A recent poll determined that fewer and fewer people in the United States consider themselves to be religious. I recently attended a meeting of my church’s denomination that helped me understand why. In a world racked by poverty and war, we spend our best energies determining whether gay and lesbian Christians should be allowed to be ordained. As a result of our own sexual obsession, we did not have time to address the most pressing issues of the day. But, then, we never do.
Churches can be like scarecrows- so busy chasing away crows that we never plant any corn. Or, imagine a volunteer fire department so arrogant that it focuses exclusively on screening applicants while the whole town burns down. That, in a nutshell, is what it feels like to serve in a mainstream denomination some days.
Last week we received good news that a very faithful woman who has tried to serve the Presbyterian Church for twenty years was finally cleared to serve the church. Lisa Larges was finally declared good enough to be in our midst.
How strange that people who craft illicit wars or damn millions to live in poverty can be perfectly comfortable in mainline churches. No one would think of questioning their ability to serve the church, but a woman was disqualified all this time without any other justification than that she loved another woman.
It doesn’t matter if that woman is a genius, which Lisa may very well be. I have heard people say she is the best Presbyterian preacher in the country. I have heard other people talk about her compassion. But, none of that mattered because in the mind of some she had violated an obscure passage in an obscure book (Leviticus) that none of us follow and which we only trot out to use against gay and lesbian people.
In thirty years of ministry I have never heard Leviticus used against any other group of people. The church does not screen shrimp mongers, or check for crushed testicles or stop menstruating women as they enter the holy sanctuary. We only use Leviticus to reject one group of people, and I am weary to the bone of our hypocrisy.
I understand why so many people gay and straight would choose to leave the church altogether. People like Lisa Larges are what keep me in. As a white heterosexual male, I am aware that the church gives me privilege over other types of people. Just when I think of leaving for a more tolerant denomination (UCC), I remember people like Lisa. She refuses to give up on the church., saying, “This has been a 20-year struggle for me as an individual, but we all know it is about much more than my personal calling to ministry.”
Some brave gay or lesbian people stay in the church because they refuse to surrender their mainstream denomination to voices of ignorance and intolerance. In a culture where politicians routinely use homophobia as a campaign tool, losing the mainstream church to fundamentalism could very well cost some people their lives. That part I understand, but I cannot understand the optimism of people like Lisa:
“It is clear to me that as long as the Presbyterian Church practices faith based discrimination, it will be fighting a losing battle, because it’s already clear that Biblical scholarship, theological perspectives and cultural changes are moving our church inevitably toward inclusion. That day can’t come too soon, because until it does, our church will continue to wreak spiritual damage in the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender persons and their families, and will turn away a whole generation of young people for whom the church’s current policy is simply unacceptable.”
Five hundred years ago Galileo pointed a telescope into the heavens and discovered that the Bible was wrong about the sun moving around the earth. Looking back, it seems a minor issue, but at the time the church staked its reputation on the matter. Anyone who defended Galileo was said to be attacking the Bible. Today the church still bears a black eye from not looking through that telescope.
In our day, scientists have told us, if we look through a microscope, we will find that human sexuality is not as simple as portrayed in the poetry of Genesis. All of us begin as females and then, for about half of us, male characteristics begin to emerge as a result of hormones released in gestation.
I realize that science cannot fully address the complexities of human sexuality, but it can certainly contextualize the conversation so that ethical decisions are based on scientific fact and not on personal prejudice. The issue of human sexuality offers a second chance for the church to make amends for the error we made in the days of Galileo. All we have to do is look through the microscope and, this time, tell the truth.
My hope for the church does not come from those inside the denominations. As in Biblical days, most religious institutions serve the prejudices of the culture where they happen to live. Unfortunately most religious people worship a God carefully crafted in their own image. But the church is also haunted by prophetic voices from the wilderness, voices like Lisa Larges. If those fierce and gentle prophets do not give up on us, there may yet be hope for the church.
The “Church” has been a whore and a harlot. It has slept with war, racism,wealth,power, oppression, homophobia and sexism just to name a few of its sugar daddies. There is little difference between the corporate office of a multinational conglomerate and the “church office” of the typical mainline downtown church. In and around Asheville we have a number of religious resorts where for enough money you can hear symposiums on everything from “food as the Sacred” to “god Consciousness” but you would never hear the Gospel preached nor would you see any of the clergy of these resorts walking in solidarity with the Occupy folkes.
All my life I have been on the outside of “the Church” and because I chose to follow my calling according to my conscience and according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as I understand it I have been called everything from “a wolf in a priest’s cassock” to a “nut case who bought his ordination on line” by the learned clergy who weekly support the prostitution of the faith by their support of the System. I was ordained by a bishop of the Eastern Church and have served as bishop of a small Intentional Eucharist Community that ordained me to the episcopate. As an “outsider” I can tell you that unless the “Church” is faithful to Christ and is open, loving and inclusive it will be a dying anachronism of the 21st century whilst the Community of Faith will prosper. Peace
This is great, but you should factcheck so as not to detract from the message. Copernicus discovered… You know, the Copernicum Theory? Galileo got imprisoned as a heretic for believing and teaching it. And nowhere in the Bible does it mention the subject, either way.
Great point. I said that poorly. Thank you for the correction.
The church at the time did feel scripture addressed the issue when it talked about Joshua “stopping the sun”. Luther wrote about the arrogance of Copernicus in denying what was so clearly true to our senses (that the sun rotates around the earth.)
Jim it has nothing to do with hatred but love we are commanded to love one another that includes the sinner. By telling homosexuals and lesbians that there sinful life style is ok you are condemning them to hell. They have no reason to seek forgiveness because you are buying Satan’s lie that God doesn’t believe their actions are sinful. I know many homosexuals that have sought Jesus to remove there bonds and have turned from their sinful lifestyle but your saying Don’t bother.
Well on judgment day when we all stand before Jesus to give an account for what we did in the flesh and he points to the homosexuals and lesbians in hell and turns to you and says they there because you told them there lifestyle wasn’t sinful so they never sought forgiveness. How are you going to answer Jesus. When he quotes his Father, Paul and even Jude about their sin. Or even worse he utters those heart wrenching words no Christian ever wants to hear ” Depart from me I know you not”
What will be your response.
Jim,
Thank you for this meaningful and compelling essay on the dilemma that seems to have clouded the minds of many American churches today. It is such a sad commentary that a person’s perspective on equality for gays and lesbians has become a litmus test for whether or not you are a true believer in some faith traditions. For many of these folks, expressing any possibility that their perspective on this subject — and their causal condemnation to hell of millions of God’s people around the globe — might not be infallible would be as mind-blowing as thinking that Jesus never walked the Earth.
How did Churches become so obsessed with this subject and surrender to irrational gay bashing? I am sure there are many factors, but I would respectfully offer a personal observation. The spiraling steeple of the local Presbyterian Church looked impressive to me as a child when my family drove by it every Sunday as we headed to a more conservative evangelical church. Our ministers would joke that our Presbyterian friends would make it to heaven only because the Bible said that “the dead in Christ” will rise first, but there was a double entendre that all of us, young and old, understood. The ribbing was in part that these Tennessee Presbyterians did not subscribe to the kind of noisy worship common in our tradition, but underneath this joke was a prejudice that Presbyterians did not “hold on to the truth”, that they were not as faithful to the Scriptures, and that Satan has a way of creeping into a church (like theirs) where people’s values were less rigid and “they” spend money on big steeples simply “playing church”.
This nonsense was real (I kid you not) and may be still be perpetuated by more conservative churches today, I just don’t know. I have no idea because in addition to hearing this bias, I also heard another message that was ignorant and one that I accepted for far too long. I thought that because I was gay, God hated me. I thought that I could never be the person God want to be to be or live a Christian life. I thought enough prayer would “make me straight”.
When I speak to gay colleagues and friends in their 40s and 50s who grew up Christian like me about organized religion, many of them talk about leaving their church behind because they just didn’t see the purpose after years of religious abuse. If “God’s people” are so intolerant, one former Methodist said to me, “I’d rather take my chances the way I am, whatever that means.” Another former Lutheran friend wears a T-shirt occasionally that reads “Jesus, protect me from your followers.”
My point is this: There really are few Lisa Larges left in some mainline and conservative churches because gay and lesbian Christians have either, as in my case, found more accepting denominations or found spiritual support in some other way. That is sad because people should not have to leave their faith traditions and sad because the research is clear: people who know openly gay people and who spend time with them are statistically more tolerance or accepting of equality. That is true regardless of your religion.
Here is were you are so wrong it has nothing to do with numbers it has to do with Sin remember if God didn’t spare the angles of heaven who rebelled against him but has them in chains awaiting certain judgment. Do you really believe he is going to let any group of people who rebel against him with Sinful behavior slide by. It is like any other Sin adultery, steeling it needs turned from. You no the answer your will God’s will. Even Jesus said For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes its a high bar that’s why Christ says If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. We are called to be Holy as he is…..
I find this very interesting when dealing with issues like homosexuality, right away it’s bigotry or homo phobia but you always skating around the real issue, sin against the LORD. I am a Christ loving Christian who loves homosexuals, adulteries, thieves etc.. Christ commands me to love it’s the Sin I have a problem with. Yes the most difficult and controversial issue the Sin. It’s why Christ died remember the light came into the world and the world loved darkness. We love our sin and don’t want to be told the truth about it. You must be told about it because this is the only time you can seek forgiveness when we breath our last it’s too late. There are no second chances on judgment day. If I truly hated homosexuals or lesbians I would be quiet and let them find out the truth on judgment day but then as God told Ezekiel there blood would be on my head.
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die, ’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for[b] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near….
Tim, think about what you’re saying here. If Jesus died to free us from sin, why would he need you to sit in judgment of others? Do you think he botched the atonement and needs you to pull it out of the fire? Do you think he died to save us, but we still have to earn it? If what you are saying were true, why would he command us not to judge others, and tell us that, if we forgive others of their sins, God will forgive us of ours? Do you really think Jesus was a bad teacher and you have to correct what he said? No offense, Tim, but I don’t think you have the slightest understanding of what grace means. It means you can stop trying to do God’s job, and make yourself a living sacrifice to God’s grace. Show love equally to those who deserve it and those who do not, and you will be like your heavenly parent who sends rain on the just and the unjust.
Jim I appreciate the response and I truly do understand grace something unmerited undeserving a Love that just can not conceive of. But Paul goes to great length at explaining that it’s not a license to continue sinning but to turn from our sin. We need to be born again “I will take away their hearts of stone and give them hearts of flesh.” Though we have hearts of flesh we still war against these fleshly bodies Paul spoke about this on going battle that we wage against the flesh. But summed up in the best and most well know example of Grace in the Bible was Christ response to the women brought before him caught in the very act of adultery:
” When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
But what was his parting response Go and Sin no more. Many of us seem to twist that into go and keep on sinning.
This walk is not an easy walk taken Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Remeber lots wife you sons of b’s!
Ronnie,
I need a little more information here. I know the story of Lot’s wife, but I’m not sure what you are trying to imply. She wasn’t gay or defending homosexuality, so why are you using her as a threat? If you wouldn’t mind saying what you mean I would appreciate it. Also, name calling doesn’t really strengthened an argument, so if you could leave that part out it I would appreciate it.
Jim
I’m getting tired of all the ‘Gay’ discussions. They are about 1/4 of our population. Surely we have other biblical subjects we can discuss. The Bible says to love everyone. Judgment is up to God.
The can’t rescue a Dying Church anymore than anyone else.
Marlene,
I understand your fatigue. It will be nice when GLBT people have all their rights and are not being targeted so the subject won’t need so much discussion. Til then we have no choice but to speak up. Thanks for writing.
Jim