Just a quick note in regards to Mike Todd’s comment today on my blog (and his fleshing it out on his blog). One of the biggest problem I have with people who are so sure that their traditional stance on this issue is right…is that many times (and this is not *always* the case) they have never met a gay person, or a gay Christian or (as Mike said) a gay couple in a long-term, stable relationship (and I will have to say that I don’t know any gay couples, just singles who are gay).
So I’m just throwing something out here, and obviously I have no way of actually censoring the comments or making sure that people are being honest, but I would ask that if you plan on being involved in this conversation, you have to have had some actual experience with people from the LGBT community and have had friends or currently have friends who are gay. Just like I would not want someone who had never seen a woman in ministry to be condemning all women who have a desire to seek positions of leadership in the church, the same goes here. This issue (while I have to disagree with Mike a bit, I think it is, to some degree, a theological question) is really not about “issues” or about “views” – this question is about living people, humans, children of God. It is impossible, and unloving I would add, to separate the actual people who are struggling and dealing with the exclusive nature of so many churches, from this discussion.
So, as Mike said:
“Everyone put down their books, put on their shoes, go find a gay person (or, even better, a gay couple in a long-term, stable relationship), and make friends with them.” Then, please come back to pomomusings and contribute in the discussion. Share your experiences and struggle through this question with us…
**DISCLAIMER:This post is not saying that you “need to do your homework” or that you need to go out and “study” a gay person. As my good friend Tony said, “‘Gay’ people are not objects of knowledge to be studied and known.” As I told Tony, I’m not friends with him so that I can get my quota of “gay hours” in or that I’m trying to experiment with our friendship. I am friends with Tony because we have history together, because we’ve gone through hell and back and a lot of other shit together, because I love him for who he is…Just so it is clear, this is not about dissecting and trying to “understand” gays…this is about dissecting our own views, our own perceptions and rethinking, reevaluating and relearning…