Ambrose
03-14-2007, 01:49 PM
I'm very happy to have discovered the Soul Force site, and could not be more impressed with, and inspired by, the young men and women on the Equality Rides. Next netsurfing stop: to make a contribution to what you're doing.
Like many here, I have had a winding and sometimes difficult journey, trying to come to terms with my love for the gospel tradition and its failure until recently to extend the love of Christ in an authentic way to gay and lesbian people. For years, I felt I had to choose between following Christ and being gay, and I chose Christ--or rather, my cramped understanding of him. Thank God, mostly through others' courage, I eventually came to understand the falseness of such a choice, and in the process, discovered a God much more inclusive and loving than am I or many others who aspire to follow Jesus.
Interestingly, it was not theology or even the gospel in abstract terms that brought me to this point, but the people around me. Until I experienced the incarnate love of my partner, Sam, and before that, the loving refusal of my ex-wife to stand for a life built upon a flawed, constricted notion of what Christ demands of us, I was unable to experience the love of God as a love that truly transcends and overcomes human bigotries and ignorance.
That is why I stand so in awe of your approach: scripture and theology may point the way of Christ, but until it becomes incarnate in interactions with real people, it is not enough to overcome the fears and ignorance of many of us. I appreciate your courage, and your witness, more than I can say.
Like many here, I have had a winding and sometimes difficult journey, trying to come to terms with my love for the gospel tradition and its failure until recently to extend the love of Christ in an authentic way to gay and lesbian people. For years, I felt I had to choose between following Christ and being gay, and I chose Christ--or rather, my cramped understanding of him. Thank God, mostly through others' courage, I eventually came to understand the falseness of such a choice, and in the process, discovered a God much more inclusive and loving than am I or many others who aspire to follow Jesus.
Interestingly, it was not theology or even the gospel in abstract terms that brought me to this point, but the people around me. Until I experienced the incarnate love of my partner, Sam, and before that, the loving refusal of my ex-wife to stand for a life built upon a flawed, constricted notion of what Christ demands of us, I was unable to experience the love of God as a love that truly transcends and overcomes human bigotries and ignorance.
That is why I stand so in awe of your approach: scripture and theology may point the way of Christ, but until it becomes incarnate in interactions with real people, it is not enough to overcome the fears and ignorance of many of us. I appreciate your courage, and your witness, more than I can say.