OK, my Friends … It looks like we have finally done it.  It looks like we have finally come to the conclusion of this grand (and admittedly somewhat intense) Journey together …

And now that we have done so, I feel compelled to say that it has been both an honor & a privilege to spend all of this time & energy championing The Way of Christ herein – a Way of Justice, and a Way of Compassion, and a Way of Humility, and a Way of Love.  And I also wish to note that I have a sound faith that people (gay as well as straight) from all religious bents & all spiritual proclivities will one day soon benefit therefrom …

*… that atheists (& agnostics, & undecideds) will now have more than mere reason & logic at their disposal when speaking with conservative Christians about such matters of import.

*… that Buddhists (& Hindus & Sikhs & Muslims & Jews et al) will now be better able to understand (and thus have more compassion for) the relatively narrow-minded & relatively hard-hearted views espoused by most evangelical Christians.

*… that more open-minded “progressive” Christians will hereby have the theological tools at their disposal to calmly & clearly show their fundamentalist brothers & sisters that it is not at all necessary to support bigotry in order to be a “devout believer”.

*… and that conservative Christians themselves (at least a few of them) will use the information herein to reach a much deeper understanding of the Scriptures – and thereby attain a much more profound comprehension of The Way of Christ – and thereby begin to live their lives in harmony with the teachings & the Way & the Gospel of their own lord & Savior; instead of railing against homosexuals (& other “mortal sinners”) in a manner that actually detracts from & thereby dimishes the same!
I addition, I would like to take this time to express my immense gratitude to those without whom this book would not have been possible – to “Bart” (who made the original Facebook post that inspired this conversation), to “Lucy” & “Daniel” (for investing so much time in challenging me by championing the traditional “anti-gay” position of modern-day conservative Christianity), to “Wayne” & Beth” & “Diana” & “Cyrus” & “Patrick” & “Simon” & “ Ariel” (for dropping by every now and then to more often than not insert more than their two cents’ worth), and of course to Vanessa – for being a constant source of both support & inspiration for my efforts in defending not only homosexuals from persecution, but also The Way of Christ from taint & disrepute …

Thank you all, sincerely & faithfully & wholeheartedly!!!

P.S.  That having all been said, some might still be wondering why it is that I spent so much time & energy in this endeavor, and to you all I would simply say the following:

*… that injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere (Martin Luther King Jr.); that denigrating homosexuals for how they innately feel and who they innately are is damaging to the entire fabric of human civilization and unfairly harmful to those so denigrated …

*… that I am fully & unabashedly in Love with the teachings (and the Gospel, and the Way) of Jesus Christ, and as such feel called to defend the same whenever & wherever they are being smeared &/or slandered … and,

*… that I have been blessed to remember that behind every bigoted belief lies a person suffering from a very deep wound; an “enemy” who is harboring a pain equally worthy of warmth and gentleness … Indeed, through this very conversation I have been blessed to remember that underneath every hateful or intolerant façade beats a heart that Cares & that is innately Kind – a heart equally worthy of Love …

And it is with this Love unconditional that I have attempted to fill this discourse – with the humble faith that this work will become an agent that spreads the same to others … For the Bible need not be a harsh book of judgment, and Christianity need no longer be a religion of intolerance & prejudice … For indeed, the Bible itself (and therefore also the Christian religion which has grown therefrom) provides a way of salvation for all – regardless of race, regardless of sex, regardless of religion, and regardless of sexual inclination.

 

That’s right, my Friends – regardless of your personal religious affiliations (or even your possible complete lack thereof), you can take solace in knowing that the Bible itself provides an interpretation that allows for Salvation for everyone – even the greatest of “sinners” – including those of you who are homosexual or transgendered! … Yes, even though our fundamentalist Christian Friends will try to reconcile using the Old Testament’s ominous oracles or the New Testament’s putrid professions of Paul to justify their bigoted condemnation of the homosexual “lifestyle”, Jesus himself came to show everyone that there is indeed a New Covenant available to all – that there is indeed another Way to enter “the Kingdom of Heaven”, and that there is indeed another, far more Loving God who resides therein!

My dear Friends, it is no accident that Jesus spoke of a heavenly Father who “judges no one” (John 5:22), and it is no accident that Jesus himself admonished us all to “forgive 70 times 7” (Matthew 18:22), to “become humble again as young children” (Matthew 18:3-4), and let our own Love for all the others in our lives become as perfect as God’s Love is perfect (Matthew 5:48) – even those so different from us that we consider them to be “enemies” (Matthew 5:44) … And as such I encourage ALL OF YOU – Christians and non-Christians alike – to reawaken your Heart of Hearts and walk The Way – his Way – anew.  I encourage all you conservative, judgmental Christians to set aside your ignorance towards  those not like you and your intolerance for those not perfectly reflecting your own beliefs … and I encourage all of you “liberal” & “progressive” (a.k.a. Caring) Christians to set aside your cowardice and have the courage to stand up to all the fundamentalist Christian denouncers & damners in your midst; to stand up firmly & gently to meet their hatred head on with your Love, and shatter the stumbling blocks of their bigotry with the same.

Amen … Please feel free to do your part in making it so!

Scaughdt
(June 2016)

Filed under: Burnishing Bigotry by Scaughdt