Time for Reform: Issue 3 - Homosexuality

I’ve hammered on this issue in the past, and it may seem like it’s important to me. That’s because it is. I know several homosexuals and I can say emphatically that the stereotypes painted of this group are grossly inaccurate of these men. And that bothers me, because the church - for years now - has used these stereotypes as cause for shunning and persecuting this group of people. Let me quickly dispense these stereotypes and explain why I believe this is a critical area in need of reform in the modern church.

First off, the idea that all homosexuals have poor relationships with their fathers is a stereotype that may be grossly misrepresented. Of all the gay men I know, only 1 of them had a poor relationship with his father. Ironically, the rest had better relationships with their fathers than I do with my own. I don’t have statistics to back up this assertion, but I would be willing to bet that the poor father/son relationship correlation is loose at best. I imagine that just as many (percentage-wise) straight men have poor relationships with their fathers as do gay men. The main purpose of this stereotype is to insist that people are not born gay, but rather, a poor relationship with their fathers caused them to be gay. I can’t even begin to address this thought without first laughing at it. If this correlation were true - and it’s definitely more correlation than causality - then I would be gay. And I’m not. Never have been. Never will be.

Secondly, the idea that pedophiles are typically gay has been painted into the church psyche. No on likes pedophiles, and rightfully so. But, painting an entire group of people with that title is disingenuous and spiritually criminal. In truth, most studies on pedophilia show that the vast majority of pedophiles are actually straight men. But, why dwell on the truth of the matter when the made-up explanation gives you a reason to exclude and discriminate so that you can feel comfortable on Sundays?

Finally, the idea that homosexuals want to “force their lifestyle” upon Christians (or anyone) is an image unfortunately painted by the vocal minority. The men I know simply want to be able to live their lives free of persecution or discrimination. Is that too much to ask? When you consider for one moment what it must be like to be gay - even in today’s more accepting society - you’d have to wonder what kind of crazy you’d be to WANT to be gay? Admittedly, some people have a victim mentality that may lend them to become a victim in this way, but again, that’s a broad generalization. The men I know only want to love and to be loved.

You may notice that one thing I’m not addressing here is the issue of whether or not homosexuality is a sin.  There is a distinct reason why - I’m not sure. I know I may be painted a heretic in some circles for saying this, but I’m not sure the Bible lends a case for it being a sin. There are only a few references to it. The earliest references occur in Leviticus, but if we look to that book for clarity on sin, we also see that we need to stone adulteress women and cut off the hands of thieves. The only clear New Testament statement on the issue is in Romans (btw, Jesus never spoke on the subject directly). And from what I’m currently reading, the scripture  reference (1:24-28) needs to be examined in light of the original greek, the context of the writing, and with great consideration of whom the letter was written to and for what purpose.

The one thing I want to be sure of is that I don’t take a firm stand on an issue that may not have firm footing. I believe Christ gave us clear guidance on what issues deserve our firm stand, and homosexuality is not one of them. He clearly instructs us to love one another. To feed the poor. To sacrifice of ourselves and to be servants to one another. And if anything, the one sin Christ pointed out more than any other - the one that angered him repeatedly at the Pharisees - was pride. If you look through the various teachings of Christ, one can quickly see that almost every story drew a comparison between prideful men (who were always the antagonist of the story) and humble men (the sure protagonists). And yet, churches have no problems with putting a rich man’s name on the side of a pew or erecting new buildings with the money of wealthy, prideful men. Where is our sense of balance and justice?

I believe the new church will take a different stand on homosexuality. The new church no longer needs to worry about specific sins, and whether or not something is a sin. The new church will look for brokenness and a spirit humbled before God, and in a renewing faith, trust that He will provide clarity for change - not us. If God would see fit that a man would turn from his sexual lifestyle, then surely He will do that work in their hearts. Surely we can trust in the same God that fed the five thousand to finish the good work he has started in us?

This entry was posted on October 22, 2007 at 8:23 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.