We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Blogging For A Grace Break
April 17, 2008
For several months I’ve been following a blog by John Shore called Suddenly Christian. John won me over to his blog with his incredibly quirky sense of humor but in short order it was his heart for God that had me jonesin’ for his newest entries.
Yesterday I was working away on an upcoming entry that follows up on the topic of coming out but when my RSS feed notified me there was a new entry posted to John’s site I closed up shop and headed over his way where I read “I’m Only Saying: If My Gay Loved Ones Go To Hell, I’m Going With Them.”
…If my gay friends, whom my life experience tells me can no sooner stop being gay than I can stop being straight, have to go to hell after they die, then I’m going with them. Too many gays and lesbians in my life have been too good to me in this life for me to leave them behind in the next. I won’t do it. That’s really all I was saying.
What I am not saying (and certainly haven’t said) is that the Bible is wrong, or should be changed, or that fundamentalist or “conservative” Christians are wrong or should change. I’m not even saying that it’s true that gays and lesbians are born homosexual in the same way I was born straight. Maybe I’m wrong about that. I don’t care. I leave those kinds of questions to the future, and to those in the present who, unlike me, find debates on insolvable matters engaging. (And you better believe I have no interest in alienating my fundamentalist and “conservative” Christian friends, for whom I have nothing but love and respect. I wish I had blood relatives who’d ever been as good to me as some of my conservative brothers and sisters in Christ have been.)
Again: I’m saying nothing more than this: If any of my dear gay friends get condemned to hell for no other reason than that they’re gay, then I will choose to go to hell with them. I am sure Christ will let me make that choice. I’m not sure of a lot of things, but I’m positive Christ understands sacrificing oneself for the love of others. (John Shore, Suddenly Christian)
If John, the married straight guy, were to sit down with Anita, the partnered gay girl, and we were to weave our way through the minutia of homosexuality and the Bible, we’d no doubt find places where our ideas diverged, yet the differences wouldn’t matter all that much because ultimately John and I would find ourselves talking less about the finer points of homosexuality that were at odds and more about matters of faith we share in common. We’d talk about Jesus, maybe kick around some thoughts on atonement or reconciliation or hey, how about this, the depth and breath and height of God’s love. Christians talking about the love of God. Imagine! The reason we’d be able to navigate beyond the hot topic and onto the essentials is that overarching our interaction would be a shared sense of respect for the other, recognition of the other’s faith in Christ, and appreciation for the person they were without judgment. I believe the same would be the case with Shush and Jon and Adam and Christian and others.
I’m rambling on about this for a couple reasons:
- I was really moved by what he wrote and wanted to share it with you. If you appreciated his post I’d invite you to go leave a positive comment over at his site. I know that would mean something to him.
- Many of us came from or are still walking in the evangelical Christian tradition where the rhetoric concerning homosexuality remains negative and oppositional, but there’s another voice raising up among evangelical Christianity. While their theological positions of homosexuality are perhaps varied from ours and from each other, they recognize GLBTQ Christians as equal relatives (not distant black-sheep cousins) in the family of God and they express a commitment for GLBTQ people to gain access to equal treatment under the law.
- These are blogging communities where you can contribute your wisdom and insights as a Christian and they’ll be received with respect by the blogger and by the majority, though not all, of their readership. While I hope SisterFriends will be your home base, I encourage you to visit these other blogs and get involved, but not only in conversations involving homosexuality. When we’re on the journey to reconcile our faith and sexuality, our focus can understandably become somewhat myopic but it’s good to occasionally lay that all aside and get engaged in other faith questions you feel passionate about or are interested in. Please check out the BlogRoll on the right column for additional blogs and websites.
So that’s about all I wanted to say. Now…go click a link and feel the love!
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Posted in Christian Unity, Community, Internet Resources, Picks and Favs
April 17th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Yes! That was exciting!
His post(s) brought big smiles to my face and so did a lot of the comments! I was weeping at John’s loyalty to ALL his Christians friends, whether gay, straight, conservative, radical or whatever. As it should be.
That’s some good ol’ fashion Jesus love shining through him!
It’s that simple.
April 17th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Anita - first, thanks for the plug. It is always appreciated. But I think you have summed up what it really looks like when people are sharing in the peace and trust that comes with knowing Christ.
John’s line about going to hell with his friends reminds me of what Paul once said about forfeiting his salvation if it meant others would understand the Gospel. Strong words by both men, words that I doubt I would have the courage to say. Heady stuff, much meatier than the spoiled milk that the conservative church is peddling. (Sorry, sorry, no need for me to offend anyone.)
April 17th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Wonderful sentiment! And thanks for putting my blog in your roll. I appreciate it!
April 18th, 2008 at 5:31 am
Anita, thanks for the blog roll I have visited many of the sites you recommended and I found that I have learned a lot. Not only from the bloggers themselves, but the responses they get. I can see the day when orientation is a non-issue in the church. Hopefully it will be in my lifetime, but your site and these bloggers are working toward that day. Thanks again.
April 18th, 2008 at 6:46 am
Christian–> And I so appreciate you stopping by. Yours was the first blog I found a few months ago and I’ve been enjoying it ever since. You offer such thoughtful reflections and your stories are wonderful!
Stephanie–> Loyalty and compassion to all sides is something I appreciate very much in John’s writing. While there’s been a lot of hurt that’s come out of the fundamentalist and conservative end of Christianity, there’s much I learned and experienced there that I’ll forever be grateful for and people who remain there I deeply love. While I get frustrated and angered at times but what comes from that place, it also holds a piece of my heart and always will.
Hill–> And what about you!? I’ve been so moved by many of the comments you’ve added yourself over at Shush’s site. You’re an amazing writer! And yes, I absolutely believe there will be a day when gay or straight isn’t an issue in the church even if it means waiting until the invisible kingdom becomes visible. I’m hopeful for the day when we can really get down to the real business (and joy) of being Christ’s church in the world.
April 18th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Thanks Anita, I’m going to go visit his blog.
April 18th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Oh, by the way. Beautiful site. I love the graphics, the way it is laid out - everything is wonderful , including your writing.
April 18th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
I found it funny that when reading the posts that were not “gay friendly” it only reinforced my own belief that God’s love is so vast that how can I or anyone guess what will happen? History has shown how compassion (shush’s words) will win out in the end. But I truly believe that sites such as this one and the ones you linked to will help compassion win out.
April 20th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
[...] think that I have reached somewhat of a milestone on my faith journey. Last week, Rev. Anita Cadonau-Huseby, a very nice lesbian lady ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) , publicly included me among some bloggers who were “able to navigate beyond the hot topic (homosexuality) and onto the essentials ” because we “shared sense of respect for the other, recognition of the other’s faith in Christ, and appreciation for the person they were without judgment”. [...]
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:14 am
Anita,
Thanks for the love and grace you have for the GLBTQ (new initialism to me!) community and especially to the conservative evangelical community. I am learning a great deal from you and other Christians who share similar interpretations of scripture. I found you through Christian’s blog but also remember seeing you on John Shore’s blog. Your post and your ministry encourage me.
April 24th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Ric –> Thanks so much for visiting this site and for your encouraging words. I would hope that whenever God’s love and grace are explored it’s a conversation that invites everyone to feel included whatever their sexual orientation, gender, race, and all the other bits and pieces that make us uniquely us. GLBTQ can be a mouthful and there are even longer variations which is why I occasionally just write GLBTQABCXYZ to make sure all the places are covered and all the people are included. I know you second hand through your participation on both Christian’s and John’s blogs and you had me laughing like crazy with your Pope Visits on Emancipation Day piece.