The following article reeks of ignorance of even the most basic of
relevant Biblical texts on the issues involved. In so many words,
it reduces Christian faith to feel-good amorality with zero grounding
in Christian morality or knowledge of scripture.
BR
Huff Po
Jason Collins, Jesus and Coming Out
Posted: 04/29/2013 Jason Collins rocked the sports world today with these
simple words:
I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay.
Collins made his announcement in a piece in _Sports Illustrated_
(http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/news/20130429/jason-collins-gay-nba-player/#
ixzz2Rrh8O559) that covered his long process of coming out and the
supportive influence of family members and friends on his final decision.
In the somewhat rambling essay that covered everything from his aggressive
philosophy on fouling opponents to the importance of wearing the number 98
in honor of Matthew Shepard; one paragraph stood out as perhaps the most
important of all.
Collins writes:
I'm from a close-knit family. My parents instilled Christian values in me.
They taught Sunday school, and I enjoyed lending a hand. I take the
teachings of Jesus seriously, particularly the ones that touch on tolerance
and
understanding. On family trips, my parents made a point to expose us to new
things, religious and cultural. In Utah, we visited the Mormon Salt Lake
Temple. In Atlanta, the house of Martin Luther King Jr. That early exposure
to otherness made me the guy who accepts everyone unconditionally.
In this one paragraph we can see the kind of family and church Collins was
raised in. His faith testimony is particularly compelling in the context of
being both _black and gay_
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/28/otis-moss-iii-challenges-on-marriage-equality_n_1550449.html)
given the
importance of faith within the black community.
Jesus was Jason's model and teacher in tolerance and understanding in a
family and community that took faith seriously. His Christian values became a
source of strength and courage in his embrace of his sexual orientation,
rather than a location for pain and humiliation.
Collins' experience refutes the polarity we hear so much of, that to be
religious is to be anti-gay or to be gay is to be anti-religious. Instead it
points to the reality that many if not most LGBT people have some religious
or spiritual beliefs that sustain them in their lives and loves.
It reminds me of when _Anderson Cooper came out_
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-raushenbush/anderson-cooper-gay_b_1644667.html)
in a letter to
Andrew Sullivan and wrote:
In my opinion, the ability to love another person is one of God's greatest
gifts, and I thank God every day for enabling me to give and share love
with the people in my life.
Cooper and Collins are doing something very important by including
religious talk within their coming out essays. Essentially they are insisting
that
God created, supports and loves them --including their sexuality, not in
spite of it.
The media likes giving the platform to _anti-gay voices_
(http://deadspin.com/espns-chris-broussard-says-being-gay-is-an-open-rebel-484708467)
who can
be so hurtful to young LGBT peoples struggling to come out.
Fortunately we have people like Jason Collins, Anderson Cooper who were
raised in loving families whose religious beliefs were used to teach positive
values of acceptance and love. And beyond them we have thousands of
religious leaders and congregations who stand ready to welcome LGBT people
into
their communities.
Today there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of young people who are
thanking God for Jason's example of a person who can love his family, love his
sport and love God while loving a person of his own gender.
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