Friday, October 17, 2008

Having My Say

One morning I had the opportunity to watch BET's "Meet the Faith." To set the stage for this discussion, here is the description from BET's website:"This heated and eye-opening conversation among guests Bishop E. Bernard Jordon, founder of Zoe Ministries; actress Sheryl Lee Ralph; and host of BETJ’s “My Two Cents,” Keith Boykin, will examine Black homosexuality -- its myths, realities and why it seems Blacks are more homophobic than other groups. The topic of has been heating up pulpits in Black churches across America for a few years now. And anti-gay sentiments are not only causing distrust in the Black church, they’re dividing the larger Black community. While some Black clergy and other Christian believers consider homosexuality a “mental disorder,” others say it is an abomination against God. Still others say that being gay is not a choice nor does it preclude one from being a child of God."The conversation that follows on the discussion board is sad. The large number of voices comes from the black religious right. It is filled with they usual condemnations, bible verses taken out of context, and venom. I hope that 1. more individuals of same sex desires will post comments, and 2. the discourse remain civil. Whether the gay rights movement should be compared to the civil rights movement is not as critical as whether the black community should be torn apart by homophobia.Even as I write this, there are men and women, teens struggling to survive after being separated from the family units that should be there to support them. One young man that I know of has critical health issues that could happen to any of us without regards to sexuality, but is cut off from the family that should be there for him now because of his homosexuality. The ability to love one another as Christ has loved us in lost in the uproar over how we live the lives that God has given us. The Bible has been and continues to be used to justify much wrong. But in the end, even those abuses will be wiped away as the real truth unadulterated by the tampering of men through the centuries is finally revealed. We need to be careful of how our community is being divided and what motivations are behind other groups who are using the faith of black people to win political elections and destroy unity.Appropriately, the day before the broadcast at a convention of the United Church of Christ, Sen. Barack Obama rightly cautioned that some right wing evangelical leaders have exploited and politicized religious beliefs in an effort to sow division. He says, "somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and faith started being used to drive us apart." He goes on to add that "faith got hijacked, partly because of the so-called Christian Right, all to eager to exploit what divides us." We need to reclaim our real moral center that truly motivates us that "ye love one another, as I [Christ] have loved you" - John 15:12. The Word of God for the people of God. I could not agree more wholeheartedly. Just having my say. Hotep.