Useful QandA; Crumbs and MAZE

Date: 21 September 2011 09:02:24

Rachel Held Evans is a blogger who is currently doing Q&A type posts with people who hold a range of different opinions on religion. As part of her series of conversations she invited people to send in questions to a gay Christian leader, Justin Lee - who heads up the Gay Christian Network. His responses are in this post which I would recommend to anybody who is interested in where many Christians who happen to be gay, lesbian or bisexual are coming from. One question and answer which I really appreciated being out there was this one: "Is it possible in your view for someone to disagree with you - to believe that the Bible consistently teaches sexual activity is intended for heterosexual marriage only - and for that person to not be a bigot, homophobe, motivated by ignorance or fear? Absolutely! Some of my best friends disagree with me on this issue. I recognize that we are all fallible human beings, which means that either (or both) of us could be wrong, but that doesn't mean we aren't sincerely trying to seek the truth. There are bigots who use religious language to justify their hatred, but that doesn't mean that anyone who has a view I disagree with is a bigot. There are also many compassionate, loving Christians who sincerely want to be able to give their blessing to their gay friends' relationships but are unable to because they believe the Bible forbids those relationships. I absolutely respect that. The same is true on the other side. There are many people who claim they believe the Bible but haven't really made any attempt to see what it has to say on the subject; they're just content to have any excuse to do what they want. But I'd hope that anyone who knows me can see that I am not one of those people. I am sincerely seeking to do God's will with all my heart. If I am wrong, I am sincerely wrong. I'm not just looking for excuses. All of us, on both sides, need to be willing to assume good motives for those we disagree with. We don't have to agree with each other to make a genuine attempt to understand each other." So often I think there is fear on the part of Christians who are not bigots but do hold sincere beliefs based on their interpretations of the bible that to express those beliefs to gay people will see them labelled as bigots. If we can get hold of what Justin is saying here and many sincere people who happen to be Christian and gay take a similar approach I believe we will be able to move forward significantly. Also, Justin himself has recently started blogging at Crumbs from the Communion Table. Whilst the organisation he heads up is international it is primarily American and so has to be read in that context. All exciting stuff though, as is the development of a seperate organisation Gay Christian Europe which is providing an increasing number of resources in different European languages so that people can access support and information in their own native tongue. What I find exciting about this latter organisation is the effort I know is going in to ensure translation of materials is accurate and the way real people are used to translate rather than using computer software which may not be accurate or take away from the meaning of things. On a more local level we have for MAZE, a local eccumenical group supporting LGBandT Christians in the North East:

MAZE

What? Fellowship (via food),

Worship (in a variety of forms) and

Building Discipleship (via discussion)

for LGB and T people.

Where? A safe space within Durham city centre.

When? 7-9.30pm Third Thursday of every month

MAZE Programme 2011- 2012

18^th August	Matthew 5: 1 – 12 The Beattitudes
15^th September	Matthew 5: 17- 42 The Law
20^th October	Matthew 5:43 – 6: 18 Living it Out
17^th November	Matthew 6: 19 – 7: 14 Choices and Benefits
15^th December	CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
19^th January	Christmas to the cross 1. – Before Ministry
16^th February	Christmas to the cross 2. – The Storyteller
15^th March	Christmas to the cross 3. – The Miracle Worker
19^th April	Christmas to the cross 4 –Passover and Beyond
17^th May	Models for today 1.
21^st June	Models for today 2.
19^th July	Models for today 3.
16^th August	Models for today 4.

If anybody would like further details of MAZE add a comment here - using a screen name if you like - and your e-mail will be visible to me but not others and so I will be able to get back to you with more details of the group.