A Satanic Attack it is Not
Anyone watching the Gospel Music Channel? I just discovered it a couple of days ago on DirecTV channel 15. I'm diggin' it! Relevant, rockin' music videos (i.e. Jars of Clay and Krystal Meyers) and kind of a fun attitude. I haven't seen any gay Christians yet, but I'll keep my eyes open. Hey, it will happen eventually! It does get a little too "family friendly" and Norman Rockwellish at times, for my taste anyway. But I love flipping over when I need a break from ESPN and CMT.
There is an Anglican priest in South Africa named Jo Mdhlela, who is speaking out in favor of gay rights. His congregation is conservative and many in South Africa disagree with him, but he's sticking to his convictions. Mdhlela says, "Jesus is challening churches. Jesus is saying if you said apartheid was unjust then you must say laws discriminating against homosexual people are unjust (Reuters)."
Mdhlela isn't really winning over the masses in South Africa, but it's a start. Many of his fellow clergy are stuck on the idea that homosexuality is wrong, and they can't move forward. Archbishop Petere Akinola is Africa's leading opponent of gay clergy and he says of the gay civil rights movement, "I personally think that this is an attack on the Church of God, a Satanic attack. I cannot think of how a man in his senses would be having a sexual relationship with another man. It is so unnatural, so unscriptural. Even in the world of animals, dogs, cows, lions, we don't hear of such things (Reuters)."
Views like Mdhela's are rooted in subjectivity. At least he began with "I personally," because that's exactly what makes it okay to disagree. I have a completely different perspective. Those of you who are reading this blog may have another perspective. Faith is personal, and the more personal it becomes, the more it enables the opinions of others to just bounce right off and evaporate. God and I are cool! My relationship with Jesus is not somehow a satanic attack, and it cannot be made into that no matter how hard others might try. It is rooted in love, truth, and goodness, and it is leading me toward spiritual maturity. That is completely natural, and completely scriptural. I agree with Akinola that homosexuality is unnatural...for him. But it discredits God when he tries to extend that understanding to cover me and other gay Christians. God is doing a new work. There are many who just don't yet see it.
I'm grateful for Christians like Mdhlela who are open to revolutionary ideas. Just when we as Christians get comfortable and think God is done with the revolutions, that's exactly when a new one starts stirring. Christians who dig in their heels and think they are protecting the faith, or restoring "traditional values" and that sort of thing, are just the ones who are about to be bowled over. The truth is always revealed in time. Glory to God.
There is an Anglican priest in South Africa named Jo Mdhlela, who is speaking out in favor of gay rights. His congregation is conservative and many in South Africa disagree with him, but he's sticking to his convictions. Mdhlela says, "Jesus is challening churches. Jesus is saying if you said apartheid was unjust then you must say laws discriminating against homosexual people are unjust (Reuters)."
Mdhlela isn't really winning over the masses in South Africa, but it's a start. Many of his fellow clergy are stuck on the idea that homosexuality is wrong, and they can't move forward. Archbishop Petere Akinola is Africa's leading opponent of gay clergy and he says of the gay civil rights movement, "I personally think that this is an attack on the Church of God, a Satanic attack. I cannot think of how a man in his senses would be having a sexual relationship with another man. It is so unnatural, so unscriptural. Even in the world of animals, dogs, cows, lions, we don't hear of such things (Reuters)."
Views like Mdhela's are rooted in subjectivity. At least he began with "I personally," because that's exactly what makes it okay to disagree. I have a completely different perspective. Those of you who are reading this blog may have another perspective. Faith is personal, and the more personal it becomes, the more it enables the opinions of others to just bounce right off and evaporate. God and I are cool! My relationship with Jesus is not somehow a satanic attack, and it cannot be made into that no matter how hard others might try. It is rooted in love, truth, and goodness, and it is leading me toward spiritual maturity. That is completely natural, and completely scriptural. I agree with Akinola that homosexuality is unnatural...for him. But it discredits God when he tries to extend that understanding to cover me and other gay Christians. God is doing a new work. There are many who just don't yet see it.
I'm grateful for Christians like Mdhlela who are open to revolutionary ideas. Just when we as Christians get comfortable and think God is done with the revolutions, that's exactly when a new one starts stirring. Christians who dig in their heels and think they are protecting the faith, or restoring "traditional values" and that sort of thing, are just the ones who are about to be bowled over. The truth is always revealed in time. Glory to God.
posted by Jen Austin at 8:57 AM
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