Ohhhh ... it is so good to come home and wander into the warm room that is uupdates. Do you know, I actually felt hugged, even though none of the posts were to me in particular. It was warm and familiar and reflected my values.
Christian Ethics tonight. Which I normally enjoy, except that tangentially, homosexuality came up in discussion.
Hearing being gay referred to as a sin ... over and over, not viciously, just matter-of-factly ... hurts. Physically hurts. I feel like little bites have been taken out of me, all over.
"We are Christians. We have to uphold our standards."
What I would like to have said, but didn't:
"So, I'm curious ... which is more important to you, that a person be Christian, or that a person not be gay? Cause here's the deal. They're going to stay gay, but they won't necessarily stay Christian. And they're going to leave your church and come to mine, and guess what folks? At my church, you don't have to be Christian. And you certainly won't have left a good feeling in them about what a Christian is. So, really ... which is more important to you? And is homosexuality really that important to you?
Really?"
My heart feels sad.
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4 comments:
Oh dear, that is sad. Thank goodness you're back home.
I know I have said this before, but it makes me physically ill to hear that, and that this discussion prompted me to ask my mother-in-law to leave my home one day. Because of my beliefs, she has stated my son will also burn in hell. Golly, if that isn't Christian love, I don't know what is!
Two of my guy-friends are married to each other and set the perfect example in terms of committment and what marriage should be. They stood in line for hours to get married before our state eventually ripped that away from them, and when I received a photo of them holding up a marriage license that looked just like mine, I cried and cried.
If God creates people like my friends and then sends them into a lake of fire just for jollies, I fold.
Even if they believe being gay is "sin," isn't the extension of grace (not judgment) what Christianity is supposed to be about?
I took Christian Ethics at a neighboring seminary with a classmate, who happens to be a happily partnered gay man. The week we discussed sexual ethics the discussion exercise was to divide ourselves into 4 groups: (1) agree wholeheartedly with our church's position on gays; (2) object, but not enough to do anything; (3) object enough to preach against it & work for change; and (4) object enough to consider leaving. Hear the assumption there, first? hint:This was at a Presbyterian seminary.
My friend & I found ourselves in a corner withfolks who were all "we believe in what it says in Leviticus." I asked the person who said that if he followed the other laws in Leviticus. The reaction was a blank stare. Argh!
It would have been interesting to know what your classmates' reaction would have been to what you wanted to say. Healing hugs to you...
Yep.
That was one of the many reasons I bailed.
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