Outstanding Dan. It could be used as a primer to give thinking Christians perspective on how to use the faith in a positive way and avoid the destructive and counterproductive pitfalls embraced by so many. Let me share two incidents that I think illustrate exactly what you are trying to say.
Several months ago the founder of Biblical Christian Worldview and I discovered one another. I read a couple of his articles and he intrigued me because he seemed to be a thoughtful evangelical, not overly dogmatic. He was interested in my tales about work with prisoners in Christian ministry. He knew from the very beginning that I was a transgender woman but did not seem to hold it against me. He was perfectly willing to engage with me on an objective basis and not discount me solely because of my status. I was intrigued and pleased by his enlightened attitude. We had many interesting conversations about various things the two of us had written. I thought the discourse was going well until we reached a point where he retreated into reciting scripture to justify attitudes that were unkind because he could not find a rational basis to refute some of my comments. There is no quicker way for a Christian to alienate a non-Christian (or for that matter other thoughtful Christians) by throwing out the Bible as the absolute final authority in any discussion. It is disingenuous, but all to common. Ultimately he said he was wasting his time because the Bible was the inerrant literal word of God. Since I did not accept that, further discussion would be non-productive. I was disappointed because I thought he was better than that. We have not talked since. It is unfortunate. I consider him a devout Christian of goodwill trying to be understanding, even if misinformed and mistaken in certain respects. It his rigid dogma that holds him back.
For over 30 years I was a leader in the local Kairos community at our local medium/maximum security State prison. I not only worked with inmates while in prison, I set up a construction company to put them to work when released and paid them well. It was literally a ministry, not a business. I never took a dime. Many of my fellow volunteers both admired and were perplexed by my efforts. They admired the compassion I showed, but could not understand why I did not view it as a potential profit making endeavor. They did not understand that I was following the biblical call to minister to the disadvantaged and despised. It was as simple as that. I needed no other inducement or reward.
When I announced to the community that I was transgender over two years ago, I was asked to resign my positions and was quietly shunned by all but 3 of the 570 volunteers with whom I had previously been in regular contact. My only residual involvement was as a member of various prayer lines established as both a way of requesting prayer and also a bulletin board for sharing various blessings in peoples’ lives.
About a month ago, one of our more enthusiastic participants, who has been working in homeless shelters for abused teenagers, proudly announced that he was able to push back against the posters on the walls of the facilities celebrating diversity by getting them to accept literature designed to convince them of the sinfulness of the LGBTQ community and lifestyle. Locally, over 40% of the teenagers in our shelters are there because they have been rejected by family and friends for being LGBTQ. He was well intentioned, but oblivious to the further harm he was causing these particularly vulnerable children. As you might assume, he is a southern Baptist, so his attitude is not particularly surprising.
I rarely comment on information shared on the various prayer lines. I am mostly a passive observer. However, this one I could not let go. I informed him of the damage he was doing and that a better approach would be to just love and accept those children for who they are. They are not damaged or sinful or need to be cured. They are perfect just the way they are, and they need to be told that. I shared this openly with the community. No one pushed back, and there are a number of intolerant members of the prayer line. They knew that I had walked the walk for decades and that I had gone above and beyond in my efforts to help the imprisoned and homeless. There was little they could say to rebut the message of love I proposed as an alternative. Ultimately, the overly enthusiastic member apologized. Because he has so much energy, I directed him to the website for #letters4transkids. It is a very public effort to provide open letters to this misunderstood and too often rejected community. These children need support and encouragement and love, not to be told they are damaged or sinful.
The point of my rather lengthy response to your excellent article is that you are absolutely right. My two experiences are intended to draw a contrast between the right way and the wrong way to spread the good news. There is so much that is beautiful and life-affirming about authentic Christianity. Its message of love and inclusivity is exactly what the world needs in these troubled times. Too often it is obscured by the judgmental intolerance exhibited by too many professing themselves to be Christians. When the essential truth is communicated in a loving way, people respond. Underneath we are all the same and this is the message that resonates in our souls. It is the one we all need to hear and live by.
