A series of articles by Robert Buchanan, D.Min., on gay prejudice and
Christianity in order to challenge the church and help provide for the
spiritual needs of sexual minorities
Please bookmark this page and come back.
|
A series of articles by Robert Buchanan, D.Min., on gay prejudice and
Christianity in order to challenge the church and help provide for the
spiritual needs of sexual minorities
Please bookmark this page and come back.
|
|
|
Holiday Outcasts
Tim is in the
hospital this holiday, while most of the world enjoys fine food, friends, and
family. He is 15 years old. I’ve changed his name to protect his identity. I
became aware of him months ago at his first hospital stay. He lives in a very
rural part of the country with his parents. Tim’s dad is a minister at a
local church and his mom has a severe illness. Last summer, at 14, he tried
to kill himself because of his guilt for his attraction to other guys on
internet porn sites. He was stabilized and sent home with some medication to
take.
His parents
didn’t know what to do. They decided to send him to a Christian farm boarding
school. He is small for his age and perceived by others as effeminate. Tim
was constantly teased, called names and made fun of at the all-boys school.
Last week he was beat by twelve other students at once. The episode was
broken up before he was seriously hurt physically, but Tim went into emotional
shock. He was so traumatized by these events that his depression became so
severe that he nearly lost his mind. He went to the infirmary and asked for
help. Now he is in a psychiatric unit again.
Tim doesn’t know
if he is gay, and says he hasn’t had sex with anyone. He was simply perceived
as queer and therefore the object of hate by his fellow students. How strange
that he was hated in a school that supposedly taught Christian values. Maybe
it’s not so strange. Christians have spent the last thousand years using gays
as scapegoats. The other boys at school may have even thought they were doing
God a favor by persecuting him. Maybe they thought they were going to help
him become a man, not a queer man, by practicing tough love and beating some
sense into him. When people are treated as outcasts and evil because of who
they are, these kinds of ideas develop easily.
The holidays can
be difficult for sexual minorities for a great number of reasons. The
rejection of family and friends as well as that of one’s own faith can bring
torment into innocent lives. The good news is that Jesus never hated or
condemned. Those who have been alienated from the church can still find
voices of faith to help us find our way. While enjoying the holidays this
year, I can’t help but think of Tim and all the others who suffer. We have
indeed come a long way, but there is so much further to go until everyone is
equal regardless of racial, sexual, or social boundaries. We have not yet
arrived, but as caring Christians wake up to the truth, we will be a lot
closer to the goal of genuine love.
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Robert Buchanan is a minister of the Ecumenical Catholic Church and a psychotherapist who lives with his partner of many years in Durham North Carolina. He is the author of Love, Honor & Respect: How to Confront Homosexual Bias in Christian Culture and serves as director of the Institute for Inclusive Christianity. a training program for ministers and clergy who do not discriminate against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, or because of financial, familial or social status. Additional resources for inclusive Christians can be found at our Resources page.
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