Evangelicals For Marriage Equality

[Photo By: BEN CHRISMAN]

Churches are splitting, congregants are leaving, parents are abusing, and denominations are falling apart dividing into smaller versions of themselves. Laws have been made, rights have been stripped, and children, one’s own flesh and blood, have been abandoned. You would think that this “war” rapidly disintegrating the church is something equivalent to the 2^nd temple destruction in Jerusalem. But no, what’s destroying a so-called immovable force that’s sitting on a “solid rock,” is a theological agenda in which Jesus never directly speaks on and the bible rarely even addresses…

Homosexuality.

More devastatingly its destroying the individual and impinging upon a familial system creating a socialized repression of one’s given biological identity. Individuals are robbed of not only their autonomy but also their civil right to marry. A Christian’s personal definition of marriage should not therefore define marriage for all living in a post-Christian, pluralistic, and religiously diverse country.

This “war on culture” is detracting from our given mission. When I consider a doctrine of the body I’m reminded of a mission of solidarity, a mission that loves and stands with their counterparts both inside and outside of their community. Solidarity does not mean that we celebrate only the moments of joy but also that we lament with in the inevitable times of despair. I understand that I am but only a tourist in the midst of someone else’s despair, but solidarity and this doctrine of the body is why I chose to accept the invitation from my friend Brandan Robertson to join Evangelicals for Marriage Equality.

The Christian is currently recognized by what they’re against as opposed to what they stand for. As we have become aware Evangelicals are currently defined by Hypocrisy, Judgment, and being anti-gay, instead of being defined by empathy, inclusion, and an unconditional love. We must ask ourselves, “What good is it to win a battle at the cost of losing a war, dividing the body, and traumatizing our youth?”

As we see it silence has not resulted in a tolerance but rather an implementation of institutionalized violence. Just as silence infers compliance I believe that it also breeds complacence.

As we see it silence has not resulted in a tolerance but rather an implementation of institutionalized violence. Just as silence infers compliance I believe that it also breeds complacence. This is why Frank Schaeffer was put on “leave” by the UMC. This is why nearly 40% of homeless youth are LGBTQ. This is why suicide, depression, and anxiety are unprecedented within those forced to repress there very identity. This is why I have also chosen to no longer remain silent in regards to this cultural “war.” This has become such an overwhelmingly devastating “issue” in which we can longer remain complacently silent on.

Evangelicals for marriage equality stands for equal civil rights that acknowledge everyone’s humanity, regardless of their faith, religious, or denominational affiliation. The mission of this board is to break the silence, and begin cultivating constructive conversation. There has been a successful initiative to collect 1,000 signatures from young Christians and have presented them to the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission in hope “to further the case that their opinion is not, in fact, the official evangelical position.” We have been featured on TIME, Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and many more media outlets in attempt to show solidarity, cultivate constructive conversation, but also to reflect the values of love, compassion, empathy, and respect.

Even if one does believe homosexuality to be “sinful,” in the words of an old professor, “Jesus never said, ‘Love the sinner, but hate their sin.’ rather Jesus says, ‘Love the sinner, and worry about our own sin.’” Ideally I would like to have solidarity where ever one might stand together theologically, but realistically a civility has not been the way things have played out for too many. I’m not sure how to solve such a heated debate that effects us theologically, politically, culturally, and personally, but I do know that remaining safe encapsulated by my privilege in my silent complacency is not the answer to finding unity.

[This is the first of a few more posts I’ll be writing in the next two weeks – I hope to better articulate where I stand and more so how I personally came to that conclusion from a theological, biblical, and contextual standpoint.]