Thursday, April 14, 2011

For The Love Of Gay: Part 1

Last week my dear friend Amanda said, “go big or go home.”
So, here I go. . .terrified. . .but big.

Allow me to prepare for our journey with a little home-grown wisdom:


My Mother always taught me to judge a tree by the fruit it bears. She said that God reveals His justice to the heart, not the eyes, as the eyes have been stained by the tears of ego.

That said, and with all of my heart, I believe that God dearly loves the gay community and that the fruit of our judgment is not only rotten, but misinformed and wrong.


The Roots of Judgment

The modern American judgment of the homosexual community is undoubtedly rooted in various religious traditions.  However, as a Christian, I have no choice but to write from my own spiritual perspective.
While many discard the Bible as just another book, I don’t.  I can’t.  The experiences of my life have revealed the Bible to be an ancient and sacred text whose truths, while often bastardized by humans, have remained ever-growing and evolving for those who truly seek.  I, beyond the shadow of all doubt, believe the Bible clearly commands us to always operate from the platform of love and compassion for ALL; this includes the gay community.

Five years ago I attended Christ Chapel of the Valley’s annual Christmas Presentation in North Hollywood, CA.  Like many churches around the United States, their holiday pageant sparkled with music, scripture readings and the silent holiness of the Nativity.  This particular church, however, was different; it was made up of a unique Christian minority who identify themselves as Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Transgendered (GLBT or LGBT).
 
What struck me most about the service was not the sexual orientation of the congregation, but the testimonies given.  One by one, stories were told of people being exiled by families, bullied by communities, shackled by thoughts of suicide and/or filled with the doctrine that God no longer loved them because they were gay.  It was heartbreaking.  Many told of humiliating “outings” that were done publicly and in the name of “love.”   Some cried because they were left to celebrate Christmas alone.  Others cried because they hadn’t seen their families in years.  However, what utterly broke my spirit were those who had been damned by the thought they were unworthy of God’s love.

Not worthy of God’s love?

I cried for days.

I was guilty.

Yes, I was one of those raised in a small Southern Baptist church that subscribed to this soul-crushing philosophy.  I found myself tortured; the tradition of my youth pulled in violent opposition to the crystal clear understanding that this judgment was not of God.

I knew right then and there that God would not leave me without biblical proof of my convictions.

A Biblical Perspective

My insatiable search for answers led to me straight to my couch.

One night, while flipping through the channels, I stumbled upon a marathon for the show called Taboo.  Piquing my curiosity were the episodes exploring cultures from all around the world who retained identifiers and rituals from the ancient past that dealt with the concepts of a third sex, sexual identity and forbidden marriages.

This got me thinking –

I realize that many of you, like me, grew up with the “gay verses” being the typical response to the apparent dilemma of homosexuality.  (The most popular being:  1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13, Romans 1:26-27)   Rather than revisiting the argument, as I have much more important information to share, I encourage you research the historical context surrounding the original pre-translated versions of each scripture.  I would also encourage you to dissect the innumerable set of rules throughout the Bible that the community and/or the church have deemed dated and therefore unsuitable for a modern practical application in our every day lives.  You’ll be surprised.

I would like to instead focus our attention on an alternative biblical view that many are attempting to label the “homosexual apologetics.”  I find this term short-sighted and stained with ego, as I believe the following logic to be sound biblical proof (for those who need it) of God’s love for the homosexual community.

Introducing:  The Eunuch.

Please note the following to be an admittedly all-too-brief summary of a very colorful and important people from our history.
The modern understanding of the term “Eunuch” is flawed; a man whose genitals have been removed for the purpose of royal/community/religious service (aka Castrato) is only partially correct.  Throughout history and in many different cultures, a Eunuch was often an anatomically whole male who was “impotent” with regards to women.  In other words, men who were unattracted to, and therefore could not procreate with, women.  According to the book “Eunuchs and Castrati: A Cultural History” by, Piotr O. Scholz –
“Even professional scholars often equate eunuchs to men who have been emasculated or castrated.  Yet there is no inherent reason why a eunuch has to be a castrato.”
Today, found in pockets all over the world, the ancient term “eunuch” survives and still defines both the “castrato” and those unattracted to the opposite and attracted to the same sex.  In America, we’ve relabeled our “Eunuchs” Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Transgendered.

Does the Bible discuss Eunuchs?

In short, yes.  Eunuchs played pivotal roles in the stories of Queen Esther, Daniel, Paul and Phillip.
Is this a mistake?  God doesn’t make mistakes.

So then were Eunuchs born or made?
Matthew 19:12 says:
“For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
How does God feel about the Eunuch?
Isaiah 56:4-5 says: 
“4 For this is what the LORD says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant— 5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.”
Is a Eunuch an “abomination that will not inherit the kingdom of heaven”?
Acts 8:36-38 says:
“36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.”
So if the Word provides such a clear compassionate (and beloved) response to homosexuality, why then are we hell-bent on crucifying the gay community?

I believe it is because we, as a people, don’t want to be wrong and therefore, forfeit our relationship with God.

So, what if I’m wrong?

What if finding compassion from tracing the roots of homosexuality to the Eunuch is absolutely wrong?
Consider 1 Samuel 16:7 as our golden ticket:
“7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
If our hearts are operating from a place of compassion and love, we have nothing to lose but the burden of judgment.  If God finds your heart to be full of love and abiding by the command “judge not lest ye be judged” – what on earth do we have to lose?

Fact:  The fruit yielded from the old adage, “hate the sin, love the sinner” is an alarming epidemic of teen suicides, a palpable disgust for the church/God and a population of adults who are broken by Christian clichés.  Allowing the word “hate” to exist within the pages of our doctrine inevitably justifies hateful acts.  Teaching children that somehow being gay is against God, unnatural and an abomination is resulting in gay youth being 3 times more likely to commit suicide.  That means someone’s son, daughter, sister or brother is gone because of our refusal to think with our hearts.   I tell you, my friends, this fruit is not from God.
It’s time, dear ones, to be brave.  Shedding the cloak of tradition is hard, but the peace that comes with compassion will most assuredly pass beyond all understanding.

Selah.

***Homosexuality is a subject riddled with strife and judgment.  “For The Love of Gay” will be divided into two parts that will cover more territory in the hope of uncovering common ground.***

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Shannon. Alan here. I chose anonymous as I was unsure what the other choices were.

We need to hate sin. It is the cause of every problem, crime, and any other bad thing you can think of. It is Satan's end product of temptation, a tool of the enemy to disrupt our relationship with God.

We need to show our love for someone above and beyond anything else.

"If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:2-3


The eunuch illustration in Matthew 19 is metaphorical. Jesus spoke in parables regularly. The Lord was talking about sex. Some abstain by lack of interest, the 1st eunuch. Some abstain for lack of “equipment” as Rome regularly made men into eunuchs, or perhaps some may have been born that way, this is the 2nd eunuch. The 3rd are those who live a sacrificial sex free life in order to serve God more efficiently.

There is more Scripture regarding this in 1 Corinthians 7:

"1 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband."

"5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

8 Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
God sent His Son into the world to help us with our problems not codemn them, or make excuses for them. - 1 Corinthians 7:1-2 & 5-9

Please do not mistake acknowledging God's law and hating.

I know I left quite a bit of Scripture on your FB page, but review Romans 1:18-32

Sin is serious, God sent His only perfect Son to die for it so we wouldn't have to (John 3:16).

Reading part 2

Anonymous said...

One amendment:

In the above post the 1 Corinthian 7 verses has:

"God sent His Son into the world to help us with our problems not codemn them, or make excuses for them."

These are my words taken from John 3:17, it is NOT part of that specific Scripture and it got accidentally added in at the wrong place.

"for it is better to marry than to burn with passion." is the proper end of v9.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. - John 3:17

Apologies. Alan

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