{"id":71,"date":"2010-10-09T19:17:38","date_gmt":"2010-10-09T23:17:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/philosophicalfragments\/?p=71"},"modified":"2010-10-09T19:17:38","modified_gmt":"2010-10-09T23:17:38","slug":"the-tyler-clementi-tragedy-what-does-it-mean-for-christian-opposition-to-homosexuality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/2010\/10\/09\/the-tyler-clementi-tragedy-what-does-it-mean-for-christian-opposition-to-homosexuality\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tyler Clementi Tragedy – What Does it Mean for Christian Opposition to Homosexuality?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The story of Tyler Clementi is tragic and deeply saddening. \u00a0A talented violinist, a sensitive, shy young man, a freshman who had just recently come to live on the Rutgers campus, his privacy was violated and he was profoundly humiliated in front of all the people he might have hoped would become his friends. \u00a0When Tyler reported that his sexual encounter with another young man was captured on video and distributed to other students, early indications are<\/a> that Rutgers did not respond with the alacrity and care it should. \u00a0The death of in loco parentis <\/em>is cause for grief yet again.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s right and natural to be grieved and outraged by what happened to Tyler. \u00a0Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, the two students who filmed and then shared Tyler\u2019s sexual encounters, deserve to be punished and punished severely. \u00a0Not for manslaughter, in my opinion \u2014 because the decision was Tyler\u2019s (let\u2019s not rob him of his agency), and it\u2019s not yet clear to me whether they should have had the reasonable expectation that their actions would have led to his suicide. \u00a0Did Ravi, his roommate, know that Tyler was contemplating suicide? \u00a0Did Tyler tell him that he would kill himself if Ravi exposed him? \u00a0We don\u2019t yet know. \u00a0But Ravi and Wei should certainly be punished for every law they broke.<\/p>\n

The question I want to pose is this: to what extent have Christians contributed to the culture in which a young man, whose same-sex encounter is broadcast for all to see, is so filled with shame that he chooses to take his own life?<\/p>\n

It should be noted that we don\u2019t yet know the full story of Tyler Clementi. \u00a0He did not leave a note explaining the reasons for his suicide. \u00a0There may have been many. \u00a0He may have been on the cusp of suicide for years. \u00a0The decision to leap from the G. W. Bridge could have been for other reasons entirely. \u00a0But it seems likely, very highly likely, that his public humiliation was one of the precipitating factors. \u00a0It should also be noted that Ravi and Wei were not exposing Clementi out of a sense of Christian conviction that homosexuality is wrong. \u00a0There is no indication that religion had anything to do with their actions.<\/p>\n

But religion \u2014 and Christianity \u2014 have had something to do with creating a culture in which exposure of homosexual identity, at least for many people, is a deeply shameful thing. \u00a0If Clementi had been exposed in a heterosexual encounter, would he have felt so humiliated? \u00a0In fact, if the video had shown him having sex with a beautiful woman, it might actually have enhanced his reputation. \u00a0Yet Tyler was shown with a man. \u00a0Perhaps he was not ready to \u2018come out\u2019; perhaps he felt conflicted about his desires for other men. \u00a0Perhaps he felt they were wrong.<\/p>\n

This is a touchy issue. \u00a0The greater number of Christians here and around the world still believe that homosexual behavior is against the will of God. \u00a0Homosexual desires are one thing; homosexual acts are another. \u00a0We believe, in a sense, that gays should feel guilty <\/em>when they engage in same-sexual acts. \u00a0But should they feel so ashamed and filled with despair that some commit suicide? \u00a0After years and years in academic circles, I have many friends who are gay. \u00a0What if they were the ones who killed themselves after public harassment?<\/p>\n

Christians often point to the high suicide rate amongst homosexuals as evidence that homosexuality is unhealthy and deeply destructive psychologically. \u00a0And I do believe that acting on homosexual desires is wrong. \u00a0Yet we should be ashamed by that high suicide rate. \u00a0That high suicide rate is a condemnation of us<\/em>. \u00a0It means that we do not intervene enough in the lives of distraught gays to show them love and grace and hope. \u00a0It means that we have allowed, or even helped to cultivate, a culture in which many gays feel that death is the only way out.<\/p>\n

Every Christian should make certain that every person, absolutely every person, gay or straight, knows that he or she is thoroughly loved by God. \u00a0Every person, absolutely every person, gay or straight, should know that he or she is created in the image of the Most High, and that he or she has hope, ultimate and undying hope, in God\u2019s abundant grace.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The story of Tyler Clementi is tragic and deeply saddening. \u00a0A talented violinist, a sensitive, shy young man, a freshman who had just recently come to live on the Rutgers campus, his privacy was violated and he was profoundly humiliated in front of all the people he might have hoped would become his friends. \u00a0When […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homosexuality"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Tyler Clementi Tragedy - What Does it Mean for Christian Opposition to Homosexuality? - Philosophical Fragments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The story of Tyler Clementi is tragic and deeply saddening. \u00a0A talented violinist, a sensitive, shy young man, a freshman who had just recently come to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/philosophicalfragments\/2010\/10\/09\/the-tyler-clementi-tragedy-what-does-it-mean-for-christian-opposition-to-homosexuality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Tyler Clementi Tragedy - What Does it Mean for Christian Opposition to Homosexuality? 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