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Jesus as human was the consequence of fornication and whoredom, and He had in His lineage a murderer. The prophet Hosea was told by God to marry a prostitute. (Hosea 1:2) The prophet Isaiah was told by God to walk around naked for three years. (Isaiah 20:3) Can you imagine what the Church world, the Vatican, and we ourselves would make of all these events today?
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- Issue 36:
The Beloved Community - Issue 37:
Cultivating Compassion - Issue 38:
Living in Gratitude - More issues ...
Being Gay is a Gift from God
by: Jerry S. Maneker
F
ortunately,
in our community there are gay affirming congregations. They understand
the Gospel of inclusiveness that puts all of us in the same tent for worship
and ministry.
To be able to love another person is a gift from God! As human beings
we have the capacity to love another person, putting that other personís
feelings and interests ahead of our own. This is agapao in the
Greek and is the word Jesus uses when He commands His disciples to love
others.
Yet, in addition to agapao, there is also eros and phileo.
Eros is love based upon pleasure and phileo is love based
upon reciprocity of feelings and actions. In other words, phileo
occurs when one loves the other if that love is reciprocated and doesnít
love the other when that love is not reciprocated. Most of the world operates
on eros and phileo! Christians are called upon to exercise
agapao!
However, in our intimate relations, eros is also very important!
It is the bonding of two souls and bodies in love that is faithful and
enduring. The Gay couple well understands this bonding!
Troy Perry was a Pentecostal-Baptist minister at a very young age. He
knew he was gay and tried to smother his feelings. He even attempted suicide!
Fortunately, he was found after slashing his wrists, taken to a hospital
and survived. He then realized that God doesnít create someone whom He
can sit around and hate. God created Troy Perry, just like He created
all of His gay and lesbian children! Troy Perry went on to start the Metropolitan
Community Churches which particularly ministers to the gay, lesbian, bisexual,
and transgender communities. They are world wide and have an Internet
site.
The Bible doesnít condemn same-sex love! In a previous article I wrote
in the "Sacramento Valley Mirror" in which I have a weekly column entitled,
"Christianity and Society," I elucidated the passages traditionally used
to condemn gay people and showed that they dealt in a context of the need
to propagate, with idolatry and exploitation, as well as with acts against
nature where heterosexuals engage in homosexual acts undoubtedly to various
pagan deities. Nowhere in the Bible is same-sex committed love condemned
or even discussed!
The last bastion of the civil rights movement is the stigma and exclusion
of gay people from our churches and from our secular society. Yet, they
can be seen to be a gift to us from God in that, despite their terrible
persecution, many remain steadfast in their loving relationships. Despite
all of the barriers set up by Christians and non-Christians alike, many
remain in committed relationships.
Being constitutionally gay is not a disorder any more than having brown
eyes is a disorder! Most gay people have been born that way and like the
old Sunday School saying goes, "God doesnít create junk."
If youíre gay, you have been blessed by God in that you are capable of
loving another human being. The most dangerous people in the world are
those who either have nothing to lose or who are incapable of loving others.
There is no reason not to assume that God blesses the monogamous gay couple
every bit as much as He blesses the heterosexually married couple!
As Jesus said to the Scribes and Pharisees, we make void the Word of God
by our traditions (Matthew 15:3,6,9) Mere fallible human beings interpreted
the Bible to condemn same-sex unions! Mere human beings call being gay
an "affliction" and gay sex as "intrinsically evil."
When done in a context of monogamous mutual love, the Bible doesnít affirm
or condemn homosexuality. Indeed, the Bible is silent on this matter!
Many gay people walk around with guilt and shame because they think that
they are condemned before God and their fellow man. Read the Bible with
new eyes, taking account of the most recent biblical scholarship (See,
for example, The New Oxford Annotated Bible), and see for yourself that
God created you just as you are and He affirms and loves you just as you
are. God shows far more grace than do mere human beings!
If youíre gay, you have been given the gift of the capacity to love by
God, your creator. Donít take that gift lightly and donít deny it as a
gift from God.
You have the capacity to love another human being, and nothing is more
sacred or godly than that.
Copyright © 2003 by the author
All Rights Reserved
