Jesus vs. Jesus

[awediot]

Let us Pray.... May God guide and protect us. May He look over our words and form them in the way He sees best. Let them move in the heart of those who need to hear, to change the minds and deeds, to stop the damage they know not that they do. With love and compassion we pray Your will be done.

This is near to what both sides pray, Equally assured God backs thier point of view a little more than the other. Both certain it is not them causing the worse damage. Like two football teams first trying to outpray eachother. Christian disagreements take on a bizarre quality. The anger, frustrations and accusations of any normal fight must be sublimated under the mutual agreement of niceities. The regular epithets Christians are so well known for are neutralized against fellow believers. The common ground, as in any battle, is overlooked and bloodied in a strikingly polite manner.

But then a chasm splits between them, the unspeakable rises to the surface as the one thing which can turn on anyone, on either side. The chance one is not Christian enough. The possibility one has backslid, or has misinterpreted, exemplfied a wrong ideal to the detriment of a more important one, or that one is mistakenly doing more damage than even the opponent. And this, is what you are asking the other to accept of themself, however true it may be. It is a bitter pill.

Perhaps this is the deepest fear of any believing Christian. Writing of it here brings no comfort. It is not the fear of Hell, but the fear of making things worse, or harder for others. Or causing them to turn from God because of my example. That, if anything can, boarderline on the worst a saved soul can do.

The SoulForce riders need support and I believe in what they are trying to do. I pray they and the Christians they encounter can all keep an open eye on that common ground first and foremost. They share in more than what divides them and run the risk of being held up to ridicule as a reason religion is for the weak willed fanatic. I pray they may somehow unite to fight that perception, that enemy. I pray the light of their mission shines through to join with the Truth of God, wherever they find it, heal those in need and grow together.

[Vanessa White]

Awediot: I just finished reading your post, for the second time today, and I agree with what it seems you are saying. I also just read about what happened on the second day that the Equality Riders were at Regent, that students from Regent, as our Riders stood, lined up in front of the bus, students came and prayed with our riders, hugged them, APOLOGIZED for the wrongdoings to LGBTQ persons. To me, that is such a breakthrough and a start, and I think that does bring all to a common ground that is shown in the love of JEsus Christ, embracing and prayer. And, above all, LOVE. I was quite moved by that whole event. As bothersome as it is to me that the Riders have to endure being arrested, being asked to leave places that do not want them there, even if faculty and administration bar them from entering the campus, some students are coming to them. That really encourages me about the very start of their journey.

I do think about the fact that I, at times, do get quite angry and defensive in my argument against the Christian persons that have such strict views against homosexuality. BUt, what I have been thinking on a lot since the RIdes began last week, is that, as much as many of us (myself included) believe and know that our orientation was not a choice, but rather, part of my inner fiber as a person, many of those said Christians have been raised in a strong church community, taught to fully obey God and the Bible, and their families have agreed with that religious belief. THen, many of us come along, and try to tell them that what they learned from those that they trusted the most was not the whole truth. I am sure that has to be a very hard struggle for many of them.

I guess I believe that baby steps have to be the way that this will proceed to make lasting, effective change. I think Regent was a GIANT baby step. Peace to you, awediot. Glad to have you posting on this. Peace, Vanessa:pray: :love:

[awediot]

Thanks Vanessa! This is not a pleasent topic, but what good are only pleasentries and back patting. The mutual admiration society doesn't spur alot of growth, just makes eachother feel good about it.

I do believe gays are right in thier struggle for acceptance, but the Christian vs. Christian aspect of it breaks my heart. So much similarity is over looked and sometime it seems like every gay step forward is two Christian steps back. The general public doesn't care and we all look like infighting fools... oh well. We were told it be this way... Thanks for the encouragement.

[NathanATX]

Thanks Vanessa! This is not a pleasent topic, but what good are only pleasentries and back patting. The mutual admiration society doesn't spur alot of growth, just makes eachother feel good about it.

I do believe gays are right in thier struggle for acceptance, but the Christian vs. Christian aspect of it breaks my heart. So much similarity is over looked and sometime it seems like every gay step forward is two Christian steps back. The general public doesn't care and we all look like infighting fools... oh well. We were told it be this way... Thanks for the encouragement.

Well, I hear what you're saying...

But I would suggest that the public and many, if not most, Christians don't see the arguement as something between Christians.

I believe there is very little public knowledge of the rising swell of gay people coming out as religious. And the church does everything they can to prevent gay people from being seen as loving, God-centered people.

The gay Christian is more often than not the only person in this "conversation" who would see it from the perspective of Christian vs. Christian.

They demonize us and make horrendous accusations to make sure that stereotypes & discrimination go unchecked.

We will dismantle their grip on our nation's throat when we speak out loudly as holy, annointed, blessed & called men & women of God.

[awediot]

That is why I wonder at the EqualityRides focus. If they are not percieved as spiritual people ( I realise they are not all Christians ) much of the purpose is missed.... I raised this question in another post and got no reply. Is it purely the medias doing, and if so, how can this be overcome? if not, why play down that the bus is packed with equally saved people?

[keltic63]

That is why I wonder at the EqualityRides focus. If they are not percieved as spiritual people ( I realise they are not all Christians ) much of the purpose is missed.... I raised this question in another post and got no reply. Is it purely the medias doing, and if so, how can this be overcome? if not, why play down that the bus is packed with equally saved people?

I've noticed that the equality riders are never described as christians. This really has been bothering me. What would it take to get the media to describe them as Christians? even "Gay Christians?"

[Vanessa White]

I definitely agree on this one! Can we do anything about this? Is the statement that the riders read and/or distribute reflective of the religious aspects of it? At Regent, didn't some of the riders and students pray together? I took that to be pretty impacting.

[awediot]

Thank you keltic63. my point exactly. That is a huge omission that threatens to undermine much of their porpose, which is to comfort the self hating Christians locked into these schools. Changing the ingrained bigotry is a great ideal, but if the religious conflict is ignored, the accusation that they are bullies trying to force their views on private institutions will only take root, and with some truth...

[NathanATX]

That is why I wonder at the EqualityRides focus. If they are not percieved as spiritual people ( I realise they are not all Christians ) much of the purpose is missed.... I raised this question in another post and got no reply. Is it purely the medias doing, and if so, how can this be overcome? if not, why play down that the bus is packed with equally saved people?

Do you have any ideas? Maybe letter writing campaigns & calls to the media organizations of the cities where the Equality Ride goes?

[awediot]

perhaps. Where is their itinerary on this site? (think I ran across it, but not sure where) An out pouring directed toward the media at first in their path,critical of the ommision, may alert the press along their way of the truer story going on. Possibly starting an online dialog with students themselves, bypassing the administration, prior to arrival. (some of this may be going on already, I am pretty ignorant of the logistics).... I can foresee the difficulty, however, in zeroing in on the "Christian" element. This entire site is pretty broadminded as to peoples religiosity, and a wonderful mix of united purpose. But the conflict between Christians, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Pagan and New Age spiritualism, is simmerring below the surface, coloring every post here already. The Jesus vs. Jesus illustration is a problem in itself... Being a Christian, and new to this site, some of my perspective, and reason for it, has been worded very carefully.