Alright, there is something just pulling at my heart and I'm not sure how this blog is going to turn out. All I know is that whatever I type here on out is what i'm feeling.
Last night (the picture below) was a chill night. I was hanging out with the band (www.myspace.com/futureofforestry) at a gig for a church in North Park. The church's motto was "Christianity for All." Now, North Park and Hillcrest are areas here in San Diego that are openly open to homosexuality. The pastor of the church was gay. There were men raising their hands while holding each others hands. There was a man dressed as a woman. But they were all there worshipping God and saying "AMEN!" and "Preach it!" Completely enthusiastic about believing in God without anyone making them feel unwanted. The Pastor's message was how God loves you no matter what. God is love and Christianity is about everyone together not just one person.
Do you see where this is going?
There's a weird line between religion and homosexuality.
I hate sides. I don't consider myself an extremely religious person. I consider myself a believer of truth. I feel like that the church we were at last night was a support for those who have felt unwanted, who have felt eyes staring down at them and have gotten the cold shoulder countless times. All they want is to know love--to feel love. If being homosexual has brought them to that church and closer to God then I'm not sure why people have to be so judgemental.
I understand that the argument against my apporach is that in the bible it says that it's wrong. That living a lifestyle like the men and women that we met yesterday is not right in the eyes of God. I get it. But who gives people the right to say that they are wrong and point fingers? I mean... what did you do wrong today? Have you sinned today? Cause I know I have. What makes you so righteous to make people feel like crap and tell them that they are sinners? Is that really the way God would want us to react to homosexuality? Or to any sin in general? Is what you're saying out of love?
Maybe I'm just completely and insanely empathetic. Maybe I was a gay man in another life. I don't know. I don't know a lot about everything. But I know that God isn't standing in all of his glory and saying to all the homosexuals that they are sinners and they are going to hell. I think he's standing there saying "hey, you're mine. I love you. I love you with all my heart and soul." If I didn't think God was capable of love than I wouldn't believe in Him. The only reason I write from the standpoint of a believer is because I know that God loves me. No matter who I am, what I do, what I say, or who I support, He made me and I have felt his love.
So when people say "DID YOU NOT SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON? HOW THOSE TWO MEN WERE HOLDING HANDS IN CHURCH?" yes, i'm gonna get a little peeved. I honestly didn't think i'd get so worked up about it but I feel extremely emotional about this topic.
The thing is... the homosexual lifestyle is becoming part of our culture now. So as much as people want to say it's sin and it's wrong... it's there. It's there and you're gonna have to accept it or look like a hypocrite. Too bad this world couldn't live harmoniously.
Am I allowed to hate hate? If I hate hate, then hate still exists. It's a vicious circle.
Palin wants to convert all homosexuals into God loving individuals. What if they already love God?
My best friend is openly gay. Does that mean God loves her less?
I just can't get my mind around the whole situation. I feel like it shouldn't be so complicated. Is it really just black and white? Or can we just create nice shades of grey?
I'd cry if I weren't at work.
And writing this blog isn't my way of saying how much I dislike a person or a person's opinions. I love all the musicians in Forestry. If anything, I wish issues such as this wouldn't tear them apart. I wish they could set things like this aside and believe in their music. And know tha their music brings people together for God. No matter who those people are... they are coming together though music for God. Isn't that enough? It's enough. I know it's enough.
About Me
- I am Christina.
- The day my mother gave me wings was the day I started learning how to fly. I'm now realizing that it takes a lifetime to learn how to soar. This is my journey. Well, a part of it.
2 comments:
hey ck,
sorry if what i say sounds insane. I'm sick and can't always think clearly or type that well. Anyways, you as a lot of good questions here, and as your old youth leader, I thought it might be good to leave a note. Ignore it if you'd like, but here's my two cents.
You say in your own post that the Bible says homosexuality is wrong. but the bible also says that lying, cheating, anger, and pride are also sinful, and there are plenty of people in churches that struggle with those, right? So what is a church to do?
You have two options. First, you can say that no one is perfect and that the Bible doesn't actually expect us to obey it. After all, everyone would fail and sin every day.
The second option is to preach what the Bible says and pursue holiness both individually and corporately. On wednesday nights we're going through Lamentations and there is a verse that we covered last night about how false prophets arose and just said what everyone wants to hear. They didn't confront sin and just wanted to the people to feel good. The consequences of that is that the people lived on in sin, ignoring the warnings from God about their sin, and experienced judgment.
Now in the short term, it'd be nice to preach that we should all hug and ignore the sin in our lives, but that isn't beneficial in the long term.
Now I agree with you that homosexuality gets treated differently than other sins. Everyone would look at a person who says they are gay and be horrified, but will totally accept the man who lives with uncontrolled anger at home. Both are sins, and both are lifestyles lived contrarily to God's desires. So we should treat both the same. The Word of God calls for us to confront, exhort and restore the repentant believer. If you are openly living the lifestyle, regardless of what sin it is, you aren't repentant. You have to fashion a Gospel that is unbiblical to justify the lifestyle. and the eternal consequences of that are grave and terrifying.
I hope this helps your thinking. feel free to write back or give me a call if you want to talk!
yes i agree with you! u are wise beyond your years and so good at blogging! I always have a hard time just laying it all out in a blog...plus i'm not good with grammer and writing in non-run on sentences :)
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