The attitude the letter displayed, reminds me of two young men who once attended worship in the congregation where I choose to worship. One member made it clear to them that "we do not want your kind here." Now we are all being told in print, by the writer of the letter, that he is obliged to speak on behalf of Almighty God, in order to set the church straight. How presumptuous to state that he is doing this before it is too late.
Too late for what? Too late for showing compassion or understanding or even a twinge of sympathy.
The content and tone of the letter is reminiscent of the arguments used by many of the persons who became agitated during the debates over the ordination of women four decades ago. Same arguments; different subject. Surely we have reformed the ancient tribal customs and uninformed beliefs to the point of defending basic human rights from violation and downright harassment of any kind. After centuries of torment, abuse, rejection and slaughter in the name of Jesus, I suppose I had hoped the church would one day turn on the light and recognize the differences we humans have had since birth.
We are quite aware that all races, genders and orientations have elements who display unacceptable and aberrant behaviour. Society has endorsed methods to deal with such behaviour. That is not, however, what we are talking about. We are verbally lynching human beings, who work, pay taxes, and live peacefully within the laws of the land. They laugh, cry and dare to dream dreams just as the majority of human beings do. They are our brothers, sisters, sons and daughters; our friends, our neighbours and our co-workers. I have trouble accepting their total condemnation by God, even if one of his self-appointed spokespersons believes he can speak for the Divinity and strike them all out for good.
I suspect if we could peer within those deep, dark places where no one else can go except God, we might realize that we are who we are. I cannot accept that sexual orientation is a matter of personal choice. The argument that one chooses to be this or that, is totally absurd. For years, persons who wrote with their left hand were made to feel that they were out of step with the norm. A whipping didn't work then and it certainly doesn't work now. Was that also God speaking through his servants to announce that right-handedness was what he had in mind at creation?
As I read scripture, I learn of a Jesus who spoke out against the attitudes of the self-righteous and was continually berated by them. Even then he was accused of advocating compassion and grace toward those who were objects of prejudice and bigotry. I cannot remember reading anywhere that he wouldn't acknowledge those kinds of people but rather he spent time among them and showed them God's love. He pointed their thoughts toward God. He dared to be seen with love and the unlovable. For that kind of love, he won the prize: a Criminal's Cross.
Yes, it may come to pass, as the letter predicts: there will be no Presbyterian Church left; or for that matter any other denomination (my words). I cannot believe for an instant that the church will be destroyed by a few homosexuals who asked to be married. If anything destroys the church, it will be at the hand of those mean-spirited people who have an attitude problem and constantly find fault and, yes, sin, in everything and everyone; by rumour-mongers, the power-hungry and all those who spend their waking hours spewing out negative energy that demeans, humiliates and dehumanizes those who are different from them.
It is time to treat one another as Jesus treated persons like us. First and foremost, we ought to stop putting words in God's mouth and/or telling Him what He may or may not do. Or perhaps we ought to ask God to do otherwise as He may in His wisdom, deem best.
