March 30, 2013
I have to say, I really do love Facebook; so many people with so many different views on things. On my page at least, there have been a number of wonderful exchanges and comments from various people in my life. I’m constantly reminded of how blessed I am to have such a diverse group of friends.
The controversy this past week, of course, has been the issue of Gay Marriage and whether or not it should be legalized. It may have come as a surprise to some of my friends on Facebook to learn that I am in complete and total support of marriage equality. The reason it may have done so is that I am a Christian.
Not all of my friends on Facebook are Christian, in fact, many are not. Those who are, however, inevitably fall into two camps on this issue: those who agree with me and those who do not. Those who disagree have remained loving and respectful toward me in their disagreement, simply asking me to explain my position further, if they’ve made any comments at all (many, I’m sure, have stayed silent or “un-friended” me). So, in order to have more space to elaborate and explain, I’ve chosen my Blog as a place to make my case for why I hold my position so strongly.
So as to not take up too much of your time on a single read, I’ve chosen to break this explanation down into a series of posts over the next few days. I want to be as thorough as I can be, and there’s just so much to cover.
A great deal of significant scholarship has been devoted to those Bible verses deemed definitive in determining the Bible’s (and thus, God’s) view of homosexuals and homosexuality. To those who have suggested that I am “picking and choosing” what I want the Bible to say in order to justify my position, I will not answer by asking, haven’t you done the same? Instead, I will take the scriptures in question and offer what I believe is a more accurate and informed reading; one that examines the context of the writings, the audiences to whom they were originally intended, the worldview of all concerned at the time, and, most importantly, one determined to be infused with love.
Let me pause to say this: I reject, entirely, the notion of, “Love the sinner, Hate the sin.” I find that sentiment to have been used many, many times over the years to justify the separation and subjugation of individuals and groups of people who, for one reason or another, have been deemed lesser. For me, God is love. Even the most conservative Christian would agree that God is described as being like a “refiner’s fire.” Therefore, love, itself, is a refiner’s fire. That is to say, love burns away hate. Love is more powerful and overcomes all evil, leaving only love standing in the end. When hate is confronted by love, it cannot stay. Hate cannot exist where love continues to reside.
And so, I begin with love, and thus, I begin with God.
This does not mean that I espouse to know all the answers or that I am speaking for God. Never! It is impossible to fully know God at all, let alone speak on God’s behalf. How could anyone possibly speak on behalf of that which cannot even be named? As soon as one begins to speak of God, he is no longer speaking of God. God is too great to be comprehended in any complete respect. Therefore, I go to my “heart” where love abides, and wrestle, as Jacob did so many years ago, with what I believe God’s will to be.
I fully confess my inadequacy, and I may very well be wrong, but I am firmly committed to doing all I can to act in love as an ambassador of Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit.
So, in my next post, we go to the center of the controversy, the place where the debate over homosexuality itself is born: the Bible.
Have a truly blessed Easter!
THE SCOTT LANGDON PROJECT 