Questions for Discussion

While floating around the web today I came across this year-old essay by Jeremy Marks of the ex-ex-gay organization Courage. I just wish those "love the sinner, hate the sin" bigots from the "Christian" right could take a break from fear-mongering for just a moment to ponder the ideas contained herein and have the courage to sit down and have a mature discussion about it. Here are the highlights.

• After ten years, however, six spent running residential discipleship courses, followed by years of weekly group meetings, it was increasingly clear that however repentant people were, and however much dedication and effort they put into seeking change, none were really ‘successful’ in the long term in ‘dealing with the deeper issues’. This is not to say that people gained no benefit! Many matured greatly. A few married (though their same-sex attractions remain an ongoing issue for them). But the kind of change everyone really hoped for – to re-orientate and reach a point where their struggle with being gay was over – remained elusive. We never saw the fruit we longed for.
• I saw that those who began, on their own initiative, to embrace the possibility of a gay relationship, benefited greatly. Common to all was an underlying longing for companionship and intimacy – a heart-longing, not merely a craving to pursue gay sex! So I realised that to dismiss erotic intimacy between gay men merely as the pursuit of lust was to seriously misjudge the situation. Gay relationships, entered into sincerely, with mutual commitment, provide value and a sense of belonging.
• Besides, why did Jesus call us to follow him, if there is no hope of finding a way forward, if celibacy is the only option? Why bother to study the Scriptures, or seek God in intercessory prayer, if there is nothing more to be said on the matter? In any case, what criteria do we have for judging committed love between two people as sinful, except for adultery?
• Biblical law was given at a time when people saw nothing wrong with a man having many wives. We do not accept polygamy today – presumably because we believe this runs contrary to God’s creation plan. So why did the Bible not unequivocally forbid it?