Jesus, the Bible & Homosexuality, by Jack Rogers: Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Real People and Real Marriage
In this chapter, Rogers deals with some of the stereotypes and language that surrounds the topic of homosexuality. For example, many times you’ll hear people refer to “the gay lifestyle” as inherently promiscuous, sinful and the specter of AIDS. This is just one way in which people use the power of language and perceptions to foster fear against the LGBT community. Rogers likes to point out the injustices and inequalities that exist in our current system, especially when it comes to issues related to clergy sexual misconduct. Rogers speaks about male PC(USA) pastors who have affairs with women in their congregations:

“…These heterosexual male pastors who have clearly violated the teaching of Scripture, their marriage vows, their ordination vows, by having affairs with female parishioners, are usually treated as individuals, with restoration always a possibility. But in the case of homosexual people the church makes a blanket a priori that none of them is worthy of ordination to serve as deacon, elder, or minister of Word and Sacrament” (93).

It would have been interesting if this chapter would have been written after the recent passing of Prop 8 in California. Rogers believes that the issue of ordaining people who are gay and lesbian is linked to the issue of marriage. Specifically in the Presbyterian Church (USA), candidates for ministry are supposed to be married or celibate. And since LGBT folk are barred from marriage in the church, we give LGBT persons one option: to remain celibate and not express their God-given sexuality.

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“You’d be the first…”

Junior high kids are funny. Sometimes they can be serious, but most of the time, they are just super-squirrely. We have a hilarious group of 6th graders, especially a small group of girls who are all going through the “I-want-to-be-punk” stage so they all have the plastic bracelets, black clothes, spike-bracelets and stuff like that. One girl in particular is absolutely hilarious – I love being around her. But everyone thinks she’s just going off the deep end, going through some severe depression and turning away from God [primarily because of the way she is dressing]. What she’s most likely going through is the normal 6th grade girl, I’m tired of being a good Christian church kid, I’m trying to find myself, kind of stuff. So last Sunday she and I were walking through the office, and joking around and I just put my arm around her and said, “I’m glad we’re friends…I like you…I like you just the way you are” (now that I type it, it sounds sort of cheesy, but…anyway). Her response…”Aww, thanks Adam. You’d be the first…”

I don’t know if she was joking or not, but really…I should not have been the first. And yes, even if she was joking, there is always some truth in that. We should be telling the kids that are in our lives, the students we are working with, that they are loved and accepted by us…by God. They need to be hearing this.