Welcome to “Burnishing Bigotry” – a wondrously massive tome of spiritual nuance, ethical illumination, theological insight and Biblical enlightenment.

 

I was originally going to call this book “Bashing Bigotry”, but abandoned that idea pretty quickly.  After all, bashing bigotry – just like bashing anything else – only ends up making bigotry stronger, and that is exactly the thing I do not want to ever do; even inadvertently … AND, seeing as how this book is first & foremost a humble illumination of – and a sincere homage paid to – the teachings of Jesus Christ as found in the Gospels; AND, seeing as how those teachings repeatedly proclaim that everyone contains a seed of Goodness within them, and that we are thus to deal with others lovingly (especially when we least wish to do so; especially when those others are “least deserving” of that Love); AND, seeing as how the word “burnish” means to make something shiny by rubbing away its covering of dirt or rust or tarnish; AND, seeing as how such a “rubbing away”  is exactly what the manifested teachings of Jesus Christ end up doing to any & all self-centered “sludge” that has slathered the Souls of religious zealots & non-religious bigots alike, “Burnishing Bigotry” has become this tome’s most-fitting title – a fitting moniker for two of this tome’s ultimate aims: first — encouraging as many fundamentalist Christians as possible to see (and feel) the error of their arrogantly condemnatory ways, and second — inspiring those same people to sincerely “repent” therefrom; to inspire them to return to openly living the humble, loving Way of their own self-professed Lord & Savior.
How it all Started …

 

Essentially, this book is a manifestation of one single, humongous Facebook thread – an accurate synopsis of almost the entire contents of a quite remarkable, four-month-long conversation that took place online from June 10, 2015, through mid October of that same year.    It was a discussion that ultimately involved eleven individuals, conversing (mostly respectfully yet sometimes somewhat vehemently) many times a week (often even several times a day) – a discussion that all started harmlessly enough when a post offered by a Facebook friend (hereafter “Bart”) showed up in my newsfeed; a post that started with the not-so-cryptic barb …

“Would you?  Be honest.” – followed by this image:

Well, being the avid defender of the downtrodden and the somewhat rabid advocate for the oppressed that I have chosen to become, it didn’t take long for me to take the bait and respond to this challenge with a somewhat-cavalier (yet also fully sincere) …

 

“Of course I would!  … Would you?”

 

And that is how it all started … Who would have guessed that such a simple response would trigger four months of often heated debate about the nature of homosexuality & sin?  Who would have ever thought that such an innocuous question would lead to over four months of discourse covering almost every aspect of Christian theology?  Who would have ever even wondered in passing that such a gentle query would lead to an in-depth discussion about damnation & salvation, the deeper meanings of the teachings of Jesus Christ, and even the very nature of God Himself?

 

Why it went on for so long …

 

Why did this dialogue go on for so long?  Why didn’t it stop after the first month – or at the end of the second? – or at the very latest during the third?  Frankly, I’m not exactly sure … I can only assume that its longevity was due to it being a “perfect storm” of sorts – that my “opponents” were as determined to win a debate that centered around a trinity of topics that concerned them deeply (the “scourge” of homosexuality, the “proper place” for African Americans in our society, and the defense of their own brand of highly conservative, “evangelical” Christian dogma) as

I was determined to achieve a verbal victory for the themes that move me most deeply – the denouncement of all forms of injustice, the dismantling of all forms of man-made bigotry, and the upholding of The Way of Love – the purest form of LOVE; a Love that is readily found in the Bible’s four Gospels; a Love that forms the core of the teachings of Jesus Christ therein.

 

I mean, there must have been something spurring us all onward.  After all, even though it only took 7 days for my primary partner (herein “Vanessa”) to “win” the debate (when our primary opponent – hereafter “Lucy” – admitted twice that homosexuality itself is indeed not a Biblical sin), still the conversation stormed & raged for another 3.5 months, and would probably still be storming & raging today had I not chosen to finally make a relatively graceful exit therefrom (after it finally became clear to me that there was nothing more I could do to champion justice for homosexuals, or enhance the Love & Compassion of my “opponents”, or illuminate the texts of the Bible, or share The Way of Christ).  And so I simply let it all go; doing so with the full-fledged knowledge that it had indeed been worth it to “fight the Good Fight” for my LGBT brothers & sisters, with the sound belief that it had indeed been worth it to illuminate many of the Bible’s deeper & more Loving meanings for my more open-minded Christian brothers & sisters, and with a humble Faith that – somehow & in some way – those still determined to damn homosexuals &/or condemn those who do not believe as they do will indeed one day awaken to a way of worshiping & speaking & living that is more Just, more Compassionate & more Kind.

Why I have released it as a Book …

 

After the decision was finally made to let the thread come to an end, it became apparent during conversations about it with other Friends that it would not only make an interesting read (after all, it provides you the reader with an intimate look directly into the heart of what was a relatively private and often extremely intense discussion), but would also potentially provide thousands of people – Christians & non-Christians alike; straight folks as well as LGBT’s – with factual information about the Bible that could prove to be very useful in conversations or encounters with the ever-more-vocal & ever-more-consistently bigoted conservative Christian community.

 

Indeed, while the overall population of Christians is steadily declining in the United States (down from 77% in 2012 to about 71% in 2014), Christianity still remains a major player in that country, with roughly 90% of all American politicians & judges professing to be members of a Bible-based faith.  In addition, Christianity still remains the most popular religion in the world, currently professing well over 2 BILLION adherents who comprise roughly 33% of the world’s population … As such, whether one is a Christian or not, it is indeed important for us all to know about commonplace Christian beliefs and common Christianity-based biases.

 

Similarly, while it is tempting to casually dismiss Christian homophobia and Bible-based bigotry as “exceptions to the rule” – and while there is indeed a growing trend within the Christian community to be more tolerant (if not downright accepting) of homosexuals & transgenders, the disturbing fact remains that a significant portion of the U.S. Christian community (roughly 40%, according to a cross-referenced analysis of several recent national polls – including Life Way Research, PEW & the Public Religion Research Institute) still believes that homosexuality is a deviant, volitional behavior – and thus a “mortal sin”.

 

 

 

So, in this day & age when Christian conservatism & its dogmatically extremist tributaries (e.g. “fundamentalism” & “evangelicalism”) are actually gaining popularity, I felt it was important to provide Christians & non-Christians alike with the Bible’s alternative message – an equally valid message of peace & mutual respect; one that is just as prevalent in the Scriptures, and yet one that remains mostly unknown within the mainstream Christian community.  It is a message I have been both intensely studying & radically living for the past eleven years of my life, and it is a message that could bring a far greater measure of Harmony & Dignity & Purpose & Love to any individual who – &/or any community that – might choose to embrace & enliven it.

In addition, I also thought that it would be a service to Christians & non-Christians alike to publicly display the more typical theological arguments that conservative Christian pundits are fond of using, along with the tactics they often employ to press their oft-bigoted viewpoints upon their “victims” …

 

And finally, I believed it to be important to provide everyone – again, Christians & non-Christians alike – with the theological “weapons” they might need to effectively engage the battle being currently waged by the Just & the Caring against the forces of Darkness (among them bigotry & bias & conservatism & condemnation), should they ever choose to join that ever-ongoing, almost omnipresent fray.

Indeed, that is why I stayed with this discourse for as long as I did – even though it became quickly apparent that my “opponents” were A) often not listening to what I was sharing with them (even when that sharing included thousands of verses of well-reasoned and accurately presented Scripture), B) often did not even read what I wrote at all before repeating the very same arguments they had recently already made, or C) often – at least in the case of Lucy (the conversation’s primary antagonist) – resorted to responding to my thorough theological reasoning & extensive Biblical research by simply cutting & pasting large swaths of text from various evangelical pastors & bloggers that she apparently found online … (?!?!?!)

 

Of course, due to my unrefined Love for the subject matter, these tactics proved to be only occasional sources of frustration, and I readily admit that it was both an Honor & a Joy to remain deeply enmeshed in this discourse regardless …

 

Filed under: Burnishing Bigotry by Scaughdt