Tony Campolo and his wife have an article (free registration required, sorry) on Sojourner's regarding the two different views of Christians on homosexuality -- celibacy and equality. This same debate appears on GCN.
The side favoring celibacy sees the prohibitions against homosexuality in the Bible as still relevant and important. To them, it's not important whether or not someone is attracted to the same sex or the opposite sex but that sex is only sanctified in marriage and marriage is only available to male-female pairs (regardless of attraction). Therefore, any activity outside of that is prohibited.
The other side says that the prohibitions against homosexuality are either part of the superseded "purity code" (the same reason most Christians don't follow Kosher laws) or that they are referring to the unclear class of people called arsenokoitai ("male-bed"), which they believe only refers to male prostitutes.
My understanding of Scripture is more nuanced. I was raised with a strict literalist view but now I think that people are just trying to understand God and please Him and relay His messages to other people. A lot of human prejudices and confusion gets injected into that. This is not to say that other people's understanding of God is not important. Religion is part of culture, it is our cultural understanding of the Divine and our place in the universe. But there are beliefs which lead to social harmony and facilitate love and peace and there are beliefs which lead to chaos and hatred and violence. I believe that only the former come from God, the latter are our own creations (or, some would say, that of the devil).
We can look at the destructiveness of promiscuity and how it doesn't really help people come into close, intimate relationships with other people but instead creates an artificial layer of sex which keeps people from really getting to know each other and to have healthy, fulfilling relationships.
I believe same-sex and opposite-sex relationships should be treated with equal rights and equal respect because it's the people in those relationships that is of prime importance.
I don't know why I feel the way I do but I don't feel bad about it either. Some people might just say that I've desensitized myself and I just don't care whether it's right or wrong but I actually do care. Homosexuality is not the same as bestiality or pedophilia, after all, say the homophobes, people with those desires can't control them either and don't feel that they're wrong either. The difference is that intimate, healthy romantic relationships can't exist between a man and a dog or a man and a ten year old girl but they certainly can exist between two men or two women. Drawing an artificial line saying that only romantic relationships between a man and a woman are acceptable is not productive to a healthy society.
I have seen so much hatred, violence and hurt come from people claiming to be enforcing the laws of God as it relates to gay people (but, of course, never to themselves). Jesus (Mt. 7:16-20) that you can tell a tree by its fruit and the fruit that homophobia breeds is the antithesis of Christianity and of love. God will enforce God's laws.
Instead of rejecting homosexuality, most gay people reject Christianity because they don't understand the basis for this condemnation. They feel, that by virtue of living, they are being told they are particularly evil and sinful. Far too many children are being taught by their parents and peers, oftentimes with people claiming that they are enforcing God's laws, that they are bad for who they are, and they get brutalized, harassed and murdered or driven to suicide.
It's my belief from reading the stories of many "ex-gay" Christians, that people are trying to force themselves into relationships which are unhealthy in order to please God. God is pleased when you love other people and work to have good, functional, healthy relationships with other people, both romantic and platonic and with Him. Fighting your God-given nature isn't pleasing to God.
As a Christian, even if you believe that homosexuality is a sin, you are not going to do any good bashing on someone about it. What you need to do is to simply help cultivate their relationship to God and God will lead them to do what is right. Perhaps in some cases, God leads people to an understanding that their homosexuality was rooted in confusion from being molested or an envy of other members of the same sex or hedonism or any other number of factors. If these are the root cause then healing will take place but you can't heal something that isn't broken.
1 comment:
Had to share how refreshed I was by reading your post. Wow. It's fabulous that young Christian Americans exist who do come across as embodying Christian values rather than thinly veiled xenophobia/homophobia. I work in an LGBTQ project in Ireland and agree with a lot of what you write. i wish more Christians and Catholics were as thoughtful and eloquent as you are. Happy times to ya :)
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