GAY AND CHRISTIAN
An old high-school buddy of mine called me last night to tell me, among other things, that he is gay. He comes from a strict religious upbringing -- his dad's a preacher -- and hasn't told many people of his sexual orientation. So I was honored he would feel comfortable "outing" himself to me.
I immediately felt a sense of responsibility to be open-minded, slow to speak and quick to listen. I heard him tell me he had recently found a church that was open to homosexuality; that, without compromising orthodox Christianity, gave off an atmosphere that made him feel freer to be wholly himself, instead of worshipping God in a shroud of secrecy and shame.
I was also quick to feel guilty for homophobic teasing I had engaged in with him when we were in school together, and even more recently. I wondered if I had hurt his feelings all those times, and deeply regretted my insensitivity.
Is it possible to be gay and Christian? As my friend comes to grips with what it means to be both, I too am challenged to consider this possibility. He tells me he's never been attracted to women, only to men; and thus doesn't know that being gay is necessarily wrong, though he is open to God proving him otherwise.
Though I disagree with him -- after all, many of us are born with a predilection to lust, or to lie, or to hate, which does not negate these things being sin -- I appreciate his humility, and am ashamed of the amplified way in which we Christians bash on this particular sin. Truly, we have ostracized and demonized those who are homosexual, in ways we haven't done with those who are covetous of material possessions, dishonoring to their parents, or deceitful with their promises.
I am forced to think that on one level, it is not right to be gay and Christian, just as it is no right to be a liar and a Christian, or a thief and a Christian, or a closed off person to the poor and a Christian. What it means to be a Christian is to renounce all forms of sin and pursue all forms of righteousness.
But on another level, it is very possible to be gay and Christian, just as you might and will find people who are lustful and Christian, impatient and Christian, or boastful and Christian. And yet for some reason, our moral indignation shoots through the roof when we consider those who accept their homosexual tendencies and are perfectly fine allowing them to coexist with their reformed Christian ways.
Some may protest that the point is not that Christians don't sin, but that they seek to move away from sin; and thus to entrench one's deviant sexual preference is antithetical to the disciple's journey. I do not disagree. But then I also must point a finger at those who claim to be Christians but do not regard Jesus in the poor, naked, and imprisoned; those who associate themselves with Christ but do not take seriously His many commands regarding money; those who say they seek God's Kingdom but ignorantly participate in and further entrench unjust social, economic, and political systems. None of these people seems to think anything about their Christian lives needs to change.
So I am not swinging to the other end of the pendulum and saying that, because of the bashing, gays get a carte blanche to live in a way that is contrary to what is described as righteous and right in the Bible. But nor am I saying that homosexuality is any different from the myriads of ways we heterosexual Christians are living outside of God's will for our lives. If my friend is gay and Christian, I who am boastful and Christian, uncaring and Christian, stingy and Christian, am in no better moral standing.
Maybe if we all believed that, there wouldn't be any bashing, ostracizing, and vilifying. Then maybe we could all get back to the business of getting right with God and bringing glory to His name. Someday, it will be impossible to be anything sinful and Christian, for Jesus will return to claim His own, and we will be perfected so that we perfectly obey, reflect, and know God. Until that day, there will be many among us who are, among other things, deceitful and Christian, covetous and Christian, and gay and Christian.
An old high-school buddy of mine called me last night to tell me, among other things, that he is gay. He comes from a strict religious upbringing -- his dad's a preacher -- and hasn't told many people of his sexual orientation. So I was honored he would feel comfortable "outing" himself to me.
I immediately felt a sense of responsibility to be open-minded, slow to speak and quick to listen. I heard him tell me he had recently found a church that was open to homosexuality; that, without compromising orthodox Christianity, gave off an atmosphere that made him feel freer to be wholly himself, instead of worshipping God in a shroud of secrecy and shame.
I was also quick to feel guilty for homophobic teasing I had engaged in with him when we were in school together, and even more recently. I wondered if I had hurt his feelings all those times, and deeply regretted my insensitivity.
Is it possible to be gay and Christian? As my friend comes to grips with what it means to be both, I too am challenged to consider this possibility. He tells me he's never been attracted to women, only to men; and thus doesn't know that being gay is necessarily wrong, though he is open to God proving him otherwise.
Though I disagree with him -- after all, many of us are born with a predilection to lust, or to lie, or to hate, which does not negate these things being sin -- I appreciate his humility, and am ashamed of the amplified way in which we Christians bash on this particular sin. Truly, we have ostracized and demonized those who are homosexual, in ways we haven't done with those who are covetous of material possessions, dishonoring to their parents, or deceitful with their promises.
I am forced to think that on one level, it is not right to be gay and Christian, just as it is no right to be a liar and a Christian, or a thief and a Christian, or a closed off person to the poor and a Christian. What it means to be a Christian is to renounce all forms of sin and pursue all forms of righteousness.
But on another level, it is very possible to be gay and Christian, just as you might and will find people who are lustful and Christian, impatient and Christian, or boastful and Christian. And yet for some reason, our moral indignation shoots through the roof when we consider those who accept their homosexual tendencies and are perfectly fine allowing them to coexist with their reformed Christian ways.
Some may protest that the point is not that Christians don't sin, but that they seek to move away from sin; and thus to entrench one's deviant sexual preference is antithetical to the disciple's journey. I do not disagree. But then I also must point a finger at those who claim to be Christians but do not regard Jesus in the poor, naked, and imprisoned; those who associate themselves with Christ but do not take seriously His many commands regarding money; those who say they seek God's Kingdom but ignorantly participate in and further entrench unjust social, economic, and political systems. None of these people seems to think anything about their Christian lives needs to change.
So I am not swinging to the other end of the pendulum and saying that, because of the bashing, gays get a carte blanche to live in a way that is contrary to what is described as righteous and right in the Bible. But nor am I saying that homosexuality is any different from the myriads of ways we heterosexual Christians are living outside of God's will for our lives. If my friend is gay and Christian, I who am boastful and Christian, uncaring and Christian, stingy and Christian, am in no better moral standing.
Maybe if we all believed that, there wouldn't be any bashing, ostracizing, and vilifying. Then maybe we could all get back to the business of getting right with God and bringing glory to His name. Someday, it will be impossible to be anything sinful and Christian, for Jesus will return to claim His own, and we will be perfected so that we perfectly obey, reflect, and know God. Until that day, there will be many among us who are, among other things, deceitful and Christian, covetous and Christian, and gay and Christian.
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