Continued from part 3 of A letter to a church.

I studied and read arguments from both sides of the debate. On both
sides of the debate, I saw truths outlined and I saw God’s words
manipulated in order to fit a preexisting bias. I sifted through the
arguments and let the Scriptures be the guide, willing to accept a
life of celibacy if that is what God had intended. As I studied, I
was most disheartened by the nearly universal theme on the
traditional Christian argument that equated homosexuality with
recreational sex and fetishism, an argument that was clearly meant to
instill fear and disgust amongst the readers. Like these authors, I
agree that this is not the way that God has called us to express our
sexuality, whether in a heterosexual or homosexual context. What I
did find lacking from the traditional arguments was a biblically
based rationale for prohibiting loving, monogamous, same sex
relationships. What I came across were distortions of the original
Greek texts that were reminiscent of how the Church at one time used
the Scriptures to condone racism and slavery, condemn inter-racial
marriages and turn its back on issues like domestic violence.

In the midst of my reading, I came across one influential work
entitled, The New Testament and Homosexuality by Robin Scroggs. The
author, a heterosexual New Testament scholar with no apparent hidden
motivation, set out to study the classic Scriptural references to
homosexuality in light of the cultural context in which they were
written. The conclusion? There is no biblical mandate against
consensual, monogamous, loving, same sex relationships. For me, this
conclusion was even more justifiable in light of the fact that Christ
himself never mentioned or condemned homosexuality.

So I don’t know why I’m gay. What I do know is that my sexuality is
an integral part of my being, and it is not a choice, conscious or
otherwise. What I have learned though is that as a gay man, I am
pleasing to God. Several weeks ago, I heard a sermon on the
following passage from Jeremiah, Chapter 18.

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, “Arise and go
down to the potter’s house, and there I shall announce my words to
you.” Then I went down the potter’s house, and there he was, making
something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay
was spoiled in the hand of the potter, so he remade it into another
vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.

Through this sermon, I learned that there is not one design for God’s
children and that God created other vessels that are equally as
pleasing to him. As a result, my relationship with God is now
stronger than ever. Stronger because I now see myself as God has
truly intended me to be and for the first time in my life, I see and
feel that I am pleasing to God.

I am deeply saddened however, to see how countless Christian churches
continue to reject many of God’s children. It is not surprising that
rates of depression and substance abuse are higher among homosexual,
which I believe to be in part attributable to the fact that
homosexuals are frequently marginalized by society, and told by many
Christian churches that they are evil, and thus not worthy to enter
the fold of Christ. During my reading, I was particularly offended
to see many of the traditional arguments use the high rate of
depression and substance abuse as an argument for why homosexuality
is evil, failing to see this as a call to compassion, to bring those
hurting and marginalized by society to find peace and comfort in the
love of Christ.

…to be continued tomorrow…