession will change in his attitude and behavior with other players? The leopard is not going to change his spots. He merely admitted that he has spots.

It has been remarkably the great variety of comments about this situation has come from people who have claimed to be Christian. I am not sure that there have been many comments or condemnations from Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists or Jews, but I know that Christianity has entered into this discussion because Jason has commented about his early Christian upbringing and his desire to follow Jesus words, "A new commandment I give unto you that you love one another as I have loved you." There have been many attacks upon him by those who have taken shelter in the Christian name.

It is important to remember that Jesus himself said absolutely nothing about homosexuality. There are words against adultery and divorce. There are warnings about money and wealth. There are condemnations of hypocrisy and arrogance. There had to have been a percentage of people who were homosexual, but Jesus does not mention it at all.

Jesus seemed to be much more concerned about our relationship with each other, caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and those in prison, caring for the widows and children, giving our wealth to the needy, than he was about strict rules and obedience to some rigid rituals. There may be different ideas of who can claim to be speaking as a Christian, but one of the things that has to be at the center of all definitions is that we are called to love the world as God so loved the world, that we care for all of his children. Jason deserves better than he has gotten from a lot of so called Christians.

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