thomascwaters.com

Not sure where I found this link- probably on Facebook, but is has been open on my computer for a few days as I have read the post, and thougght about it, and what I might want to say. If you are one of those gay folks who bristles at the very mention of Christianity, then skip following the links below and try and focus on what I have to say here. but if Christian isn’t a dirty word to you, I encourage you to read the linked post and spend time with it as I have, in addition to thinking about what I have to say on the matter.

Admittedly, when I first saw the post, I thought, OK, just more pseudo-Christian apologetics, but it isn’t really at all. So, two questions formed for me: Can Christians, “get” gay?  Can they come to understand (for lack of another one word descriptor) homosexuality? And even if they can, does it really matter?

When I finally took several days to study this on my own in earnest, I got very angry, very angry about the lies I believed about gay people.  I had believed what I had been too lazy to investigate for myself.  You can start on my VERSES link, but nothing will substitute doing the Bible study for yourself.

Can Christians “get” gay?

There are two approaches often taken by the LGBT community in varying degrees of success. The first is the “we’re here, we’re queer, so get used to it” approach, and the other is the “if we educate them, they wil not hate us” approach. Frankly, I am a firm believer in both combined, especially when the first is considered being proud of being who you are at all times, and the latter is understoodf as being out of the closet at all times. The more people see us and get to know us, the harder it is for them to “other” us and people begin to respect and support us.  On the other hand, should we ever have to ask for acceptance? Not really. Or Equality? Not really.  Respect, fair treatment, safety in living; these are things we deserve from the getgo, and often, it is some call to Chritain beliefs that stands in the way of this. But posts, like the linked demonstrate that many Christians who put Faith, Christian practice, and real belief above fear mongering can move past the shallow hate-based homophobia, and begin to get that sexual orientation is just one aspect of being a human being, and both gay and straight are a good thing.

Some Christains often take another approach, and come to accept one person they know, but still remain convinced that Homosexuality/ Sexual Orientation other than heterosexuality is still a grave sin. In reality, this is hypocrisy or at the very least, lazy faith. The author here doesn’t demonstrate that at all. She beautifully unpacks all of the myths and looks beyond the lies and misinformation to find a bigger truth.

Does it really matter?

On the one hand, it is easy to decide that it is meaningless to worry if Christains come to accept the gays. We live in a democracy where there is separation of Church and State, right? Too bad if they don’t like it, right? But in reality, there is no separation and an underlying religious base is a part of all aspects of our culture including the government. In that sense, it matters big time. Not the far right fringe Christians, but the larger mass of everyday folks. These are the people who can be caught up in the lies and misinformation, or they can, like this author, see the real picture and look for facts, and real information.

The last thing I want to point out is the thoroughness of the blogger’s work! It matters bercause so few LGBT  folks go to this extent to explain and confront the misinformation.  Consider sections like this:

 “The Dutch Marriage Study” was actually a study conducted to find out how HIV/AIDS was transmitted; it was not a “marriage study.” The control group consisted of only non-monogamous men under thirty who were involved in risky sexual behavior (they were solicited from an HIV/STD clinic).  Furthermore, the test (1984-1996) was completed before the Netherlands even allowed same-sex marriage (2001).  Every piece of propaganda written by conservative groups to discount the ability of gay people to enter into healthy, loving, monogamous relationships will cite the statistics from “The Dutch Marriage Study.”  Good people with good intentions will even repeat these “facts” out of ignorance.  Be assured though that not-so-good-people with less than honorable intentions publish these facts, knowingly.

Most LGBT writers would simply dismiss the lies and misinformation, but here, the author takes the time to dispel it, and point out the inaccuracies and lies. This is exactly what has to happen for so many Christians to come to decide to see beyond the hate mongering. If a queer blogger says these things, it may not be read seriously, but when a Christain says it, it is read and grasp differently by other Christians.

via Ten Things I’ve Learned About Gay People in Ten Years | A Christian Perspective |.