Christian attitudes changing

By: Carl DeGurse Posted: 4:00 AM CDT Wednesday, Jul. 6, 2016

The formidable influence of Christians in the Steinbach area is thought to be one reason their local politicians won’t attend, or even discuss seriously, the area’s inaugural Pride parade on Saturday.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/07/2016 (3391 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This is based on an assumption that Bible believers are obliged to oppose same-sex relationships. That assumption is wrong.

It’s true my Mennonite denomination is well represented in southern Manitoba. It’s one of the few places in Canada where churches remain more crowded than hockey arenas.

GRANT BURR / THE CARILLON FILES
In 2013, hundreds participate in a prayer session night at Steinbach Christian High School focused on Bill 18, anti-bullying legislation that required schools to accommodate students who wanted to form anti-bullying clubs, including Gay-Straight Alliance clubs. — GRANT BURR / THE CARILLON FILES In 2013, hundreds participate in a prayer session night at Steinbach Christian High School focused on Bill 18, anti-bullying legislation that required schools to accommodate students who wanted to form anti-bullying clubs, including Gay-Straight Alliance clubs.

It’s also true that, like other denominations, including the Anglicans and the United Church, we Mennonites have been embroiled in discussing same-sex relationships.

For us, the matter comes to a head this weekend in Saskatoon at the national assembly of Mennonite Church Canada, when a committee will present a final report.

How’s that for an ironic coincidence of timing? At long last, there will be a Pride parade in Steinbach, but parade organizers chose the same weekend when many Mennos from southern Manitoba will be out of town, discussing the issue at a Saskatchewan convention scheduled more than two years ago.

The core of the matter for Christians is the Bible, as it should be. But Christians disagree on Biblical direction on same-sex relationships. It’s OK to say it.

It was trendy a few years ago for Christian youths to wear bracelets with the initials “WWJD?” which stands for “What Would Jesus Do?” It’s an excellent question to ponder often, but not a direct help with the question of same-sex relationships. Christ spoke passionately on many social issues but he didn’t mention homosexuality, according to the four gospels that record his words. Possibly, Christ didn’t think it was a big deal.

Homosexuality is mentioned only seven times in the rest of the Bible, where it seems to be prohibited in the Old Testament book of Leviticus and New Testament letters of Paul.

But views differ on what precisely the Biblical writers intended to prohibit. One view notes that people in Paul’s culture 2,000 years ago had no concept of a loving marriage between two same-sex adults. To them, the words we translate as “homosexuality” referred to exploitive same-sex acts, such as men having sex with boys, and powerful men using their male servants for sexual gratification. So, Paul was actually condemning what today we call sexual abuse.

This crucial issue of interpretation was well-aired in Morden last September when 200 Manitoba clergy and church leaders gathered for a daylong conference, Seeking to be Faithful Together: the Bible and Same-Sex Relationships. The event was introduced by Dan Epp-Tiessen, a theology professor at Canadian Mennonite University, who said: “There is good Biblical and theological evidence on both sides of the issue.”

In some ways, this evolving Biblical interpretation parallels the Christian church’s change of attitude towards slavery in the 19th century. Slave owners used to rely on Biblical passages to support a practice that we today regard as reprehensible. The Bible hasn’t changed its words on slavery, but Christians today choose to emphasize different passages and interpret the Bible with a more enlightened historical context.

For non-Christians who don’t understand the fuss and wonder why some Christians are so slow to bless same-sex relationships, please be patient. Change is underway, but it’s messy. Manitoba congregations have been split by decisions to wed same-sex couples or ordain gay clergy. Some churches have withdrawn from their Manitoba denominations solely over this issue.

The casualties are a tragic aspect of this turmoil. I have heard tearful testimonies from LGBTTQ* Christians and their families at meetings of The Pilgrim Group, which was formed in 2004 and meets monthly at Bethel Mennonite Church in Winnipeg. Typically, people in this support group talk about growing up as church kids and thriving in Sunday school and youth group, until they come of age and feel their same-sex tendencies. Some feel rejected by the cold affront of exclusion and are devastated.

Even Christians who can’t condone same-sex relationships must feel compassion for these Christian casualties. Guilty of nothing but the nature they were born with, their hearts are broken by the church that had promised them unconditional love. At a minimum, they deserve our compassion.

In Steinbach on Saturday, perhaps compassion can stifle criticism.

Carl DeGurse is an assistant city editor at the Winnipeg Free Press and a member of Douglas Mennonite Church in Winnipeg. These views are his own.

carl.degurse@freepress.mb.ca

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