Washington State is half-way through the fight for marriage equality this week. The state Senate approved a bill granting same-sex couples the right to marry, and soon the state house of representatives will vote on the same measure. And let the Christian hoopla begin…
One zealot, Steven Andrew, has called for all good Christians to stop buying coffee from Starbucks because the Seattle-based coffee chain came out (pardon the pun) in support of the bill. Steven Andrew is an evangelical pastor and president of USA Christian Ministries. But he’s not alone. In a report published on the Huffington Post, a very disappointed Christian woman held a vigil outside the state house in Washington state, praying that her god would deliver their state from this particular evil. She was disappointed because she was one of only a handful of Christians protesting the vote. She was also disappointed because it passed, of course.
This little tidbit got me to thinking. It got me thinking about the Judeo-Christian god and the teachings of the Christian church and bible. It got me thinking about the debate between whether homosexuality is truly a sin according to their scriptures. Some say that the bible has been reinterpreted so many times, retranslated incorrectly for two millennia, and that the intent of the teachings of Jesus Christ was inclusive versus divisive in all things.
But mostly it got me thinking about the kind of god the Judeo-Christian church chooses to worship.
For those nutjobs (it’s an industry term) who claim that their god is an all-knowing, all-loving, righteous god, it seems odd that they would turn against an entire population of their fellow man while attempting in some feeble way to put Starbucks out of business. Of course, I could be wrong about how they see their god. Since the emergence of the culture war and the war on their god, the evangelicals have brought out their old standby – the vindictive, all-punishing, all-city-destroying, jealous god.
I have to wonder if they are going to release new publicity photos of their god, choosing to have him appear angrier, pointing his wrath at his mischievous children, a la the Sistine Chapel version of god. (Just keep in mind, Evangelicals, that this particular image was painted by a gay man – You may be better served to boycott it altogether.) This would be far more effective than the “lamb of god” image we see so often in the form of Jesus Christ, complete with his long-hair, paganish garb, sandaled feet and iridescent glow. I mean, seriously, he looks like he’s dressed for a Pride parade, for crying out loud.
But let’s get back to the crux of the issue here: The Judeo-Christian god and what he (or she) teaches. When someone asked Jesus how to pray, he offered what has become known as The Lord’s Prayer. I have belonged to and actively participated in several Christian denominations in my lifetime, including Methodist, Presbyterian, Unitarian, and Catholic. I have had many Mormon family members (I live in Utah, go figger) and have attended Sacrament meetings, weddings and funerals conducted by Mormon bishops (laymen appointed to the role of religious leader for a year… kind of like an eclectic, non-lineage Wiccan coven, thanks.) I happen to know from experience that, at the very least, these Christian factions all use The Lord’s Prayer as a model of how to pray… because Jesus said to, apparently. In fact, while on his knees, sobbing prior to his execution, in the garden at Gethsemane, Jesus begged that the cup he would be served be passed around him. He also stated that his father’s will should be done, and not his. Unlike many Christian preachers these days, Jesus practiced what he preached.
But back to The Lord’s Prayer: I’m sure many other sects use it as well.
Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name;
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
This opening stanza is profound, don’t you think? It breaks down the entire argument against homosexuality in one pretty little package. We’ll get back to this in a moment, but there is one other point I’d like to make.
Some Christians are fond of saying that Satan is in control whenever something happens (like the passing of a same-sex marriage law) that they don’t like; that is contrary to their beliefs. There was a comment like this on the Huff Post article I read about Washington moving closer to marriage equality, in fact. That was the point I needed to make, in case you missed it.
So, on the one hand, we have an all-powerful and really ticked off god who took the form of a really humble teacher who practiced in life what he taught in theory. On the other, we have claims that the Judeo-Christian super-villain is taking over the world.
This, at least to me and anyone else with a brain, means homosexuality and the legitimacy of it in the Christian community can be broken down into a simple case of alternatives.
Alternative 1
Satan is far more powerful than god. After all, Satan has been corrupting the wicked for something like 5- or 10 thousand years, depending upon who you talk to. (No longer than that, because according to the Christian bible, the planet isn’t any older than that.) If Satan is taking over the world, then he is more powerful than the Judeo-Christian god when it comes to leading the flock, or so it would seem. I doubt we’d find any Christian who would concede this particular point, so let’s move on to option number two.
Alternative 2
Thy will be done. If the Judeo-Christian god is all-powerful and grants the prayers of his (or her) people in accordance with his (or her) master plan, than sometimes the answer to a prayer is, “No.” If millions of Christians are praying for the end of homosexuality (or the smiting of all gays and lesbians), and we are still here, then apparently your god wants us here. If a father prays that his son suddenly love women instead of men, and the son is still gay? The Judeo-Christian god wants him that way; made him that way. If a single woman, kneeling in prayer in front of a government building, asks sincerely and whole-heartedly that a bill confirming marriage equality not pass the state Senate, and that measure passes…
Perhaps it’s because your god wants it that way. Perhaps he was serious when he said that the greatest commandment of all is to love one another.
I’m not Christian. I live by the Rede of the Wiccae, which states, in part, to “Live and Let Live.” Perhaps this is what “Love one another,” is really all about, too. If you truly love the sinner and hate the sin, why not try to let them live their own lives, while you concentrate on yours?