Midst
Justina Lee ’15
discriminated against while marginalizing others from within?
Shouldn’t we be more concerned with the way we treat others
rather than what others may perceive to be our stance on the
issue? This issue extends beyond our campuses. In Oregon
last year, a Christian bakery refused to make a cake for a
wedding because of what might appear to be condoning a
certain “lifestyle.” This fear took precedence over loving a
neighbor as oneself. This was an act of pride, not love. The
same pride that Pharisees had when dissociating themselves
with tax collectors and prostitutes, adulterers and beggars.
If someone you knew came to you because they decided to
get a divorce, would you shout Matthew 19:5 at them and
shame their decision? Or would you listen to them, guide
them as well as you could, and be by their side so that they
wouldn’t have to go through it alone? Jesus never called us
to hold doctrine over human experience. He called us to do
quite the opposite. In Matthew 5:41, Jesus says, “If anyone
forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” Faith is
not about stripping away human agency or denying certain
identities access to their human experience, but empowering
people to live out fully through generosity, love, and grace.
It is not enough for Christians to not be homophobic. It is
not enough for Christians to simply be tolerant of the LGBTQ
community. We tend to be reluctant and skirt around the
issue of LGBTQ inclusion in both the spiritual conversation
and in active roles in faith communities. Instead, Christians
need to be the first to stand up for the weak, speak up for
the voiceless, and advocate for the oppressed. Christians
need to love proactively, even if it means openly accepting
LGBTQ people in the church, allowing them to not only be
seen in the church but also to use their talents to participate
in positions of leadership, and going out of one’s way to
include them and make sure that they feel welcome. We
cannot move forward as a body without first confronting the
reality of our past and present and correcting them for the
future. Only by recognizing and wrestling with these painful
realities will we come to know more of God’s character.
Being unapologetic and unashamed about your faith doesn’t
mean that you should not apologize for the damage caused
by your faith. Just because you are not actively persecuting
the LGBTQ community does not excuse you from facing the
consequences that your faith community is responsible for
in perpetuating misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia.
Religious freedom has a long and difficult history in this
country, with Christianity at the center of much of it. I
believe that there can be immense beauty and love found
in faith. Faith has given many the hope to carry on in times
of hardship and the strength to forgive others who have
deeply wronged them. By knowing more of God through
faith, we can strive to emulate the unconditional love that
we have been shown. In fact, I find one of the most beautiful
aspects of faith to be the community of love it fosters.
However, no church is perfect, nor should any claim to be.
Faith communities are made of a diverse range of imperfect
people, and to not recognize and own up to the problems
and pain that we have caused would simply perpetuate
the suffering we’ve induced. We cannot undo the damage
we have done to the name of Christianity, but we can take
steps toward healing those we’ve hurt in the name of God.
It is not okay to sit back comfortably knowi