Theoblogy
So the Church of England has appointed another middle aged, white, anti-gay guy to be the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. Big whoop. In Western institutions in which the people actually get a vote — like, say, American democracy — middle aged, white, ant-gay guys are losing power. That’s all to the good, if you ask me.
But it’s still not easy being a gay Christian. Easier than before, but not easy, per se.
One person who’s tackling that is Justin Lee, author of Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate. It’s a good book. I recommend it. But here’s the deal: I think that Justin is too nice.
Justin desires to build bridges in the divisive world of the church-sexuality conversation. That’s great. I think that he and Andrew Marin are the models of this positive, bridge-building work.
But I wonder, when I talk to Justin and when I read his book, why he’s not more pissed.
It seems to me that there’s a place for righteous anger, and I think that the church-sanctioned discrimination against LGBT persons is one of those places. Justin and many other gay friends of mine have been shat upon by the church, in the name of truth and Christ. They’ve experienced an injustice that I never will. It pisses me off, and I think it should piss them off, too.
I get that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, and I also understand that some people are naturally predisposed toward generosity of spirit in a way that I am not. Justin seems like one of those guys.
Plus, it’s really out of line for a straight Christian like me to be telling a gay Christian like Justin how to respond and behave. In fact, I might be accused of patronizing him. That’s not my intent.
I’m being a bit facetious, of course, that I want Justin to be more pissed. But I would like to hear from him why he’s not.
This post is part of Gays and Christians: A Synchroblog for Sanity
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