Religion, homosexuality can coexist
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(Daily Bruin) (U-WIRE) LOS ANGELES -- Any student who has walked along
Bruin Walk in recent weeks has probably noticed the man standing with a big
sign saying things like "God Hates Fags." He implies that Christianity is
behind this hatred of other people, since he spews Bible quotes that
supposedly support his bigoted views.

This may reinforce the idea in many people's minds that Christianity really
does espouse such hatred, especially with regard to those who are gay. In
fact, it seems that many people are under the impression that homosexuality
and Christianity are mutually exclusive. This idea is supported not only by
these Bruin Walk preachers but also by the fact that the Mormon and
Catholic churches both supported the passage of Proposition 22 in last
month's election. Proposition 22 was meant to deny the right of marriage to
those who are not heterosexual.

Being gay and Christian, however, is not as schizophrenic as all of this
may seem to indicate. As a gay Christian myself, I feel that I should speak
out on behalf of all my gay sisters and brothers in the faith and describe
how a person can be both.

First off, a consideration of the arguments used against such an idea would
seem to be in order. Many of us have heard the argument "God made Adam and
Eve, not Adam and Steve." Two responses instantly come to mind. One is,
"Duh, of course God started with a man and a woman. His or Her whole idea
was to create a human race, and it still takes both sexes to reproduce."
The second response is that God actually made all of them: Adam, Eve,
Steve, Joe, Betsy, Elmer, etc. After all, don't all those who profess to be
Christian believe that God is involved in the process of creating each and
every one of us?

Finally, a thought to consider: if the object of our sexual affections
should be determined by what the Bible spells out for us as the pattern at
the beginning of humankind, then the American model for sexuality should
include incest as a legitimate expression. After all, Adam and Eve were
just two people who had children who would have had to reproduce together
in order to propagate the human race. So there are many holes in this
seemingly simple argument.

Sodom and Gomorrah, often quoted as examples of fiery destruction rained
down upon "sinful homosexuals," also present a problem for those who
attempt to use the example to support homophobic bigotry. A careful reading
of the text reveals that the dwellers in these cities were attempting to
rape Lot's visitors, not just asking if they wanted to have sex. Those who
read into this passage as talking about homosexuals, then, imply that any
act of homosexuality is an act of rape. Such is not the case; while some
gay people may rape others (as some heterosexuals do as well), most of us
engage in consensual sex.

Continuing to read the words in this passage (Genesis 19 in The Living
Bible) reveals more about these supposed homosexuals: "The men of the city
... surrounded the house and shouted to Lot, 'Bring out those men so we can
rape them.' ... 'Please, fellows,' he begged, 'don't do such a wicked
thing. Look - I have two virgin daughters, and I' ll surrender them to you
to do with as you wish.'" While most of us are probably gagging a little
right now at the careless offering of Lot's daughters to a bunch of
rapists, one point of the offer is that Lot couldn't have seen it as
realistic in any way if he was faced by a bunch of gay men at his doorstep.
What would they want with a couple of females?

All of this indicates that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of a
rampant sexual immorality that included violence against visitors to the
community. In fact, God's own stated reason for His or Her act in Ezekiel
16 is, "Sodom's sins were pride and laziness and too much food, while the
poor and needy suffered outside her door. She insolently worshiped many
idols as I watched. Therefore I crushed her." There is no mention of
homosexuality, but violent sexuality was a way that pagan nations must have
worshiped their gods at the time.

Opponents of gay Christianity also like to quote Old Testament injunctions
against homosexuality. A response to this argument is simply that the New
Testament states: "(Jesus Christ) died to annul that whole system of Jewish
laws" (Ephesians 2), so Christians are not bound to the Old Law.

In fact, when a council was convened by Christians in the first century to
determine the authority of the Old Law, they determined "to lay no greater
burden of Jewish laws on you then to abstain from eating food offered to
idols and from unbled meat of strangled animals, and, of course, from
fornication. If you do this, it is enough" (Acts 15). This statement is
also the key to understanding the words of St. Paul in his letters which
condemn homosexuality.

The only way to tie together these two texts in any comprehensible way is
to see Paul's words as referring to specific idolatrous practices in his
day. Most likely, he was upset with a form of violent sexuality just like
in Sodom and Gomorrah. If we were to study homosexuality in history, in
fact, we would find that what lesbians and gay men practice today (sex that
is between two adults and is based on a sense of identity) is very new and
could not have been referred to by St. Paul, since it did not exist in his
time.

The positive words in the Bible indicating that people can be gay and
Christian are those three simple words that every young child learns in
Sunday school: "God is love" (1 John 4:8). If God values love so much that
He or She can be described as love, then God must value the genuine love
that occurs between two people of the same gender as much as She/He values
the love that occurs between people of opposite genders.

Now perhaps you're wondering: how does a gay Christian live as a Christian?
What is the way of life that would make a gay person Christian? First off,
gay Christians seek out a lasting relationship with a partner for which
they feel genuine love, not just sex for the sake of sex. Next, gay
Christians value their personal relationship with Jesus Christ, someone who
is not judgmental of anyone.

Finally, gay Christians pursue the goals of compassion and equal rights for
everyone. As a corollary to this, the refusal of many Christian groups to
accept their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters illustrates that they are
not living up to the potential of Christianity. Such dissension hurts
overall Christianity greatly, since our energy would be best used in
combatting the oppression that afflicts so many people on our planet. One
passage quoted above goes on to say: "Then (Christ) took the two groups
that had been opposed to each other and made them parts of himself; thus he
fused us together to become one new person, and at last there was peace"
(Ephesians 2).

My fervent prayer is that the Christian church as a whole can welcome in
its "outcasts" in full participation the same way Jesus reached out to the
"outcasts" of His day.

(C) 2000 Daily Bruin via U-WIRE

Kelly Finn, COLUMN: Religion, homosexuality can coexist. , University Wire,
04-07-2000.