August 08, 2003 - 10:56 a.m.
In Christ Jesus we are all children of God, through faith. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female; for we are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:26, 28)
We were watching the news and colin-g asked me, "So, what do you think?" God knows I never fail to have an opinion on religion. But this time I had to confess that I just didn't know.
My initial reaction to homosexuals in church leadership is - "and why not?" A homosexual man or woman is no more or less capable of faith in God or in spiritual leadership than the next guy. In the history of our Christian faith, Jesus and Paul embraced the maligned social stratas of their world. And we're talking about homosexuals, not pedophiles. I don't believe there is any more "predatory" threat than the average heterosexual would pose.
However, it is also the Church's (any church's) prerogative to draw lines of conduct for their members. That's a tricky dance: too narrow and strict and you'll end up like the Shakers with a congregation of 3; too broad and you sacrifice identity for a mishmash of hollow universalism. Either way lacks any potency in the individual or their society. But the purpose of religion is to guide us in our spiritual as well as in our secular lives. So the question remains - are the Christian arguments against homosexuality valid ones?
I lack the time to finish this right now.... and it's the Friday before War Week, so who's reading today anyway? (Have fun at Pennsic, everyone.... I'll be there next year!)
