Homosexuality

Why, in part, the homosexual issue is not a hot topic to me

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One of the most commented posts ever on this little blog came just over a year ago: Generation Gap???


One of the things in that little post is about how many people in the generation I am born into do not find homosexuality as a primary issue to raise a stink about.  It is not that we do not care about the issues, it is just not in our top 5 or so issues.  Just like for many people slavery is not in a top 5 issue because many generations have already judged slavery as inhumane.  So even though everyone believes slavery is not right most of us do not spend time raising the issue because we all know it is morally apprehensible.  


For me, and many of my peers, the same holds for the issue of homosexuality.  We have already determined that the homosexuality is not a sin and the social taboos around it ought to be removed.  So we might say that homosexuality is not my generation's issue, because we have dealt with it, rather it is other generation's issue as the jury is still out on their stance.  


In this light, I do not spend much energy on initiating work toward the ordination of the LGBT because I know it will happen one day.  I wish it would be tomorrow, but that is not happening.  It will not happen this year, but I know it will happen.  I will fight for the issue today, but I know the time is not right yet for the Church to give the LGBT community the grace and love it deserves.  


How do I know that?  How can I be so cocky and bold to project into the future?  


1) I trust in a God who is working in history to bring about the equitable Kingdom of God.    
2) Gay marriage opponents are now in the minority


I believe (and I am sure it is still a long way off) that it is a matter of time, but the LGBT community will achieve equal rights just as heterosexuals do.  

I believe God wants equality for all people.  I believe God ultimately gets what God wants.  

So I keep on supporting the issue and continue to work to involve the LGBT community in all aspects of the church, but it is not a hot topic for me.  

But it may be for you.  

Generational gap - revisited sort of.

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While reading the book The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life by Richard Florida I ran across several quotes which I thought were greats. However, this quote instantly connected me to a previous conversation which took place here on this post.

The author of this book writes about the different worldview and values of what he identifies as the “creative class” which is budding in the United States and which, he forecasts, will be the dominate group of people in the USA.

On of the characteristics which Florida identifies with this “Creative class” is the value of diversity. He writes that “When they [members of the “creative class”] setare sizing up a new company and community, acceptance of diversity and of gays in particular is a sign that reads “nonstandard people welcome here.”

This is a good way of putting what I feel is being expressed by my peers and what I hold as a personal value as well. Maybe this is why my peers and I, in many ways, do not talk much about or think about homosexuality being a sin because it reflects an underlying value – diversity. That is to say, if homosexuality is a sin then being different is a sin.

This book is a fantastic read and does not talk about theology at all. It is a cultural study of sorts and one for which (and I know several of you people out there will shrill when I say this) I resonate with deeply. It speaks to my situation and position in life it reflects the values for which I hold in many regards. If you are looking to understand some of the people in your life whom you think are ‘lazy’ or ‘odd’ or just plain ‘different’ and cannot understand why the young people of today are the way they are – then you should check this book out.