All my Gay Friends are Christians (I Should Get Out More)

Earlier today I posted a blog responding to an essay by Andy Borowitz regarding the the Governor of Indiana, Mike Pence. I didn’t realize the piece was satire! I’ve missed the Borowitz bandwagon, I guess. Turns out it was unbelievable because…well, it’s not true. So, my apologies to Mike Pence and any other offended parties for perpetuating misinformation. In any case, as with any good satire, there is a piece of truth to it. In this case, it’s the importance of friendship in the context of the gay marriage and LGBT rights issue. So I’ve revised my blog to maintain the core truth that I think is still relevant.

The reecent Borowitz satirical essay made me think about my own gay friends. As I ran down the “list” of ones I know to self-identify as gay (and I don’t think I normally “list” them or categorize them in my daily interactions), I realized that all of them also self-identify as Christian. I teach in a Christian seminary, and have been teaching in Christian seminaries for the past decade. So it’s not surprising that many of my friends come from that context. A few of my gay friends came out while as a students or staff at the evangelical Christian seminary in which I taught for nine years. They were (and are) amazing men and women who love Jesus and the church. Currently, I teach in a progressive Christian seminary which has, for many years, been explicitly and emphatically inclusive toward LGBT persons. United Seminary was inclusive nearly from the get-go. I have many gay Christian friends there; students, staff, and faculty colleagues. United is a theologically and denominationally diverse place, so I don’t know that all my gay friends there self-identify as Christian. But most do.

When I think about the frenzy in Indiana and other places to establish “religious liberty laws” to protect the rights of Christians (and others) to discriminate against gay people, I think about the irony that all (or most, at least) of my gay friends are Christians. So, we have Christians frantically protecting their “rights” to discriminate against other Christians. It all feels so strange and anti…well, Christian.