You know the Episcopalians are in town when insiders do double takes at announcements for \u201cBishops Outings\u201d or the \u201cOrientation of Bishops and Deputies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Are those scenic \u201coutings\u201d or revelatory exits \u2014 voluntary or involuntary \u2014 from sexual closets? And who would dare ask \u201corientation\u201d questions these days?<\/p>\n
Words are tricky things. Thus, conservatives made a fervent attempt, during the 73rd General Convention of the Episcopal Church, to seize the high ground with a campaign entitled \u201cGod\u2019s Love Changed Me.\u201d It centered on testimonies by people who said they had been healed of racism, alcoholism and various sexual sins, including homosexuality.<\/p>\n
But everyone was reading between the lines during the July 5-14 gathering in Denver. Soon, gay, lesbian and bisexual Episcopalians took to wearing shirts that said, \u201cOppose hate language, no matter how it is disguised.\u201d Write it down \u2014 healing equals hate.<\/p>\n
The Denver events were par for the course, said writer Larry Holben of San Francisco, author of \u201cWhat Christians Think about Homosexuality.\u201d He is best known for writing the script for \u201cThe Hiding Place,\u201d a classic evangelical film. But he wrote his meticulously balanced book as part of his own pilgrimage as an Episcopalian who also is gay.<\/p>\n
The religious sex wars rage on, but no one seems to be learning much, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure there\u2019s homophobia out there,\u201d said Holben. \u201cBut it has now become a given that any one to the right of center is automatically coming at this from a position of hate and stupidity. \u2026 They\u2019re labeled as right-wing demons, which means they can be trivialized and treated with contempt. Nobody has to listen to what they\u2019re actually saying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, conservatives often assume everyone on the left \u201ceither doesn\u2019t know what the Bible says or don\u2019t care what the Bible says,\u201d said Holben.<\/p>\n
Face it \u2014 these people have honest disagreements about doctrinal issues. Also, liberals and conservatives rarely acknowledge the schisms within their respective camps. This makes it even harder to find common ground or, when necessary, for people of good faith to break communion with one another.<\/p>\n
Holben\u2019s book covers a spectrum of viewpoints, seeking answers to 12 basic questions, such as \u201cWhat is the God-given intent or design for human sexuality?\u201d and \u201cWhat is the spiritual significance of homosexuality?\u201d He never settles for a simplistic left vs. right showdown.<\/p>\n
There are, for example, at least three conservative camps, he said.<\/p>\n
* The \u201ccondemnation\u201d camp notes that the Bible contains zero positive references to homosexuality. Its leaders deny that a unique homosexual orientation exists and insist that homosexuals, at some point, make conscious decisions to sin, which leads to addiction and then to self-fulfilling homosexual identities. Same-sex desires are as sinful as sex acts. Holben said this camp \u201chonestly believes that sexual sins are the worst sins, anyway. \u2026 Then, homosexual sins are the worst of the worst.\u201d<\/p>\n
* The \u201chealing\u201d camp says homosexual orientation is real, even if its origins remain mysterious. It\u2019s crucial that many who take this position can testify that they have changed their \u201corientation\u201d or at least their \u201csexual behavior.\u201d At the same time, some concede that they continue to experience same-sex temptations and that \u201chealing\u201d is a life-long process. While viewing all sex outside of marriage as sin, they stress that same-sex desires, alone, are not sinful and that homosexual sin is no worse than other sin.<\/p>\n
* Many groups, including the Vatican, now believe that same-sex orientation is an imperfection or impairment, but rarely the result of a conscious choice. Since healing does not always occur, many homosexuals face what Holben describes as \u201cA Call to Costly Discipleship.\u201d This camp urges homosexuals to live chaste lives and, thus, honor centuries of unbroken Christian tradition that all sex outside of marriage is sinful. This approach emphasizes that life in a sinful, fallen world is often painful and complex.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all love magic stories \u2026 where a person was sinful or broken and now they\u2019re totally healed,\u201d said Holben. \u201cThat\u2019s one of THE most powerful kinds of magic stories for Christians. \u2026 Yet that\u2019s rarely what we see in real life, even in the lives of the saints. We see people struggling to deal with their sins and seeking forgiveness. That\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You know the Episcopalians are in town when insiders do double takes at announcements for \u201cBishops Outings\u201d or the \u201cOrientation of Bishops and Deputies.\u201d Are those scenic \u201coutings\u201d or revelatory exits \u2014 voluntary or involuntary \u2014 from sexual closets? And who would dare ask \u201corientation\u201d questions these days? Words are tricky things. Thus, conservatives made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n