I'm a modern-day Christian college student, born and raised in a Christian home with two loving, heterosexual parents. I hate the homosexuals, and they're all going to hell.
Wait…isn't that what I'm supposed to say?
Believe it or not, Christianity and heterosexuality aren't as synonymous nowadays as they were 10 years ago. A huge debate was sparked last semester when The Spectrum published an article about UB student Steven Jackson. He had felt pressured to resign from his position as treasurer of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and stepped down because he felt judged for his sexuality.
Guess what? Jackson's a Christian and so is his boyfriend.
To the Christians out there who just read that sentence and thought ‘there's no way that's true': You are the reason that some people hate Christians and you are the reason that I can't stand a lot of Christians, though I do believe in and worship God.
Does that seem contradictory? It shouldn't.
I think many Christians have lost sight of who Jesus is. Try to stick with my explanation here. I love my friends – they're all talented people that bring something positive to my life. I wouldn't want to hang out with someone shunned by society and most of you probably wouldn't either. Naturally, people in our society like to associate themselves with friends who make them look good and have a positive reputation.
Jesus wasn't like that. The man who Christianity centers around embraced outcasts. He loved people who weren't viewed as ‘normal' by society.
Ever heard the name Mary Magdalene? She was a prostitute in the Bible, and people believed she contained ‘seven demons.' Jesus loved and accepted her even though she was looked down upon, and eventually she became one of his most loyal followers.
Back then people classified those who were ill as ‘unclean.' The mentally challenged, disabled, etc. were separated from society; they lived alone outside of the city. A leper came to Jesus at one point in the Bible and leprosy was viewed as one of the worst diseases. Jesus didn't ignore him; rather he reached out and touched him, healing the man of his disease.
Children were looked down upon in Jewish culture. Even the disciples disliked children and considered them inferior. Jesus? He loved 'em.
"Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it," he said.
Are you still with me? Okay, now that we've established that Jesus was all about hanging out with people who were different, we can move forward.
Does the Bible outlaw homosexuality? Yup. Some boast that the Bible only bans it in two verses in Leviticus, but that's verifiably untrue. Check out Genesis 19, I Corinthians 6, and Romans 1.
So while the vast majority of Christians don't agree with homosexuality, they also disagree with drinking, premarital sex, and numerous other sins many young Christians frequently commit. The key here is hypocrisy.
I never drink, always read my Bible for an hour a day, vote Republican in every election, and I'd rather go to church than a party. I only listen to worship music, wear a cross around my neck, and never let an unholy curse word cross my clean lips. While the world preaches pride, I despise vanity.
That's the front a lot of Christians put up. Check out a couple verses:
Matthew 23:13 – "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in."
Romans 3:23 – "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
If you believe the Bible and subsequently those verses to be truth, then wouldn't you rather a Christian homosexual come out of the closet than stay in it? Would you rather people pretend to be perfect, or admit they aren't quintessential Christians?
Honesty is always the best policy. It's unfair for me to say a homosexual can't be a Christian because I go against the Bible sometimes, too. I can't say whether or not they were ‘born this way' because I've never had those feelings. But who am I to judge? More importantly, who are you to judge?
John 8:7 – "When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them: ‘if any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.'"
Email: aaron.mansfield@ubspectrum.com
