"He was a boy, she was a girl, can I make it anymore obvious?"
Actually Avril, you could.
I wish that's what anyone could respond to that particular song. To that idea that "normal" means heterosexual. That there are only 2, polarised genders.
I hope that when I raise children, they will know that boys can fall in love with boys. That biological girls can identify as male. Etc. And most importantly, that nothing in heaven or on earth could separate them from the Love of God.
I actually have a lot of hope that the world will become more queer friendly.
Statistics show it, my own experience shows it. The media is becoming more inclusive. We still have a long way to go, but momentum is gathering.
What I do worry about is that the divide between the church and the community will grow wider again.
I fear that youth retention rates will continue to fall. I don't blame young people for leaving. I'm a young person, and I want to leave. I'm not going to, but sometimes I don't feel strong enough to fight.
Fighting is hard. I'm guilty of not fighting hard enough over the last few years.
This isn't the kind of fight that's going to be won by attending rallies or by challenging church doctrine. The big things will help, for sure, but wiping out homophobia is gonna have to involve lifestyle changes.
I still don't know what this would look like. It's so far from where we are now.
All I know is that I'm starting change with myself, and my conversations ad attitudes.
Join me :)
There's a lot I agree with in this post =)
ReplyDeleteThe problem I find with the church today, is that many Christians don't really understand what it truly means to be a Christian, nor do they care about being well versed with the scriptures.
Scriptures tell us to love everyone, means Christians have no reason to hate, reject or condemn homosexuals. This only serves to cause division and is useless.
If one would read through Paul's letters, one would see the love Paul has for everyone, especially the pagans who has all sorts of "despicable" rituals. His actions can clearly be seen in 1 Cor 9:19-23. It is to bring everyone to Christ, the mission entrusted to us.
This is true in the case of when the homosexual is NOT a Christian, and is in need of the gospel. When that person's a Christian, it's a completely different story, as in 1 Cor 5:12-13
What does it mean to be a Christian? It's not a way to cheat eternal punishment while being able to live as you always have. It's not a way to live nice and rosy lives. No, a Christian is an alien to this world, a new creation, called to pick up their cross and follow Jesus. Being a Christian is TOUGH and we're ALL weak. Thank God for the Holy Spirit, that we're not alone.
Why did I bother mentioning that? Well, the scripture does condemn sexual relations between people of the same gender (also many different kinds of sexual relations like pre-marital sex). For a homosexual to become a Christian may be a call to abstain from sexual relations their whole life (unless they have been united with a partner of the opposite gender). There's nothing against them loving other people of the same gender. The difficulty is in abstaining from the sexual relations or union with those of the same gender. Is this sacrifice comparable to the sacrifice of Jesus? It's not our job to answer this question for others. The trouble is in keeping those who claim to be Christians accountable.
If you're feeling that you have to fight, or that you're feeling weak, it's normal. It's normal as a Christian to feel that. I pray that with the help of the Holy Spirit, you'll finish your race well.
Dan