In the news today

My morning began today as most do: with an intense desire for coffee. I am beyond blessed to have Adalai in preschool.... that is right down the road from Starbucks. So I drop her off, and change the music from Empire of the Sun (to which Adalai is addicted) to your local NPR. And today's Charlotte Talks hot button issue was none other than homosexuality and bullying.

I was so incredibly interested in this topic. As a God-follower (no, not in the twitter sense), I felt myself becoming very emotionally engaged in the discussion. I hoped to call in or send an earth-shattering email to be read on-air with much fanfare, and then realized: I really just don't know where to begin.

Homosexuality, coupled with teen suicide, has been a media-pressed issue for the past few weeks. I mean, I don't need to even bring up the tragedy of the Rutger's student. As a mother, tears well up in my eyes as I think of the pain of this man, this son. Realistically, it should illicit emotion from anyone familiar with the story, regardless.

I feel I have been bombarded with the topic of gay acceptance through various media outlets recently. And honestly, I think it is a very beautiful thing. I wrote a blog a few months back concerning gay marriage and the topic continues to peek my interest. There were so many excellent points brought on by the discussion. A young girl of only 15 stated (paraphrased) "We cannot change bullying, we must change a culture." Another man called, who has a gay son and step-son and blamed religious teaching, as did another emailer.

And that's where I divert. The caller stated "The problem is that from a young age, people are taught that the Bible is the Word of God and that homosexuality is an abomination. People then believe they have authority from God to take these matters into their own hands. If the Bible were treated as a religious work as opposed to the authoritative Word of God, people would not feel an obligation to eliminate this behavior." (also paraphrased).

Sadly enough, I agree.... almost. I do believe the Bible is the word of God. That is a concrete truth in my life. But in spite of my doctrinal differences with the caller, one thing remains the same: People believe they have the authority to take matters into their own hands. Anyone who reads the Bible and only reads about the Old Testament abomination of homosexuality has apparently overstepped the New Testament call to Love, a call not to judge, unless we want all of our shortcomings on the table to be viewed by all.

I do not claim to know what God thinks about homosexuality or sexuality in general. Is homosexuality worse than adultery? Is it worse than heterosexual sex outside of marriage? Is it a choice or are there biological determinants? I don't know. One thing I am certain of, though. Jesus came that we may have life, and that our lives may be more fulfilled. There is nothing fulfilling about fear-driven hatred or judgement. In fact, "Perfect love drives out fear."

So, to again quote the 15-year-old guest (who does not claim to identify with one gender above another) "We must change a culture". In this case, our Christian culture. We must become not a subculture who is hateful towards or oblivious to those who live outside our worldview, but instead those who chose to embrace Jesus' teaching of love. We must change our mindset of "God hates fags" (whether we show in through picket signs or judgmental glances) to a heart of love, with open arms accepting all and leaving the judgment to God.

"For God so loved the world..." Funny. We're all included.