While I don't see myself as an atheist, I cannot embrace the version of Christianity that so willingly condemns others. As it turns out, religion need not be the enemy of LGBT people if people would but open their eyes. Or so argues Matthew Vines in a piece at Huffington Post and an hour plus long video he made after two years of studying what the Bible really says about homosexuality. The video is above and the following are highlights from his post:
[F]or some reason, a lot of people have a big problem with anyone who believes in God and is gay. As someone who grew up in a conservative Christian church in Kansas, I am all too aware of the problem of religious homophobia.So when reality won out during my sophomore year of college and I finally had to admit to myself that I was gay, I was both relieved and crushed -- relieved because everything that hadn't made sense about my life finally did, and because love no longer seemed like an impossibility for me, but crushed because of the likelihood that I would be rejected and lose the community I had always called home.
There were just a few things standing in the way of that goal. To name them: Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, and Romans 1:26-27.
These are the Scripture passages that I knew many people from my home church took as the final word on this issue. These three verses in the Bible, as well as three others (Genesis 19:5, 1 Corinthians 6:9, and 1 Timothy 1:10), have proven the end of the road for so many who have tried to gain acceptance from their Christian parents, friends, and pastors for so long.
For any of us who learned to love the Jesus who called the little children to him, whose highest law was that of love, and who was a fierce defender of the downtrodden and the outcast, this simply did not seem possible.If it were true that God wanted to devastate the souls, psyches, and lives of gay people, then how could He be a loving God? This could no more be consistent with His loving character than if God truly wanted white people to enslave and oppress black people for centuries. For any Christian who has struggled to come to terms with their own church's persecution of gay people, this is the contradiction we have faced. Anti-gay teachings have caused an untold amount of pain and suffering in the world. They have borne very bad fruit and thus have failed Jesus' own test for good teachings (Matthew 7:15-20).
So two years ago, I took a leave of absence from college and committed myself to thousands of hours of research and study about the Bible and homosexuality. I wanted to figure it out, to resolve this contradiction.
[E]arlier this month, after having invested thousands of hours into research, I gave a presentation at a Methodist church here in Wichita, Kan. on this subject. It's a little over an hour long, and yes, it's a lot to absorb. But what I wanted more than anything when I was wrestling with coming out was a single resource that explained everything about these Bible verses, one that I could confidently ask my more conservative friends to watch and consider.
This video is the product of that. Please watch it and share it. My family and a number of our friends proved to be accepting, I am happy to report, but not everyone is so fortunate. My heart breaks for all the LGBT kids in churches around the world that do not understand or accept them, and I know firsthand how much fear and pain that causes them. The goal of this video is to reach those kids, no matter where they are, and to walk them through, step by step, these few passages in the Bible.
Yes, this video is long, but it is thorough. This is a message that everyone needs to hear, even if you aren't a Christian, and even if you don't believe in the Bible, because how Christians interpret these few verses of Scripture has a huge impact on the lives of LGBT people all over the world.Again, please watch it and share it. But also learn these arguments: absorb them, and be able to repeat them whenever anyone, anywhere tries to make an anti-gay argument from Scripture. The Bible does not condemn loving gay relationships. It is not opposed to justice and equality for gay people, and in fact it supports their equal right to marry. Scripture can prove to be one of our greatest allies, if only we're reading it correctly.
Sadly, those who most need to watch the video and hear the message will not be the ones to watch it. God forbid that they do anything that might reduce their self-congratulatory opinions about themselves or prove that their house of cards belief system is extremely flimsy. Then of course, there are others who care nothing about the harm they do to others in their quest to enrich themselves peddling anti-gay hatred.
2 comments:
Michael, I don't have time to watch the video just now, but I'll try to get to it later.
Anyway the comment I want to leave for you is not so much about the Gay Debate or the Bible and homosexuality.
I don't know you because, we've never met. I suspect that if we were in a position to meet I'd like you a lot. I suspect that we could even be friends simply because we both think deeply and earnestly and not only respect but enjoy discussing controversial subjects.
But here's the thing Michael. You need to find some middle ground in your life. To find something in the world that surrounds you that you can embrace, even in its imperfection.
You constantly rail against Christian bigots and that is ok. I do too. But I rail against them from the inside. You rail against them from the outside. You could so much more effective from the inside and that is where your heart longs to be. That comes across when you say, "I don't consider myself and atheist (but)…."
The same can be said of your politics. You're not a Democrat Michael. Frankly, your too intelligent to be a Democrat. By your own admission you were once a Republican, but you left that party because of its corruption. Michael, the Republican part is corrupt, no doubt about it, but the Republican can't hold a candle to the corruption that has always run rampant in Democrat party machines!!!
How much more effective could a man like you have been if he had stayed inside the Republican Party and faught to change it from the inside.
I hate the right wing of the Republican Party. They are a bunch of idiots, but you know what? I was a Republican moderate long before you had to say you were a moderate, long before people just assumed you were a right wing nut if you are Republican. And, here's the thing Michael. I"ll be a Republican when the right wing nuts have given up and run off to form their own wing nut third party and lets the Republican Party return to moderation and bipartisan cooperation with the Democrat party to put the good of this country first for a change.
Just something I hope you'll think about. There are good Christians out there. You know something about one of them - me. There are good and dedicated Republicans out there.
Ever once in a while truly look for and acknowledge at length "the rest of the story," as Paul Harvey used to say. It will not only make you feel better, it will enhance your credibility with your readers.
Jack Scott
"... religion need not be the enemy of LGBT people if people would but open their eyes. Or so argues Matthew Vines ..." Nice guy, but unfortunately his eyes are not open! His eyes are closed while he tries to get the Bible to say things it just doesnt say. There are flaws in his arguments right from the start where he says Matthew 7 is about determining a good teaching. If you look it up, you find that passage is actually about determining a valid prophet - quite different! More details here: http://stasisonline.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/homosexual-marriage/
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