wake up, church... and remember

the latest post over at Queermergent. which is worthy of being quoted in full - for its pain. and its power.

Christendom and Gay-bashing
By Queerbrit

This morning the gay Christian guy I was dating for some weeks was beaten up by his family when they found out he was gay.  He is now so scared of loosing his family, he has promised he will never see me again. Good Christian family there then. So why am I telling you this as a gay christian man living in England?
Well I am telling you this, because this is the consequence of the Christian churches position on homosexuality. The Churches indirect homophobia dressed up as theology and hermeneutics, has given room for the increasing rise of homophobic violence here in England.
I am just so lucky that I live in the UK. If I lived in Africa it would be a different story. Now 2/3rds of African Countries have outlawed and criminalised homosexuality. That’s an increase of 50% in less than 10 years. Why the increase – well a lot of this seems to be associated with ex-colonialist expressions of Church such as the Anglican Church in Nigeria and Uganda.  It seems the Church in Africa can only hear a Jesus associated with patriarchy, intolerance and violence.  I have no idea how they can read the Gospels and not see connections between their behaviour and the Pharisees, Scribes and Saducees.
Yes I am angry, because Christianity is supposed to be about love and hope, about a new form of society modeled on the Kingdom of God.  It seems, instead, it is modeled on fear and power.  How sad is that?
So where do we go from here as gay christians when much of the two thirds world is proving to be oppressive and have blatant disregard for human rights?  I praise God for the Episcopal Church that is such a proactive support for gay people.  It is such a shame that most of the world sees it as a threat. As we speak gangs are going around South Africa beating up those involved in pro-gay politics.  This is just not good enough, and I wish I could see leaders like the Archbishop of Canterbury giving leadership with a focus on justice.   As Desmond Tutu was so important in standing up against Apartheid,  where is the churches voice standing up for gay people?  The silence is deafening.                            Well I think I know what Jesus would be doing – and just may be the Church of today would perceive him as a threat and crucify him for standing up for the queers as much as the poor and excluded. Wake up church, people are dying and people are being oppressed, remember what you are supposed to stand for.

Rachel posted this on twitter, and it feels like a prayer...

"Where there is sorrow, there is holy ground." - Oscar Wilde

LB