I felt a deep need to create this blog to help those who are still in the position I was four years ago.
Up until that time, I believed that God did not want me. Although somewhere deep in my heart I knew that this wasn’t true, I found it extremely difficult to allow myself to be “Christian” because my beliefs have always been that our Creator – whoever or whatever that may be – was a loving, patient, gentle and compassionate entity. What I saw mostly of “Christianity” were people who told me that I was going to Hell. In the most extreme cases, I was told that God hated me.
God hated me? I didn’t understand why; this was such a foreign concept to me that I could not believe that I could ever accept Christ into my life.
What finally changed in my life? What did it take to show me that it was people that hated me and not God or Jesus?
God brought two very wonderful people in my life. One is a learned Christian minister, the other his partner for over 10 years.
This minister slowly and patiently showed me that I was not hated by Jesus. He showed me scripture that proved that I was loved. He also showed me scripture which illustrates that those that would keep us from seeking Jesus are in fact the ones who are in the wrong. We will discuss these passages as time permits.
The other major influence was a congregation that from the first time I walked in their doors made me feel welcomed and loved for who I was. The first time I went to this church, I was singing with a gay men’s chorus – It seemed so strange to me that a Methodist church would allow such a thing. I felt that I had finally found a community that would uphold my search for the loving God I always knew in my heart existed. I became a member at that church and now sing in the choir and witness to others who were like me or to those who need to see that we, meaning LGBTQ’s, HIV+'s, etc., are people loved by God, too.
And so for the past eight years I have been on a journey. And last month I finally realized that I truly believe and trust in God. When I told my minister friend this, he said “I think you have believed for a long time, it’s just now that you are realizing it.” This realization came after having to discuss with my sister the real sin of Sodom that caused God to destroy it. It’s a long story, I will be glad to share it in a post.
This blog is to help those who have been rejected and marginalized by those Christians and certain versions of Christianity that demean individuals for being gay and/or HIV+. I would like to address these two issues specifically, but we can talk about anyone who feels shut out by what I will often call "Conservative Christianity."
My favorite passage of the Bible that I will use as the basis for our discussions here is this:
John Chapter 3:
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.
17 For God sent not the Son into the world to judge [condemn] the world; but that the world should be saved through him.
The two points to note from this passage are these:
- God so loved the WORLD. Contrary to the "God Hates Fags" movement, God loves all. If He did not, it would say something like "God so loved the world, except for the 'evil doers'" or some-such statement, but what the Bible does say is Rom: 5:8: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
- He sent not his Son to condemn the world. Here we should realize that if Jesus came not to condemn the world, then it is certainly not anyone's place to condemn anybody to Hell. In fact, to do so falls under the category of "Judge not lest ye be judged." What this means is that we will be held to the same standards as we judge others. If we judge harshly and rigidly, we shall be judged harshly and rigidly by God. If we do not condemn or judge harshly, we will be judged with mercy and kindness.
So, what does this all mean for those cast out by the religious conservatives? Well, what it means, as far as I have been shown by God's mercy, is this.
People are not God. Churches and organized religions are not God. In fact, many of the conservative denominations are very far from living into the true teachings of Jesus.
I know this may be hard to believe, but the folks that tell you that you are destined to go to Hell because you are homosexual are just plain wrong. They will cite Jewish law in Leviticus as proof of their argument. What they will fail to mention is that Jesus taught us something far more important than condemning our neighbor and demeaning them and closing our doors to them because they are "sinners" - The reality is we are all sinners and we have all sinned and will continue to do so - it's called "being human."
No, they will not tell you what the overwhelming message in the New Testament - the part of the Bible that talks about Jesus' life among us and the lives of his followers soon after His death - here it is, are you ready?
His message is this: Love, compassion, patience, charity. Actually, much of the Old Testament focuses on God's call to care for the less fortunate and those in need. I can post the actual scriptures relating to this later if there is a request for it.
That's not all of it, but I can tell you this: Jesus did not turn his back on the sinners. He embraced them. The only ones He showed very little patience and tolerance for were the Sadducees and the Pharisees. These were the biblical scholars and priests who carried a lot of power in their day. Their religion was "The letter of the Law." They had lost all sight of the spirit of the Law.
Jesus' teachings were a threat to their authority, so they tried very hard to get Jesus to incriminate himself by saying something contrary to Jewish law.
The comparison of those ancient religious leaders and the conservative fundamentalist Christians today will show many similarities. The most important of these for our discussion is the insistence that the sinners aren't welcome, in our case, gays and lesbians. This group of Christians views homosexuality as a choice (despite the growing body of scientific evidence to the contrary) or if it is not choice, then it is for us to fight the "urges" that we have - we have been handed a cross to bear and we just have to deal with it.
The only cross that we have been handed is the same cross that everyone bears: that of finding our way to God through Jesus Christ. Jesus has not turned His backs on us - He turns his back on no one. It is we that turn our backs on Him.
But for many of us in the GLBTQ and HIV communities, we have done so only because we are convinced by those who would have us believe that Jesus has in fact turned against us.
The fact is it is they that have turned against us, not God.
So now that I've given you an idea of where I'm coming from, let's begin.
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