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Sunday, November 8, 2009

Jesus, Gays, and Texans

Andrew Sullivan, a devout Catholic, has posted this today; the story's from a couple months back, but still pertinent:



MCC churches in North Texas have put slogans like these on billboards in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  Which has annoyed the hell out of Bible-believing Christianists.  But perhaps it will make some people stop and examine what it is they really believe, and consider whether their thinking is consistent and compassionate, which is always a good thing.
Would Jesus discriminate?

The early church welcomed a gay man.

Jesus affirmed a gay couple.

Ruth loved Naomi as Adam loved Eve.

David loved Jonathan more than women.
Your Head Trucker spent many years reading and studying and researching the Scriptures on this point, looking desperately for a loophole, a window of hope that God loved me too.  And that search will run you crazy - and I do mean crazy - after a while.  Because that Bible was written down by straight men to serve their purposes and their view of the world and of God.

I don't have time today to go into all this deep subject.  And I don't want to step on anybody's toes, who have found a way to interpret the awful homophobic passages differently.  But it is true beyond any doubt that Jesus himself is not recorded as saying anything at all about same-sex love, one way or another.

And after many years of trying to reconcile the truths I was taught in church with the truth within me - the goodness and rightness of my own identity and feelings and nature - I finally came to realize that God, if God exists, is much bigger than the Church.  And much bigger than the Bible.

I haven't renounced my belief in Christ; I'm an Episcopalian-on-hold as I've explained before.  But to make a short conclusion, here's where I am now:  God is above all things and beyond all things; yet God is also very small and very close.  God is that light of goodness and peace inside you and me and everyone; anyone can be in touch with it, you don't need creeds and scriptures and rituals to find it, and you don't have to go searching in some holy place. 

It's already there inside you; and in a certain sense, you are the holy place yourself, the temple, as it were, of spirit.  And so am I, and so is every man and woman, though we can blind ourselves from perceiving it.

And that inner light is God, and God is Love.  It's important to pay attention to it, and not just our feelings and thoughts and bodies:  it's part of those things, but something else too.  More than that I can't say.  But that helps me. 

What helps you?

8 comments:

Ray's Cowboy said...

As a Gay Chrstian Man. I believe God Loe everyone. Sodom and Gomorrah was about being hospitable. Why would he offer his daughters to the Man (If it was about gay to men) instead of the Angels. God that I know excepts me for who and what I am. Would love to have this talk in person.
Ray

Russ Manley said...

yeah, the guy offered his daughters to be gang-raped.....that was a fine example of family values in action, huh? people just glide over that part of the story....there's more going on in the Bible than most folks realize.

But you have the important part Ray: God loves you and me both, and that doesnt change no matter what anybody says. I just wish I could have believed that as a scared, lonely teenager.

Doorman-Priest said...

Actually, this sin't so much about "the gay issue" as it is about the authority of scripture.

I did a post a while ago about homosexuality, hermeneutics and sola scriptura.

The discussions are depressingly predictable.

Until there is some agreement about the nature of scripture (what are the chances?) we aren't going to progress on other issues.

Russ Manley said...

DP, I read that post of yours and I agree, it's ultimately about the authority of Scripture, and authority in faith.

A few years back I used to post on a C.S. Lewis discussion board. One time, after I'd made a very persuasive case for inclusion of gays, another poster wrote back to say, "Yes, but if we disregard the homophobic parts of the Bible, what about all the rest of it? Where does that leave us? What do we base our faith on?"

And I get the point: falsum in uno, falsum in toto.

Speaking very broadly, I see the same problem with all the "people of the Book": Jews, Christians, Muslims. If you base your faith on some very old writings that don't take into account progress in human knowledge, well then you can either cling to the oldthought fanatically - or realize that God is much greater than anything ever written about Him.

Of course the danger then is finding a rational source for belief; and though I've written lately about this sense of an "inner light" that I feel, God knows that idea can mislead too: as history amply proves, all the wound-up, cocksure Messianic leaders who thought they had a hotline to God.

I don't have all the answers; I'm feeling my way in the dark, so to speak. Maybe I'll blog more on this subject as I discern more. But the problem all over the world right now is this fundamentalist clinging to old texts that are ethnocentric, xenophobic, and definitely homophobic; but then, consider the source.

Which the people who *need* to be told what to do and what to think just won't do. They can't let go of the big Authority; it's too frightening. And then there are babes and fools, the ignorant and the violent, who need a Big Stick to control them; and the utility of religion as a means of social control was recognized long ago.

For me though, it comes down to just a few old, simple ideas: Know thyself. Nothing in excess. Love your neighbor as yourself. Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God. Love God, and do as you please.

If a an ordinary rational, reasonable, kindhearted person really *gets* those little maxims - he's got all he needs to guide him, IMHO.

Unknown said...

beautifully written!!!

it took me a long, long time to become more spiritually aware of myself and others. it was a long walk down a winding road, sometimes falling into the left ditch for a while and back up on the road, only to fall into the right ditch for a while and back up on the road.

altho at the time i didn't understand the struggles that were going on inside me, looking back down the road from where i've travelled i see that the difficulties have only made me stronger: in how i feel about myself and others and our place in this whole universal scheme of being. it's all helped me to walk more humbly with others and with God.

i've come to understand more about spirituality and less about religion. it's been a very rewarding journey.

obviously your journey has been rewarding also - you no longer are that scared, lonely teenager. be proud of where you've come from and be proud of who you've become.

you are a very articulate writer and i can't wait for time to read some more.

love ya brother,
scotty

Russ Manley said...

Yes, well, its a struggle for everyone to find the right path, especially if you are gay and told there is no room for you at all in the universe. But sounds like you are on track now: to know more about spirituality and less about religion - what a lovely way of putting it. Too bad most folks have it the other way around.

Appreciate ya, bud.

Jason Scott said...

1. I believe that the "offer" of the daughters was made knowing that the crowd was comprised of men who had no interest in girls, such that they were not in any actual danger. It was more of a rhetorical device by Lot (and/or the story-teller) to stress the extreme sanctity of his duty to his guests.

2. On the broader subject of the Christian religion, I appreciate your thoughts, Russ. Too often gay men become so offended by the position taken on such issues by various other Christians that they reject the 99% of Christ's teaching that has nothing to do with same-sex relationships and develop hostility to that which is, in my view, true, saving and beautiful.

3. That said, it's my own view that a bedrock principle of the Judeo-Christian is the commandment to multiply and fill the earth. It has never been revoked, nor is it to be viewed as a temporary "schoolmaster" expedient like certain aspects of the law of Moses. This is why the apostle says, "Marriage is honorable in all." In short, it's about the children. To the extent that a man's attraction to other men gets in the way of fulfilling that commandment, it's a problem.

Russ Manley said...

Thanks for taking the time to read and leave your comments, Jason. A few thoughts in reply:

#1 - Neither you nor I were there, so we have utterly no way of knowing what the men in the crowd were or were not like. We don't even know whether this incident actually happened, or whether the entire story is a mere literary device, you know? What we can say with certainty, however, is that this story was not written by a self-respecting woman, but by a man who valued women as mere chattels - not nearly the equals of men.

#2 - Many gay men do fit your general observation here, not to mention many young people of all orientations these days, male and female. However, in the case of the gays, can you really blame them? When the churches tell you upon Divine Authority that you are the most miserable, most loathsome, most wicked sinner ever, that you deserve to die here and now, and you deserve eternal punishment in flames of Hell just for being your quiet, ordinary, natural little self - my God, who would want to hang on to that shitload of torment and hate? It damn near killed me, bud; I speak from experience, long experience over many, many years. When the churches get a better gospel going, maybe they will get some sheep back in the fold.

#3 - Oh Jason, get over yourself. I am not about to argue scripture with you or anybody who wants to latch on to one verse or another as PROOF that I am defying God and destroying the human race - and if that's where you're trying to go here, just move on.

But I will say the undeniable historical fact is that there have been no end of straight boys ready and willing at every moment in time to spend themselves for the cause of populating the earth, just as often as they can get the chance. There has never, ever been a moment in recorded history when the human race has been even remotely close to extinction on account of the gays. And even if there were a serious concern about the matter - which yours is not - then you would do much better talking to the millions of straight men and women who CHOOSE not to have babies, not to me and my gay bros and sisters. Who are only maybe 3 or 4 percent of the population, anyway.

So who are you trying to fool here with this specious argument, Jason? Fool yourself as much as you like, but don't you dare try to beat me into submission with the Bible - I was flayed alive and beaten into the ground that way early in life, with terrible and long-lasting consequences.

But I'm not taking it anymore, and neither are my fellow gays and lesbians. If your ultimate point is to make me ashamed and self-hating and afraid to be who and what I am, which is a right and good and totally natural thing, then it's not God you're speaking for there - it's the devil.

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