Queer and Christian: A Response
The third and final installment of my three part series on being Radical Christians deals with evangelical Christians and our failure to be a light in the GLBT community. I recently stumbled upon a blog (technorati search on “Christianity” revealed the post) that appears to deal with GLBT issues. More interestingly, I stumbled upon a specific post from one of the authors entitled, “Queer and Christian?” Here’s a portion of what the Ona Marae had to say:
“I am one of those people that finds it easier to be Queer in a sometimes hostile Christian environment than being Christian in most Queer environments. This is not due to a wishy-washy faith or embarassment about my beliefs, but rather the fact that Christianity has been used to do massive spiritual violence against my community.
If you look carefully, it’s not the agnostics or athiests in this country doing the Queer-bashing, it is, for the vast majority of the time, Christians. While there are other world religions who find homosexuality (etc) incompatible with thier teachings, American Christianity has it down to a nasty and political science.”
Ona goes on to say:
“To be as brief as possible, Liberation theology comes out of Latin America and basically states that God is on the side of the Oppressed. If you look through all the texts Christians call their Bible, you will see that God stands in alignment with the marginalized, the oppressed, the widow and orphan, the refugee, women, Samaritans, Lepers and anyone else who is ostracized by their society. I find it interesting that Jesus’ words of accusation were for the religious leadership of his day, not for the people they called “sinner”. I wonder who he would call a serpent today….”
Hmm…God is on the side of the oppressed? I’m not quite sure I can follow this line of reasoning. Once again, I will try to offer my “radical right wing religious” perspective as civilly as possible. I do not want to put GID and other sexual issues discussed here on the same level as what I’m about to say, so please do not misunderstand me.
At what point would you draw the line on this “oppressed” line of thought? Would God be “on the side” of the oppressed folks who have sexual inclinations (whether nature or nurture) towards incest or bestiality or necrophilia? The point I want to make is that these groups (bestiality, alcoholics, incest, necrophilia) too can be considered oppressed because society would frown on persons who have these sexual inclinations or persons who embrace alcoholism. The Bible instructs persons to not get imbibed on too much alcohol and it also instructs persons not to have sexual relationships with family members, animals, the dead, or persons of the same sex. That’s my perspective which I feel is clearly laid out in the Bible. Others more knowledgeable than I can provide better arguments on the subject.
This isn’t about taking sides…but if God did take sides, He would take the side of humanity - because we are ALL sinners. I sympathize with anyone who does not “choose” to be the way there are, but resulting behaviors are not necessarily in line with what God would consider “blameless.” And, as Christians, aren’t we instructed to be imitators of Christ, to strive to be pure and blameless? Now, while I may disagree with the “taking sides” argument, I do believe that Jesus Christ died for EVERYONE, regardless of inclinations based on nature or nurture. It is His forgiveness of our sins that allows us to be seen as blameless, but we must be repentant.
Christians Have Failed to Love GLBT “Others”
Nonetheless, I agree with Ona that the evangelical Christian community has done an abominable job reaching out to these oppressed persons, but I would argue that the failings of evangelical Christians is primarily due to apathy or selfish concerns (e.g., preserving traditional values, etc.), not hate. Certainly the GLBT agenda threatens evangelical Christians because, unlike the other “opressed” groups I mentioned, society is beginning to accept the GLBT agenda - that these behaviors are perfectly normal and acceptable. Radical groups like God Hates Fags paint Christians in a hateful angry light, but the challenge is for Christians to make their voice heard too in a thoughtful way. Groups like James Dobson’s (Focus on the Family) PAC try to, but perhaps they too cross the line at times. “Mainstream” evangelical Christians might instead be apathetic because they feel that it might be a lost cause to reach out to people who seem unwilling to interpret the Bible as a God-breathed literal text instead of a “dynamic” text that changes with society’s norms?
“Less Judgment, More Love” (By Words and Actions)
As I mentioned in an earlier post of this series, I feel that Christians need to walk a fine line between judgment and compassion. It is much easier to be aloof and judgmental rather than participatory and compassionate. I believe evangelical Christians must make their thoughts known, but in a loving way. Take what Leviticus 19:7 has to say:
“Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.”
I believe that this powerful yet simple verse explains it all. As Christians, we must acknowledge that we too are the worst of sinners, but we should compassionately point out the sin of others, yet love them, not hate them or ostracise them.
In my call for us to be Radical Christians, how might we reach out to the GLBT community for Christ? Perhaps in following the South Beach Diet credo of “less (bad) carbs, more (good) protein,” Radical Christians should follow a credo of “less judgment, more love.” If we acknowledge that we are just as sinful and struggle with temptations equally, then perhaps we can view others more as Jesus does. GLBT persons will not change their behavior just because a Radical Christian calls them sick sinners. Similarly, I might not change my behavior if I did not respect the opinion of the person who challenged me. Evangelical Christians do not win converts or transform a person, only God does. Therefore, let’s give room for God to work - state your position, but then through words and actions, love as Christ loves.
Thus concludes this series, “A Call to be Radical Christians.” I believe that Christians must
- stand up for what we believe;
- equally show love and compassion to others;
- remember that Jesus spent much of His ministry preaching love;
- remember that God (not humankind) changes hearts; and
- prove the old addage “actions speak louder than words” true by following Christ’s command in John 13:34:
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
Tags: [GLBT, Christianity, morals, values, sexuality, homosexuality, diversity]
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