Wait a minute, A GAY CHRISTIAN ? I thought that wasn't possible. Didn't Jesus say, "Be damned all men who love men?" Hmm, now that I think about it, it is the hypocritical Christians who say that. Never mind.
Wait. Here's a problem: if you don't (among other things) accept the bible as true, then you aren't a Christian. That's not mean...that's just...the way it is. Right?
I'm out of the loop as to the context of this post, or how to take the (possibly ironic) comments to it, but at risk of preaching to the choir I think it's worth pointing out that the question of whether we accept the Bible as "true" or not is reductionist to a fault. And (because I've had a couple glasses of wine already I'll go ahead and say it), it's an unfortunately large fault of the Evangelical church, which has a perpetual and acute case of amnesia. A survey of church history (good and bad) would show that faithful people over millennia have reached different conclusions about how to interpret scripture, and the subject of sexual orientation fits rather neatly into the category of us/them power-dynamic, divisive issues that have split the Protestant churches for centuries. The only thing that makes Evangelicals unique is that they choose to forget all that and pretend that the interpretation of scripture they believe was freshly handed down from the Apostles themselves. Sometimes we don't need dialogue as much as we need a history lesson.
It's certainly true that the record of history depends largely on who's telling it.
I might start with Karen Armstrong's "The Bible: A Biography." It changed the way I look at scripture, largely by opening my eyes to a world of people who don't believe things like the idea that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. It showed me that, as you rightly observe, the idea of one group having a corner of the market on what it means to be a "certified Christian" was bogus.
Thank you for the offer, but I already had pigs in a blanket for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteWait a minute, A GAY CHRISTIAN ? I thought that wasn't possible. Didn't Jesus say, "Be damned all men who love men?" Hmm, now that I think about it, it is the hypocritical Christians who say that. Never mind.
ReplyDeleteWait. Here's a problem: if you don't (among other things) accept the bible as true, then you aren't a Christian. That's not mean...that's just...the way it is. Right?
ReplyDeleteI'm out of the loop as to the context of this post, or how to take the (possibly ironic) comments to it, but at risk of preaching to the choir I think it's worth pointing out that the question of whether we accept the Bible as "true" or not is reductionist to a fault. And (because I've had a couple glasses of wine already I'll go ahead and say it), it's an unfortunately large fault of the Evangelical church, which has a perpetual and acute case of amnesia. A survey of church history (good and bad) would show that faithful people over millennia have reached different conclusions about how to interpret scripture, and the subject of sexual orientation fits rather neatly into the category of us/them power-dynamic, divisive issues that have split the Protestant churches for centuries. The only thing that makes Evangelicals unique is that they choose to forget all that and pretend that the interpretation of scripture they believe was freshly handed down from the Apostles themselves. Sometimes we don't need dialogue as much as we need a history lesson.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to regret this post in the morning.
This all is really making me think. Who would have thought it? Good words all.
ReplyDelete@ Covenant Guy: Is the (vs. your) definition of a Christian actually someone who believes the Bible? Where is that written down at?
As far as history goes, the "history" of the church is somewhat vague at best and in other parts, simply non-existent.
I guess I have no working definition of the word "Christian" that means anything to me at all anymore, ir it ever did.
daemon
It's certainly true that the record of history depends largely on who's telling it.
ReplyDeleteI might start with Karen Armstrong's "The Bible: A Biography." It changed the way I look at scripture, largely by opening my eyes to a world of people who don't believe things like the idea that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. It showed me that, as you rightly observe, the idea of one group having a corner of the market on what it means to be a "certified Christian" was bogus.
I still find this kinda funny.
ReplyDelete