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(SERMON continued from page 11)
biblical commandments and guidelines that
arise out of a particular culture or out
of a particular situation,
I am always amazed at how people some
times latch onto certain passages of the
Bible, in order to condemn another person
or another group of people. Often when
this is done, there is very little integ
rity involved in taking care to interpret
the biblical passages within the contexts
in which they occur.
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is a
good example. The story is often used as
a damning indictment against homosexual
ity. Yet, with a little research, one
will readily discover that biblical
scholars are far less clear about what
happened there than are most contemporary
evangelists and self-proclaimed newspaper
prophets! The Sodom story says nothing at
all about the homosexual CONDITION. The
only real application in the story to
homosexuals would have to be a UNIVERSAL
one: homosexuals, like everybody else,
should show hospitality to strangers and
should deal justly with the poor and the
vulnerable; and homosexuals, like every
body else, should not force their sexual
attentions upon those unwilling to receive
them. The story is an indictment against
sexual violence and injustice and
Inhospitaliity—an indictment which is to
be applied to gays and straights alike!
When interpreting the Bible, it i's import
ant to be able to identify what is the
MESSAGE, and what is the CULTURAL SETTING
of the day. We have to also remember that
the people of the Old Testament were a
hard-pressed minority and, understandably,
they were concerned that their future be
insured. They didn't want their people to
die out. So, for survival and political
reasons, procreation was the main sexual
emphasis in relationships. They then made
it into a religious norm in order to
assure its adherence among the people!
The Apostle Paul makes this point about
misusing Scripture to condemn: "You,
therefore, have no excuse," he said, "you
who pass judgment on someone else, for at
whatever point you judge the other, you
are condemning yourself, because you who
pass judgment do the same things!" Or to
put in different words: CONDEMNATION IS A
BOOMERANG! Fortunately, for us, though,
so is loving acceptance a boomerang!
Whatever we do to our neighbor, for good
or evil, we do to ourselves.
But who is my neighbor? Jesus was once
asked the same question. He answered it
by telling a story. He said there was
once a man who was beaten by thieves and
left lying along the roadside. A priest
saw the man's plight, and later a Levite,
Both appeared s)mipathetic at first, but
both chose, instead, to remain uninvolved.
Finally, a Samaritan (an outcast in that
culture!), took pity on the man and, at
great personal inconvenience and expense,
helped him to safety. Jesus put it to the
questioner: "Which one of these was the
neighbor to the unfortunate man?" The
questioner had no choice except to
acknowledge that the Samaritan who had
shown mercy was the REAL neighbor. Jesus*
reply was simply: "Go, and do as the
Samaritan did! Show mercy!"
I find it interesting that Jesus did
not define the concept of neighbor by
geographical closeness, nor by race, nor
by religion, nor by nationality, nor by
political philosophy, nor by'sexual
orientation—but only by need, and by
response to need! Anyone who crosses my
path and needs my help, my support, my
affirmation, my acceptance—is my neigh
bor! And I am neighbor to anyone to whom
I give assistance—to whom I show mercy
and understanding, and to whom I respond
in a positive way! And as Jesus said to
the questioner: "Do that, and you will
live!"
Psychologist George Weinberg says,
before society will be able to recognize
gay men and women as neighbors, it will
first need to deal with its own HOMO
PHOBIA, that is its own FEAR of homosex
uality. He says, the most basic of these
fears, is to accept homosexuality, more
and more people will CHOOSE to become
homosexual. But if sexual orientation is
simply a matter of choice, why are there
so many gays in a society that rejects,
and makes fun of, and punishes homosex
uality? Paul Gebhard, Director of Indiana
University's Institute for Sex Research,
states that in his studies he has never
known of anyone who is homosexual by
choice. The only choice, he says, is
whether or not to accept one's sexual
orientation. And that means, of course,
the CONDITIONS of gay people is as morally
neutral as the CONDITION of straight
people! Given proper support and recog
nized opportunities for commitment
relationships, homosexual persons can
express their affections and their rela
tionships as ethically, morally and
responsibly as heterosexual persons! In
determining human and ethical expressions
of one's sexuality, it is not the laws of
biology we need to consult...but the law
of LOVE! And that, it seems to me, is THE
fundamental biblical message!
I think it is up to straight church
people to reach the same position regard
ing gays, that we reached rgarding other
people in our society. They're different
—that's all! And if their difference
bothers us—I guess that's OUR problem!
What we've come to recognize is that just
as THE BLACK PROBLEM turned out to be a
problem of white racism, and just as THE
WOMAN PROBLEM turned out to be a problem
of male sexism, and just as THE PROBLEM OF
LEFT-HANDEDNESS•turned out to be a problem
of THE RIGHT-HANDERS, so THE HOMOSEXUAL
PROBLEM is really the homophobia of many
of us heterosexuals!
Now I know that gays have hangups—so
do straights! I*ni aware that there is
promiscuity among some gays, but I
seriously doubt if it is any more than
(see SERMON on page 14)