now not so long ago, the letters WWJD appeared to be emblazoned far and wide — on the backs of automobiles, at activities hobbies, on flags and T-shirts. They stood for "What Would Jesus Do?" no longer really my style, but right through pride month it's price asking the question.
What would Jesus Christ do? simple. He'd wave the rainbow flag and march in the parade.
I say this as a sixty two-yr-historic straight, married, ordained Christian cleric, and one who unless around eight years in the past antagonistic equal marriage and become considered an opponent of the LGBTQ neighborhood. but people change, thank God. literally in my case, thank God.
If we examine it, the theology is wholly clear, which may additionally surprise some individuals. Jesus doesn't check with what we now define as homosexuality (a word now not coined until the 19th century), and lesbianism is rarely mentioned within the old testomony. When St. Paul writes on the area, he condemns straight men the use of boys for intercourse — always in pagan initiation rituals — and never people of the identical gender having loving relationships.
As for the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, it wasn't linked to homosexuality until the medieval period. in case you doubt me, study the Bible. Ezekiel: "This become the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, extra of food, and affluent ease, however didn't aid the negative and needy. They were haughty, and did abominable things earlier than me; for this reason I eliminated them when I noticed it."
these few prohibitions that do exist in the Hebrew Scriptures are a part of an historical e-book for an ancient americans, and also prevent certain combos of cloth and the eating of various foods — all considered inappropriate in modern Christianity. They also, incidentally, justify selling one's children into bondage. If we're to take the Bible significantly, which I most certainly do, we will't always take it literally. God is simply too clever for that.
there's one story in the Gospels, however, that might possibly be significant. Jesus is approached by using a centurion; the Roman explains that his slave, whom he loves dearly, is death. Would Jesus heal him? He does so, and praises the person's devotion. in keeping with the selected Greek words used, and the mocking angle 1st-century Jews had toward their oppressors concerning their sexuality, it's tremendously doubtless that those that witnessed this, and those that examine it in the early church, would have assumed that the two men were in a equal-intercourse relationship.
Isn't it entertaining what occurs after we take into account the context and historical past of scripture, and read it with out preconceptions and prejudice?
but there's extra to it, extra to why Jesus could be with these celebrating pride, and not those opposing and protesting. He stood with the oppressed, the rejected and the marginalized. He criticized the legalists, the judgmental and the pedants who twisted holiness into hatred. He preached a shining new message of love, justice, tolerance and alter. That's the euphoric quintessence of that Jesus track, the melody of the Gospels.
The time will come when geared up Christianity will seem to be back to its homophobia with shame, simply as it appears to racism as a grimy stain and sometimes an open wound. Many churches have already moved on, apologized, and now work to restore the harm they brought about. but, tragically, not adequate of them.
It matters because so many people have suffered for too long, and still face horrendous persecution and violence in tremendous components of the area. This outrageous obsession shames Christianity. We as Christians can't talk of innovative love if we embrace reactionary bigotry, and even now there are many within the church — some of them with political influence even in Canada — who believe that people can also be "converted" from who and what they are, as if there is anything incorrect and dangerous about them. God forgive such malice!
WWJD — What Would Jesus Do? He'd remind us that we're supposed to work to turn into more like him, no longer try to make him more like us. He'd say it's no longer who we like but that we adore that concerns, and that genuine faith is about acceptance, no longer exclusion. pride should still remind Christians of that, if we're inclined to appear, pay attention and be trained.
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Rev. Michael Coren is a Toronto-primarily based writer and contributing columnist to the star's Opinion part and iPolitics. follow him on Twitter: @michaelcoren
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