From a Christian Who Doesn’t Hate Homosexuals
No one wanted to tell us. I guess because they assumed we would shun this family member for his homosexuality. This could not have been farther from the truth. While my family was just trying to make sure that no one hurt the feelings of my homosexual cousin, I cannot tell you how much it hurt my feelings that my family let the stereotype of the judgmental Christian override their knowledge of the accepting person that I am.
In Tiffany Ranae’s “A Transsexual Woman’s Apology to the Christian Right,” she points out the fact that two prominent Christian figures, James Dobson and Jerry Falwell, and have commented about Sponge Bob, one of the Teletubbies, and even Winnie the Pooh, having gay tendencies, and then she proceeds to sarcastically apologize for all homosexuals in the world because the Christian right apparently wants “a homo-free society.” This is exactly the kind of stereotyping I absolutely cannot stand.
I am a Christian. Not because I follow the conservative agenda of some religious leader, but because I aim to follow Christ with reckless abandon. I do not think Sponge Bob is gay, I do not hate homosexuals, and I am not alone in these opinions. Just because George W. Bush says something about our need to be in Iraq doesn’t mean that all Americans agree with him. In fact, given his current popularity ratings, I would say the majority probably don’t. It is the same with Christians. Just because Dr. Dobson says something does not mean that we all agree. There’s a large group of us who don’t.
I have many friends who are homosexual. They are not my friends because they are homosexual. They are my friends because I like them as people. I do not choose my friends by their sexual orientation. I do not care who you slept with last night, what gender that person was, or if you are married to that person. I do care to know how your week is going, what is going on in your life, and how I as your friend can serve you. I am not saying this so people think I am a great person or something; most of us Christians are this way.
We don’t want to assimilate the world to a common style of dress, activity, or behavior. In fact, I am not even sure that any one church could agree on one common style of dress, activity, or behavior. Yes, the Bible does say that homosexuality is a sin, but, as Tiffany Ranae pointed out when she brought up the sin of gluttony, the Bible mentions a whole heck of a lot of other sins as well. Christ also makes it pretty clear that there is no one sin that is worse than any other. There are fat people who go to my church. There are homosexuals, too. No one condemns either of them. Christ did not come into this world to condemn it; he came to save it. We as Christians do not want to do any condemning either.
To Tiffany Ranae and any other homosexual, bisexual, or transgender person- I am truly sorry if you have been hurt by someone out there who treated you hatefully while claiming to be a Christian. The Bible makes it very clear that anyone who is capable of treating another child of God (yes, we are ALL children of God) hatefully is not truly a Christian. God is not in that person. It says in 1 John 2:9, “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” Please give Christians another chance. I think you will find that most of us are truly accepting, caring people who follow a Christ that preached a gospel of love.
