Forces that destroy
When faith is an important part of a person's life, it's only natural to extend it and apply that faith to both personal situations and to larger events that happen in the community and throughout the world. Faith helps explain things we don't understand, and it gives us peace when we might not otherwise have it.
The problem is faith is so personal it's difficult to remove it from the context of our own lives. Since our own filters make us biased and have a certain impact upon the way we view the world, the things we say from a spiritual standpoint often come across as blanket judgments and statements of fact when they are really only faith-based opinion. Every Christian is guilty of this; myself included. To some extent this is a good thing because it serves as evidence that our faith is important to us and that we are able to apply it to our daily lives. Part of spiritual growth is a marked improvement in our confidence level as we move closer to God, and it's natural to attempt to extend that confidence toward others and their situations. I have made many generalized statements about the way God views homosexuality and the ways in which God works in homosexual relationships, and although I absolutely believe those statements to be true, they are still faith-based opinion. All of us can look to others as examples, but each of us must still develop our own faith-based opinions.
We can certainly teach one another as we extend our faith outward. We can also hurt one another. Evangelist Franklin Graham, the son and designated successor of Rev. Billy Graham, has been using his faith recently to attempt to explain the destruction associated with Hurricane Katrina. Naturally, his own worldview has a filtering effect upon these explanations, and his faith-based opinion is colored by preconceived ideas. It's personal to him just as any explanation you or I would give would be personal to us. But his statements are delivered with such authority that many people (especially those on the Christian right) might accept them at face value and consider them to be final. These statements are taken from an article posted yesterday on 365gay.com. http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/10/100405nola.htm
"New Orleans has been known for years as a party town," Graham said in an interview with The Associated Press from his office in Boone, N.C. "It is a city that has strong ties to the gay and lesbian movement, and these types of things."
On Monday, Graham delivered a similar message in an appearance in Lynchburg: "There's been satanic worship. There's been sexual perversion. God is going to use that storm to bring revival. God has a plan. God has a purpose."
It's logical to assume that Franklin Graham would also attribute the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to the "gay and lesbian movement." It's the same line of thinking. But Ezekiel 16:49 says, "Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy." It's funny how fundamentalists always skip over that verse. Perhaps God will help us see that hurricane Katrina offers us ongoing opportunities to take a break from being overfed and unconcerned, and to help the poor and needy. Perhaps that is part of the plan.
Graham says he doesn't believe that God used the storm as judgment, and yet he places blame upon certain groups of people for attracting the punishment.
Other religious leaders have pointed out that Southern Decadence--the annual gay festival that was to have been held the week the storm hit--could be to blame. That in combination with the large number of gay bars--plus Mardi Gras, gambling, and pornography--might have been too much debauchery for one city.
All of these explanations hinge upon our own faith-based opinions. How do we view God? What has our personal relationship with God been like to this point? Our opinions are tied to our own experiences and worldviews, and if in those worldviews we hold that homosexuality is something wicked that a person falls into and not a truth that one awakens to, we might blame it for all sorts of things. No one wants wickedness to triumph. So part of it is a root misunderstanding of what homosexuality is.
What about the committed gay couple of twenty years who lived in New Orleans, had a holy union, remained monogamous, raised responsible children, and contributed positive things to the community? If religious leaders think the world would be a better place without this couple simply because they are of the same gender, they are sorely mistaken. This speaks to a deep-seeded fear of homosexuality and not to the truth about what homosexuality is.
I hope God does use the lasting effects of hurricane Katrina to bring revival. The "poor and needy" have become much more accessible now that they are scattered among us, and we have more immediate opportunities to help them. The country is working together to rebuild. And we will rebuild for everyone. I can't think of any organizations that would discriminate and decide to rebuild only the straight homes and other "proper" establishments; except maybe the Christian ones that wouldn't want to somehow contribute to the gay and lesbian movement. Isn't that ironic. Secular charities often more comprehensive in their distribution of aid than the Christian ones. Again, it's about the worldview.
There will be a revival. But not one that fortifies the one true "correct" behavior, or requires that we all live and believe a certain way. It's not an opportunity for the Christian right alone to seize a portion of society in order to create a new utopian society void of all the things that bother them. The revival will manifest itself in the form of a more acute ability to see that all human life deserves respect no matter what the background or circumstances, and without regard to our own individual beliefs.
God loves gay and lesbian people right where we are, at this moment. If we continue to seek God we will find that we are not about to be destroyed, but rather fortified and blessed beyond anything we could possibly imagine. The attempts to destroy us will come, but not from God.
The problem is faith is so personal it's difficult to remove it from the context of our own lives. Since our own filters make us biased and have a certain impact upon the way we view the world, the things we say from a spiritual standpoint often come across as blanket judgments and statements of fact when they are really only faith-based opinion. Every Christian is guilty of this; myself included. To some extent this is a good thing because it serves as evidence that our faith is important to us and that we are able to apply it to our daily lives. Part of spiritual growth is a marked improvement in our confidence level as we move closer to God, and it's natural to attempt to extend that confidence toward others and their situations. I have made many generalized statements about the way God views homosexuality and the ways in which God works in homosexual relationships, and although I absolutely believe those statements to be true, they are still faith-based opinion. All of us can look to others as examples, but each of us must still develop our own faith-based opinions.
We can certainly teach one another as we extend our faith outward. We can also hurt one another. Evangelist Franklin Graham, the son and designated successor of Rev. Billy Graham, has been using his faith recently to attempt to explain the destruction associated with Hurricane Katrina. Naturally, his own worldview has a filtering effect upon these explanations, and his faith-based opinion is colored by preconceived ideas. It's personal to him just as any explanation you or I would give would be personal to us. But his statements are delivered with such authority that many people (especially those on the Christian right) might accept them at face value and consider them to be final. These statements are taken from an article posted yesterday on 365gay.com. http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/10/100405nola.htm
"New Orleans has been known for years as a party town," Graham said in an interview with The Associated Press from his office in Boone, N.C. "It is a city that has strong ties to the gay and lesbian movement, and these types of things."
On Monday, Graham delivered a similar message in an appearance in Lynchburg: "There's been satanic worship. There's been sexual perversion. God is going to use that storm to bring revival. God has a plan. God has a purpose."
It's logical to assume that Franklin Graham would also attribute the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to the "gay and lesbian movement." It's the same line of thinking. But Ezekiel 16:49 says, "Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy." It's funny how fundamentalists always skip over that verse. Perhaps God will help us see that hurricane Katrina offers us ongoing opportunities to take a break from being overfed and unconcerned, and to help the poor and needy. Perhaps that is part of the plan.
Graham says he doesn't believe that God used the storm as judgment, and yet he places blame upon certain groups of people for attracting the punishment.
Other religious leaders have pointed out that Southern Decadence--the annual gay festival that was to have been held the week the storm hit--could be to blame. That in combination with the large number of gay bars--plus Mardi Gras, gambling, and pornography--might have been too much debauchery for one city.
All of these explanations hinge upon our own faith-based opinions. How do we view God? What has our personal relationship with God been like to this point? Our opinions are tied to our own experiences and worldviews, and if in those worldviews we hold that homosexuality is something wicked that a person falls into and not a truth that one awakens to, we might blame it for all sorts of things. No one wants wickedness to triumph. So part of it is a root misunderstanding of what homosexuality is.
What about the committed gay couple of twenty years who lived in New Orleans, had a holy union, remained monogamous, raised responsible children, and contributed positive things to the community? If religious leaders think the world would be a better place without this couple simply because they are of the same gender, they are sorely mistaken. This speaks to a deep-seeded fear of homosexuality and not to the truth about what homosexuality is.
I hope God does use the lasting effects of hurricane Katrina to bring revival. The "poor and needy" have become much more accessible now that they are scattered among us, and we have more immediate opportunities to help them. The country is working together to rebuild. And we will rebuild for everyone. I can't think of any organizations that would discriminate and decide to rebuild only the straight homes and other "proper" establishments; except maybe the Christian ones that wouldn't want to somehow contribute to the gay and lesbian movement. Isn't that ironic. Secular charities often more comprehensive in their distribution of aid than the Christian ones. Again, it's about the worldview.
There will be a revival. But not one that fortifies the one true "correct" behavior, or requires that we all live and believe a certain way. It's not an opportunity for the Christian right alone to seize a portion of society in order to create a new utopian society void of all the things that bother them. The revival will manifest itself in the form of a more acute ability to see that all human life deserves respect no matter what the background or circumstances, and without regard to our own individual beliefs.
God loves gay and lesbian people right where we are, at this moment. If we continue to seek God we will find that we are not about to be destroyed, but rather fortified and blessed beyond anything we could possibly imagine. The attempts to destroy us will come, but not from God.
posted by Jen Austin at 2:42 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home