Of all of the controversies circling through the media, the war between the Christian Church and same-sex marriage is vying for one of the top spots. I am not here to argue about separating religious beliefs from law and policy making or whether orientation is chosen. I am here to be honest to the Church: the world is changing and so are you.
I have to admit that too often I feel like I hope people won’t know that I am a Christian because of the scorching stigma attached to it for despising the LGBTQA communities. Note the plural of communities -- these groups are not one, but diverse. Why do I feel like I have to shut down my pride as a straight ally when I walk through the doors of a church? Why do I feel like I have to pretend I don’t believe in God when I sit down in the audience of the Rainbow Variety Show on campus?
I could say “This needs to stop now.” But, Church, it already has.
What if I told you that a new, open-minded and loving generation is rising? And by loving I don’t mean, “love the sinner, hate the sin.” I mean standing up and cheering when you see a woman kiss her wife. What if I told you there is an increase in places of worship where people of all sexual orientations are welcomed with open arms? What if I told you I’ve found a church with two pastors, one straight man and one lesbian woman, and neither are single?
Yes, the world is changing and growing, and the Christian Church is neither as static as it would like everyone to believe nor as “of one mind” as its members would like to see themselves.
So if you’re a steadfast Christian and a steadfast LGBTQA ally, know that you’re not alone. We have been kept silent for too long, suppressed under those like the hate-spewing West Bureau Baptist Church as well as the enormous amount of well-meaning people who try to love and yet see sexual orientations other than the traditional heterosexual identity as sinfully deviant.
I once saw a YouTube video where a man said something to the effect that ally Christians need to stop telling the LGBTQA communities “I’m on your side!” and starting telling the capital C Church “We don’t all agree with you.”
I do not write this article to condemn the Church; I stand up with a voice far too seldom heard. The Church is growing and changing, slowly perhaps, but growing all the same. The Church changed its mind about religion justifying slavery, anti-Semitism, inter-racial marriage and divorce. The time has come and it will gradually change its mind again. Christians believe we have been called to love others and I am seeing this selfless, authentic, God-like love toward the LGBTQA communities a little more every day.