Monday, June 04, 2012

Q&A x 10: Top Ten Questions to Answer @ Gay Pride

Have I mentioned lately that I love what I do? I love that part of my job is to answer questions about Jesus -- about the Bible -- about the Episcopal Church -- about Jesus and gay people and the Episcopal Church. You get my drift. Anyway, in preparation for our L.A. Pride Festival this weekend, the brilliant, fabulous, thorough folks putting together the materials for our booth at the festival came up the following ten "frequently asked questions" and asked me to give them my best shot.
So here you go: Susan Russell's Top Ten Questions to Answer @ Gay Pride

1. Is being gay a sin?

No. We believe that sexual orientation is morally neutral. Sins are acts that separate us from God and keep us from loving our neighbors as ourselves. Being gay is not a sin. Bullying is a sin. Being hateful to other people is a sin. Putting yourself in the place of God to judge others is a sin. Being gay is not.

2. What did Jesus say about gay people?

Jesus said the same thing about gay people as he said about all people: God loves you beyond your wildest imagining and calls you to walk in love with God and with each other. He also said a whole lot about loving your neighbor, welcoming the stranger, embracing the outcast and ministering to the marginalized.

3. Does the Bible really condemn homosexuality?

The short answer is no; no it does not. The handful of passages in the Old and New Testaments that talk about God condemning specific sexual acts have nothing whatsoever to do with sexual orientation and instead with contexts such as cultic prostitution or gang rape. To put it another way, using the Bible as a handbook on human sexuality makes as much sense as using it as a handbook on astronomy. Just as those who wrote the Biblical texts couldn’t have imagined the science that would prove the earth actually revolves around the sun, so they had no concept of homosexuality (which wasn’t defined until the 19th century.)

4. How do I respond when people say "God hates "f--s"?

First of all, God’s nature is to love, not to hate. We believe that what God cares about is not our sexual orientation but our theological orientation – and that the question that matters is not “who do you love?” but “do you love?” Recognizing that homophobia causes some folks to project onto God their own fears, prejudices and biases against LGBT people, sometimes the best response is simply no response. It can be a challenge, but getting triggered by hate-mongers prevents us from being the change we want to see.

5. I thought gay men and women weren't allowed to be priests?

The Episcopal Church has been ordaining women to the priesthood since 1974 and we have women deacon, priests and bishops throughout the church – including two women bishops here in the Diocese of Los Angeles. When it comes to gay men in the priesthood, the issue is not homosexuality – it is honesty. The church has ordained gay men for centuries but finally the Episcopal Church added “sexual orientation” in the non-discrimination list in 1994 -- ending our version of “don’t ask/don’t tell.” Because the Episcopal Church allows for diversity of practice, the leadership of “out” LGBT and women clergy is more prevalent in some places than others. But the Diocese of Los Angeles is proud to have been in the forefront of inclusion.

6. Can I still receive Communion if I am gay?

Of course you can. In many of our churches you will hear a variation on the invitation “whoever you are and wherever you find yourself on the journey of faith there is a place for you here.” God’s love is radically inclusive and so is the Episcopal Church.

7. Despite what is happening legislatively, can my partner and I be married in the Episcopal Church yet?

The only accurate answer to this question is “that depends.” It depends on which diocese you’re in and whether you’re in a state that has civil marriage equality. For example, New York State is a marriage equality state. In four of the six dioceses clergy can both solemnize and bless a civil marriage and in one of them clergy can bless but not solemnize (a judge or justice of the peace has to do the civil marriage part). Here in Los Angeles clergy both blessed and solemnized same-sex marriages in 2008 when it was legal and our bishops have been in the forefront of working to overturn Prop 8 and get marriage equality back. As Facebook might put it: “it’s complicated.”

8. What do I tell people when they say being gay is a sin and a choice?

Tell them that Jesus said absolutely nothing about being gay but he said a lot of things about judging other people. Then tell them that while there is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian orientation there IS consensus that sexuality is a continuum. So the “choice” is not to be gay, straight or somewhere in between – the “choice” is to build our own healthy relationships … and give other people the grace to build theirs.

9. Should I try to "pray away the gay?"

No. If you need to pray away something, pray away homophobia. Homosexuality doesn’t need healing. Homophobia does.

10. How do I respond when politicians condemn my sexuality, citing their belief in the Bible?

Remind them that the First Amendment protects them in believing whatever they want to about what God does or does not bless but it also prohibits them from using those beliefs to decide who the Constitution protects or doesn’t protect. Tell them to stop confusing their theology with our democracy. And then campaign for and donate to their opponent in the next election cycle.

13 comments:

RonF said...

7. Despite what is happening legislatively, can my partner and I be married in the Episcopal Church yet?

No. Canon 18, Section 2, paragraphs b. and c. state:

"(b) That both parties understand that Holy Matrimony is a physical
and spiritual union of a man and a woman, entered into within
the community of faith, by mutual consent of heart, mind, and
will, and with intent that it be lifelong.
(c) That both parties freely and knowingly consent to such
marriage, without fraud, coercion, mistake as to identity of a
partner, or mental reservation."

Bishops have a certain amount of latitude, but they have no authority to negate this. Even if the priest or bishop says you have been married within the church, you are not. As has been said, a priest may choose to bless a civil marriage that has already taken place, but the Episcopal church cannot marry you with someone of the same sex.

RonF said...

10. How do I respond when politicians condemn my sexuality, citing their belief in the Bible?

Politicians have a First Amendment right to say as they think. So do you. You have a right to vote on the basis of your moral beliefs. So do they.

SUSAN RUSSELL said...

Ron F ... re: #10 ... couldn't disagree with you more on this one. Politicians do NOT have the right to write their theology into our Constitution. They can believe whatever they want about what the Bible says but when it comes to equally protected rights the question isn't what the Bible says it's what the Constitution says.

How would it be if we substituted the Koran for the Bible? Or the Torah? Or the Bhagavad Gita?

SUSAN RUSSELL said...

Ron F ... busy staff meeting day so little time to re-hash this oft-debated debate but [1] read the WHOLE marriage canon (and note that we are behooved to comply with the laws in the state we live in) and [2] in point of fact four out of six bishops in New York State ARE permitting clergy to both bless and solemnize ALL marriages.

There will be more debate to come and the canons will be changed ... but in this moment of time ... in those jurisdictions ... the operative words are "descriptive" rather than "proscriptive" for Canon 18.2b you site.

Back to staff meeting land.

RonF said...

[1] read the WHOLE marriage canon (and note that we are behooved to comply with the laws in the state we live in)

Indeed I have. It says that any marriage contracted within the church must comply with both the State's law and the Church's law. A same-sex marriage in those States that permit such pass the first test but fail the second, and thus cannot be solemnized in an Episcopal church. Your reading, it seems to me, is to say that a marriage must comply with the State's law OR the Church's law, not the State's law AND the Church's law. I don't see how you reach the conclusion you have.

[2] in point of fact four out of six bishops in New York State ARE permitting clergy to both bless and solemnize ALL marriages.

That's no surprise. But the fact that a Bishop has said that his clergy may perform a given act does not make that act legal within canon law. The General Convention is the highest - earthly! - authority within the Episcopal church, and any Bishop's act at variance with it is simply invalid, unless (as, say, in the case of female ordination) the General Convention votes to subsequently validate such acts.

I'm interested in the distinction you make between "descriptive" vs. "proscriptive". The Canons are not guidelines. They are canon law. Bishops, priests and others acting using the authority of the Episcopal church must abide by them. They can act outside them, but then such acts do not carry the authority of the Episcopal church.

RonF said...

How would it be if we substituted the Koran for the Bible?

I seem to recall that we have a member of the U.S. House of Representatives who took his oath on the Koran. When it comes to matters of law I expect that he will observe the law. When it comes to matters of morals I fully expect that he will vote according to his conscience as expressed in his faith system.

They can believe whatever they want about what the Bible says but when it comes to equally protected rights the question isn't what the Bible says it's what the Constitution says.

True. I agree with that. But where you and I differ is whether a bond between two people of the same sex can be of the same nature as that between two people of opposite sexes and whether granting an equivalency of privileges between the two in the law is a question of equal rights.

SUSAN RUSSELL said...

Sorry Ron ... no time today. Talk amongst yourselves, peeps. It's all meetings all day at all saints church!

RonF said...

Do you think that the Canon that states that all Diocesean and Parish real property belongs to the National Church is also descriptive (not that I'm sure what you mean by that) rather than proscriptive?

And, of course, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to even hear the case en banc, so it's off to the Supreme Court. I'd be astonished if they don't grant cert. Given the speed at which our legal system moves it's entirely possible that Mitt Romney will have been elected President and will have named a member of the Supreme Court by the time it's heard. But even if not so the arguments will be fascinating.

Matthew said...

Maybe we should re-write Canon 18 this summer at the conference. That would take care of it, wouldn't it?

And, here is a research project for some one.

Someone should compile a list of all dioceses in Canada and the USA of which ones will do same sex marriage and which will not? Nova Scotia? Iowa? etc. And which dioceses will bless a same sex union.

JCF said...

The General Convention is the highest - earthly! - authority within the Episcopal church, and any Bishop's act at variance with it is simply invalid

IF General Convention so rules. Not merely depending on, oh, say, RonF's opinion on the subject.

uffda51 said...

The group of people who all said “no” to authority is a long and distinguished one. Martin Luther, Rosa Parks, MLK, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, to name a few.

The proponents of Prop. 8 in California could not make the case against “whether a bond between two people of the same sex can be of the same nature as that between two people of opposite sexes and whether granting an equivalency of privileges between the two in the law is a question of equal rights.”

RonF said...

JCF:

IF General Convention so rules. Not merely depending on, oh, say, RonF's opinion on the subject.

I don't see how your statement makes any sense. General Convention so ruled when they passed the canon. The different between the meanings of the words "and" and "or" is pretty well established, and General Convention used the word "and".

uffda51:

The group of people who all said “no” to authority is a long and distinguished one. Martin Luther, Rosa Parks, MLK, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, to name a few.

Of course. And you need not invoke those names. Every person is bound to act according to their conscience. But none of those people took an action on behalf of an institution at variance with the rules under which said institution gave them authority to act. If a Bishop sees it as a matter of conscience to support the cause of redefining marriage they should do so. But if they intend to conduct or encourage others under their authority to conduct such then they should first resign their position as Bishop.

uffda51 said...

Six responses in one thread, out of twelve total responses. Six uses of the word "authority." I think we know where you're coming from, Ronf.