The Gay Christian Network

I found an interesting online article in the Washington Post's web site about the Gay Christian Network. Some of the comments are as good as the article itself. I am pleased to read articles like this. They were rare in my day. I grew up thinking that I was the "the only gay in the village," like Daffyd in the comedy show, "Little Britain."

When Jesus spoke of helping others and avoiding harming others, that was the message, alpha and omega. Dilution occurred when men placed their personal prejudices into religious theory and practice. This is why there is conflict today in certain religious communities over the issue of homosexuality. Sexual orientation is not a moral issue and never was. Men want to put themselves above others and think that they are better than others. This has always been the case, whether the matter is religion or something else, like ideology.

Religion does not have a monopoly on intolerance. Ideology can prove just as homophobic if not more so. In Communist Russia, homosexuality was considered a capitalist decadence and was grounds for imprisonment. Hitler murdered his close associate, Roehm, officially on the grounds of homosexuality. The Nazis placed homosexuals in concentration camps along with other minorities. Ayn Rand, the atheist behind the Objectivist movement, thought that gays should be treated psychologically just for being gay. So I do not believe that religion is the enemy of homosexuality. The cause of homophobia goes deeper within the human psyche than any belief system.

A common assumption is that those who are different are therefore bad, sick, or wrong. But this is not true. They are different, yes. Not bad. A simple concept, but even intelligent minds have difficulty with this simple concept. Intelligence is insufficient when uninformed by empathy for others. The same mistake that leads to racism also leads to homophobia.

Religion need not be the enemy of homosexuality. Neither must homosexuality be the enemy of religion. Gays can be as religious as any other group, have been in the past, and are today. This is an important point to consider for those religious communities that take issue with homosexuality. By being intolerant, a religious community bleeds numbers and influence and discredits their cause. It is counter-productive and begins a pointless battle that cannot be won.

If you believe in God, then that is all right. If you say, do not harm others, then that is something people will support. You may even make the world a better place! But if you say, I don't approve of your sexuality, then you have created an artificial conflict that must persist into perpetuity, because gays will continue to be born, even within the families of the faithful.