I'm learning a few things through this year of post-graduation mindless work. One of them is that queer faith is not oxymoronic. Obviously that's been a struggle to realize, but the idea that something is out there beyond me? That's something I can accept. And as such, I want to live like I believe it.
Actions are more precious than words, though, and I often find myself lacking in the area of loving my neighbor as myself. Sometimes my neighbor is being a petulant child. And more often still, I find myself not loving God with my whole heart. Rather, I get caught up in the rising price of gas and the way that I can't seem to get all my work done, and how I need to change the sheets or give the dog a bath.
We are truly sorry
And we humbly repent.
So, with that said, I've come across something that piqued my interest in things spiritual. Some LGBTQ alumni from Harding University (a conservative Church of Christ school not too far from where I live)have published an e-zine, The State of the Gay. It exposes their experiences at HU and their challenges of faith and sexuality.
And that brings me to the question: Why do we even have discussions of "Queer Faith?" As though my religious perspective is going to fall one way or another because of my sexual orientation. I've never heard of a panel discussion (much less a splintered communion) over the theology of cigarette smoking. Most denominations of Christianity have an official stance, but I've never heard of it being enforced. The pastor of the Baptist church I used to go to here in Conway is a smoker (or has quit since I stopped attending). But a public outcry? That would be beyond bizarre. Some people smoke. Others hate it. But they would probably all agree that such a matter is personal and not worth the fuss a big debate and witch-hunt would cause.
And yet it does. Because to some the variety of sexuality is seen as a gift that God gives each person-- to love people intimately, each in his or her own way. To others, the debate is premised upon the "natural" ideal of opposites making a single unit. A man for a woman and a woman for a man. The end.
But why is that so? And why does it affect faith?
Many see the Bible as proscribing heterosex in order to 1.) provide intimacy 2.) create a basis for childbearing/family structure. But some people never have solid, life-long relationships, hetero or homo. And, as anyone who has ever had bad sex knows, physical intimacy is not a mere insertion of tab A into slot B. Furthermore, many couples do not have children because of personal preference or for biological reasons. Are singletons and DINK couples also in the "them" category into which homosexuals are so often lumped? Not that I know of.
I don't want to go into the debates about scripture interpretation. There are a handful of verses in the Bible that are used to condemn same-sex sex. Well thought-out arguments have been made either way on them. Amazon.com has pages of theology, scholarship, and opinion for sale on this very issue.
My real assertion is that there is a place for the love of Christ that we as Christians all espouse. And that love is not to the exclusion of people different from us. In fact, I think that the very uneasiness that many (all?) feel when encountering something that is different is something that can be embraced for its own worth. Perhaps your faith and mine look different. Most likely they do. But I believe that God has placed me on my journey of faith in order to love God and love my neighbors. And that should be the core.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen
T
