HUNGRY CHICKEN

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An Important Question

So I am sick and feeling sorry for myself and feel like I should go to bed but I also want to get these thoughts down otherwise I will never sleep. Normally this is what the notepad in my drawer is for, but that would require turning on the light. To Tumblr it is.

Essentially, this is about accepting and affirming LGBT people in Christian churches - particularly Evangelical Christian churches, which are the sort I identify with strongest. I am also part of the LGBT community, which is important for this conversation.

Ask most Evangelical church leaders if they think same-sex sexual practice is ok (even within a loving, monogamous relationship) and they will say no. Even fewer will tell you that it’s part of the best way God wants you to live your life.

I’m not saying I know the answer. What I am saying is this: throughout church history, marginalisation of LGBT people has gone ahead without question. They were sinners, and their presence was a threat to a healthy Christian community. But the capital-C Church has never operated in a wider cultural context that says monogamous, same-sex relationships are acceptable. Basically, this is a question we have never had to ask ourselves or ask God.

Today, some serious questions are being asked about the Biblical basis for the non-acceptance of LGBT people and their relationships. Actually, this has been going on since at least the 70s. Do the references to homosexual acts in Paul’s letters to the Romans, the Corinthians and to Timothy apply to monogamous same-sex couples or only to the practices of pederasty and idol worship? And are we sure the Law found in the Hebrew scriptures concerning homosexuality still applies to Christians under the new covenant? These questions have not been properly engaged with in the communities which I have been part of in the past and I do not see them being properly engaged with in many other Christian faith-communities elsewhere.

Using the information I have right now I am doing my best to live my life in a way that honours myself and honours God. My decisions are my responsibility and I do not make them lightly. Like I said, I can’t look you in the eye and tell you there’s no chance I’m wrong, but I can tell you that if there’s a chance we’ve been wrong through the past - through our entire history of being Christ-in-the-world - then that is something we need to take very seriously. For example, are we sure LGBT people aren’t covered by “What I have called clean, do not call unclean” and the rest of Acts 10:9-48 concerning the observance of Jewish purity codes?

Because if they are exempt, we have not only failed to stand beside a vulnerable group, we have actively victimised them.

Now that the Church is facing these questions I’m calling everyone involved to get off their high horses and actively work towards finding common ground. If we are taking these questions seriously then our actions need to show it: actively praying, actively studying, actively dialoguing. And in the meantime we need to accept LGBT people as active participants in our communities so that they do not remain voiceless during this process.

I’m not imagining it to be an easy open-and-shut case, with one ‘side’ suddenly capitulating to the other; I know this will be a long process of reconciliation which requires Christ-like quantities of grace and humility from every corner. I’m sick of straight people in churches talking round-and-round with each other about LGBT people. I want to see life lived out alongside each other, whether or not we disagree. I’m sure this is the only possible way forward without schism, and I want to see it happen in my communities here and at home, today.