Why The World Hates You - Part II
Joh 15:19 “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”
Joh 10:10 "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
The same thing that causes us to sin, and the same thing that led our lives into a dull materialistic rut that feeds our flesh though it starves our soul, is the same thing that makes us unable to appreciate the real wonder, variety and beauty of life around us. They are two aspects of the same problem and issue. We do not recognize the true fullness of our lives because we will not trust the height and depth and breadth and width of God’s love for us in Christ.
The moral connection between Christianity and homosexuality lies in the fact that one aspect of the true fullness and diversity of life is in the variety of sexual expression found in nature. Not only is homosexuality very common in nature, but sexual reproduction is only one way of propagating species. Asexual reproduction is very common in nature, and even within sexually reproducing species the theme of male and female is often played out in ways that would give some Christians a headache if they cared to ever think about it. Some females play a role usually reserved for males, some change between male and female based upon local needs and environmental conditions, and some are both male and female at the same time. Many species use sex to show dominance, cement alliances or simply to reduce conflict within a group.
The point is that if God had listened to Pat Robertson when it came to assigning gender roles or the role of sex in the lives of living species, the world would be an infinitely duller place than it is right now. Sexual expression is an important part of the infinite variety and fullness of life, and insofar as two consenting adult do no harm to others we should welcome whatever variety we see in other people just as we do when we see it in nature and in other species, because we are also part of nature and we have the same Creator. Sexual diversity is something that adds to our world rather than taking something away from us.
Not to push stereotypes, but is no accident that many homosexuals are found in creative occupations – as artists, designers, writers, and decorators. It is by virtue of their unique experience that they often contribute something that is very unique and different to the world. This difference and creativity isn’t something that stands against God’s will or intention – but this is exactly how God created the world, and exactly why God created the world as he did - so that we could all contribute something from our own unique experience to others and to the world. God didn’t create us to blend in and become just like everyone else – God created us to be different and unique in some important ways, so that we could give something of that uniqueness back to the world. We all contribute to the fullness and diversity of life by adding something about our own uniqueness.
For the same reason that Jesus wanted his disciples to retain their uniqueness and their fresh perspective so they would have something to give back and contribute to others, God created some people lesbian or gay so that they would have something to contribute from their own particular perspective. Those who cry out in fear and hatred about the ‘homosexual lifestyle’ are like prisoners who have grown so used to the routine and sameness of their dull, narrow and worldly existence that even the thought of being free and experiencing all that life has for them actually terrifies them. The ultimate cultural conservative is a prison inmate who’s been confined to his cell so long that what he’s most afraid of is the prospect of ever getting out.
People today are not afraid of homosexuals as much as they are afraid of living together with the fullness of life as God created it. They are afraid of trusting in the wisdom and power of God. They are afraid of all of life’s complications. They are afraid of the diversity of life all around them because it is not something they can control or easily figure out or quantify in dollars and cents. But that lack of control that many people fear is a measure of their lack of faith in God. Contrary to what many Christian preachers are saying today, the threat to our lives isn’t in changing our lives and our culture to include gays and lesbians – the real threat is in so fearing those changes that God has made a part of the true abundance of life, that you would hate and knowing do harm to others in order to avoid ever changing your mind or broadening your perspective. The real threat is the same as it has always been, and it is based in fear, hatred and in not trusting God.
The world first retreated into greed and materialism because people felt they could not trust God for their daily bread. Mankind needed to fashion a world that was much more uniform and predictable, and one that mankind could control – or seem to control – much more rigorously, and without relying upon God. Towards that end mankind succeeded in reducing all the color and variety and complications of life to one seemingly very simple complication – money. Or at least people like to focus on the almighty dollar and pretend that’s all that matters. The only problem with the world we’ve fashioned according to the almighty dollar is that it wasn’t the world that God originally created, and it wasn’t the much fuller life that God wanted us to experience. We’ve settled for what amounts to a prison cell wallpapered in dollar bills when we could have trusted God and received all the fullness of life. Perhaps one important reason that God created lesbians and gays was to remind us of that fact – that life really isn’t as simple as we’d like to think. That human sexuality isn’t only about procreation and the love between people of the opposite sex – it can also be about the love between two people of the same sex.
Lesbians and gays are evidence that, ‘the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men’. Because even though homosexuality seems very foolish in that it seems to go against what many believe to be the original and only legitimate purpose of sex - namely for procreation - lesbians and gays are nevertheless an important part of the richness and variety of human life, and by adding something of their own unique perspective they make our lives that much richer and more interesting. So we can see that God’s foolishness was actually much wiser than the wisdom of Pat Robertson.
By the same token we can also see that even though heterosexuals have always been much more numerous and politically much stronger, so that homosexuals have been hated and persecuted and killed throughout history of mankind - yet all over the world lesbians and gays are still here, still queer, and stronger and more vocal than ever. So that we are also witness to that overpowering weakness of God manifested by the fact that homosexuals are successfully battling for their human rights for the first time in history, even though the Family Research Council doesn’t want to know that they’re still around. That the foolishmess and weakness of God is ultimately much wiser and stronger than the religious right is manifested in the fact that gays and lesbians will still be contributing to society and to the richness of human experience long after the religious right is gone and forgotten.
Though certainly you can be both a Christian and a homosexual, being a Christian and being homosexual is obviously not the same thing. One is a created sexual preference and the other a lifestyle choice. Gays and lesbians contribute their uniqueness to the world and are hated by the world because of how God created them. God certainly did not create them to be hated, but He created them to be different enough from others so that they could contribute to the world something about that uniqueness and diversity, and that’s why the world hates them. Christians are not created different, but they are chosen out of the world to become different from the rest of the world, so that they can contribute back to the world something of their own unique perspective as the children of God, and that’s why the world hates them.
But to say that homosexuals were created different rather than chosen to be different may be to imply a qualitative difference that really isn’t there. Since the same God who created homosexuals to be different from others, also chose them to contribute something about that difference, whether or not they are welcomed. God has created some differences in all of us – we are all unique, and we all contribute to the fullness and diversity of God’s creation. Only with homosexuals, their sexuality marks a difference that also brings a lot of hatred and persecutions. Though there are certainly other differences and many other things that are unique about individuals who may also happen to be homosexual, and they contribute these as well, though they don’t generally tend to bring on the same sort of persecutions - unless of course you are also black, Jewish, Arab, Hispanic, etc.
That’s why Christianity is the natural ally and staunchest defender of all those who are shunned and persecuted by the world, because real Christians are also shunned and persecuted by the world. Christians should always defend those who are being persecuted for their uniqueness, because real Christians have always been persecuted for the same reason. Christians are the natural allies of all the persecuted peoples of the world, in spite of the tendency for many people to misuse the Bible to try and justify their hatred of others.
A Christian’s goal and mission in the world is to open the heart of mankind to the healing and fullness of God’s love. That’s why a very important part of that mission – if not the mission itself - is in defending the poor and persecuted, since they represent a very important part of the healing process. By fighting against injustice, hatred and bigotry and reconciling the poor and persecuted, Christians are helping to heal the wounds in God’s creation caused by sin, hatred and bigotry, by reconciling mankind to the fullness of God. What is unique and distinctive about Christians is their selfless love for others - especially their love of the poor and their defense of all those who are persecuted - or at least it should be.
If Christians aren’t defending those who seem the most persecuted in society, there is good evidence and reason to believe that they are not really Christians at all. If rather than healing and reconciling mankind in the spirit of love, Christians are fighting cultural wars intended to deepen the rifts and wounds that already exist, they are not Christians but anti-Christians. Because their uniqueness is no longer found in their selfless love for others, but in the abundance of their hatred and selfishness, which exceeds even that of the rest of the world, which they also deride for being so corrupted by simple compassion that they are not quite as extreme and unbending in their hatred of the ‘homosexual’s lifestyle’ as they ought to be. Christian tolerance has become a dirty word for many anti-Christians.
The same love that reconciles us to God must also reconcile us to the fullness of God’s creation, or else we should seriously question the nature and origin of our love. A love that is merely selfish and inward, and a love that can be hateful and persecuting towards others is not a love that comes from God, but a love of the world masquerading as God’s love, and the hatred of the antichrist masquerading as the compassion of Christ.
God created people in His image, and our spirit was created in the image of God. God is spirit, and our spirit was created in His image. The same human spirit that God first gave to Adam is the one with which we were created. There is that of God in every human being that makes every human life of equal and infinite value. Our spirit was created to reflect all the fullness, all the joy and all the love of God’s creation, as well as all the diversity that exists within mankind. The spirit of mankind was created to reflect upon and praise all the fullness of God, because we were created in the image of God.
But sin not only divided mankind from God, and divided people from each other; it also created unnatural wounds and divisions within every person’s spirit. So that we have lost that fullness of spirit we were created to possess, inasmuch as we were first created in the image and fullness of God's Spirit. That’s why the gift of our own uniqueness that we give to others and receive from others is also the gift of reconciliation, and as we are reconciled to others in love and in acceptance of their differences, we are also reconciled to God and to ourselves, and we find within ourselves and within our own spirit a new understanding and appreciation for what it means to be a whole and healthy human being. We can finally experience the true fullness and joy of being as alive as God originally intended for us.
But just as with any other gift, the gift of reconciliation that we receive from others or would give to others can either be appreciated or ridiculed, valued or belittled, honored or dishonored, accepted or persecuted. It is as we appreciate, value, honor and accept the differences we recognize in others that we are healed within our own spirit and reconciled to God. It is when we ridicule, belittle, dishonor or persecute others for being different from us that we wound our spirit and forfeit the true fullness and joy of life. That is the punnishment we carry around in ourselves for hating others, and which some unfortunately must carry around for an eternity. Because our spirit wasn’t created only to reflect our uniqueness or our own prejudices - it was given to all mankind, and it was created to reflect all the fullness of God. That’s what it means to be a human being.
But even though others might reject who we are and the gift of reconciliation that we have for them, it is by forgiving them that we become reconciled nonetheless. So that ultimately even those who hate us cannot rob us of the joy of being whole within ourselves and reconciled to God through the love of Jesus Christ. Their choice to dishonor who we are can never trump our free choice and decision to be reconciled in love just as long as we also remember to forgive. It is by forgiving and praying for those who hate and persecute us that we discover true peace and reconciliation in the fullness of God. Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” There will always be people who hate us, but that same spirit of love and reconciliation that first overcame the world with Jesus, is also ours whenever we forgive others in Christ’s name.
The temptation for many is to fall into a trap and become as cruel and hateful as those who hate us. But in doing so we become no better than they are, and we condemn ourselves to leading lives that can be just as narrow and spiritually empty. The only way out of the trap that hatred has set for us is to forgive.
But how do we forgive, and how can we find meaning and purpose in our persecutions and in all the difficulties of our life? Potentially what is the most important part of our unique experience in life is what comes through our suffering. It is through pain and suffering that God can forge within us a heart that is full of love and compassion towards those who are poor, in distress and who are also being persecuted. This work is a gift from God, and it is the same gift that Jesus gave to his disciples – to be able to comfort others with the same comfort with which God has also comforted us. A heartfelt compassion for others who are in distress is a gift that is necessarily forged in adversity. It is as we help to heal others that we are healed and made whole within ourselves. We forgive those who persecute us by becoming an instrument of God’s healing in the lives of others. We do good to those who hate us by turning their own hatred into a healing for others.
Lesbians and gays have had an experience of life that is different from most people in many ways. But what they have to contribute to others is something much more important than their sexual diversity. What we suffer becomes meaningful only as we choose to do God’s will in giving it meaning. Jesus turned his life into the gift of healing for others. He turned his death into the gift of life for all. He forgave and prayed for those who persecuted him so that his life would have meaning and purpose for whosoever believed in him. So that as we believe in Christ and participate in his persecutions, we find meaning and purpose and our life becomes a way of healing for others.
Joh 10:10 "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
The same thing that causes us to sin, and the same thing that led our lives into a dull materialistic rut that feeds our flesh though it starves our soul, is the same thing that makes us unable to appreciate the real wonder, variety and beauty of life around us. They are two aspects of the same problem and issue. We do not recognize the true fullness of our lives because we will not trust the height and depth and breadth and width of God’s love for us in Christ.
The moral connection between Christianity and homosexuality lies in the fact that one aspect of the true fullness and diversity of life is in the variety of sexual expression found in nature. Not only is homosexuality very common in nature, but sexual reproduction is only one way of propagating species. Asexual reproduction is very common in nature, and even within sexually reproducing species the theme of male and female is often played out in ways that would give some Christians a headache if they cared to ever think about it. Some females play a role usually reserved for males, some change between male and female based upon local needs and environmental conditions, and some are both male and female at the same time. Many species use sex to show dominance, cement alliances or simply to reduce conflict within a group.
The point is that if God had listened to Pat Robertson when it came to assigning gender roles or the role of sex in the lives of living species, the world would be an infinitely duller place than it is right now. Sexual expression is an important part of the infinite variety and fullness of life, and insofar as two consenting adult do no harm to others we should welcome whatever variety we see in other people just as we do when we see it in nature and in other species, because we are also part of nature and we have the same Creator. Sexual diversity is something that adds to our world rather than taking something away from us.
Not to push stereotypes, but is no accident that many homosexuals are found in creative occupations – as artists, designers, writers, and decorators. It is by virtue of their unique experience that they often contribute something that is very unique and different to the world. This difference and creativity isn’t something that stands against God’s will or intention – but this is exactly how God created the world, and exactly why God created the world as he did - so that we could all contribute something from our own unique experience to others and to the world. God didn’t create us to blend in and become just like everyone else – God created us to be different and unique in some important ways, so that we could give something of that uniqueness back to the world. We all contribute to the fullness and diversity of life by adding something about our own uniqueness.
For the same reason that Jesus wanted his disciples to retain their uniqueness and their fresh perspective so they would have something to give back and contribute to others, God created some people lesbian or gay so that they would have something to contribute from their own particular perspective. Those who cry out in fear and hatred about the ‘homosexual lifestyle’ are like prisoners who have grown so used to the routine and sameness of their dull, narrow and worldly existence that even the thought of being free and experiencing all that life has for them actually terrifies them. The ultimate cultural conservative is a prison inmate who’s been confined to his cell so long that what he’s most afraid of is the prospect of ever getting out.
People today are not afraid of homosexuals as much as they are afraid of living together with the fullness of life as God created it. They are afraid of trusting in the wisdom and power of God. They are afraid of all of life’s complications. They are afraid of the diversity of life all around them because it is not something they can control or easily figure out or quantify in dollars and cents. But that lack of control that many people fear is a measure of their lack of faith in God. Contrary to what many Christian preachers are saying today, the threat to our lives isn’t in changing our lives and our culture to include gays and lesbians – the real threat is in so fearing those changes that God has made a part of the true abundance of life, that you would hate and knowing do harm to others in order to avoid ever changing your mind or broadening your perspective. The real threat is the same as it has always been, and it is based in fear, hatred and in not trusting God.
The world first retreated into greed and materialism because people felt they could not trust God for their daily bread. Mankind needed to fashion a world that was much more uniform and predictable, and one that mankind could control – or seem to control – much more rigorously, and without relying upon God. Towards that end mankind succeeded in reducing all the color and variety and complications of life to one seemingly very simple complication – money. Or at least people like to focus on the almighty dollar and pretend that’s all that matters. The only problem with the world we’ve fashioned according to the almighty dollar is that it wasn’t the world that God originally created, and it wasn’t the much fuller life that God wanted us to experience. We’ve settled for what amounts to a prison cell wallpapered in dollar bills when we could have trusted God and received all the fullness of life. Perhaps one important reason that God created lesbians and gays was to remind us of that fact – that life really isn’t as simple as we’d like to think. That human sexuality isn’t only about procreation and the love between people of the opposite sex – it can also be about the love between two people of the same sex.
Lesbians and gays are evidence that, ‘the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men’. Because even though homosexuality seems very foolish in that it seems to go against what many believe to be the original and only legitimate purpose of sex - namely for procreation - lesbians and gays are nevertheless an important part of the richness and variety of human life, and by adding something of their own unique perspective they make our lives that much richer and more interesting. So we can see that God’s foolishness was actually much wiser than the wisdom of Pat Robertson.
By the same token we can also see that even though heterosexuals have always been much more numerous and politically much stronger, so that homosexuals have been hated and persecuted and killed throughout history of mankind - yet all over the world lesbians and gays are still here, still queer, and stronger and more vocal than ever. So that we are also witness to that overpowering weakness of God manifested by the fact that homosexuals are successfully battling for their human rights for the first time in history, even though the Family Research Council doesn’t want to know that they’re still around. That the foolishmess and weakness of God is ultimately much wiser and stronger than the religious right is manifested in the fact that gays and lesbians will still be contributing to society and to the richness of human experience long after the religious right is gone and forgotten.
Though certainly you can be both a Christian and a homosexual, being a Christian and being homosexual is obviously not the same thing. One is a created sexual preference and the other a lifestyle choice. Gays and lesbians contribute their uniqueness to the world and are hated by the world because of how God created them. God certainly did not create them to be hated, but He created them to be different enough from others so that they could contribute to the world something about that uniqueness and diversity, and that’s why the world hates them. Christians are not created different, but they are chosen out of the world to become different from the rest of the world, so that they can contribute back to the world something of their own unique perspective as the children of God, and that’s why the world hates them.
But to say that homosexuals were created different rather than chosen to be different may be to imply a qualitative difference that really isn’t there. Since the same God who created homosexuals to be different from others, also chose them to contribute something about that difference, whether or not they are welcomed. God has created some differences in all of us – we are all unique, and we all contribute to the fullness and diversity of God’s creation. Only with homosexuals, their sexuality marks a difference that also brings a lot of hatred and persecutions. Though there are certainly other differences and many other things that are unique about individuals who may also happen to be homosexual, and they contribute these as well, though they don’t generally tend to bring on the same sort of persecutions - unless of course you are also black, Jewish, Arab, Hispanic, etc.
That’s why Christianity is the natural ally and staunchest defender of all those who are shunned and persecuted by the world, because real Christians are also shunned and persecuted by the world. Christians should always defend those who are being persecuted for their uniqueness, because real Christians have always been persecuted for the same reason. Christians are the natural allies of all the persecuted peoples of the world, in spite of the tendency for many people to misuse the Bible to try and justify their hatred of others.
A Christian’s goal and mission in the world is to open the heart of mankind to the healing and fullness of God’s love. That’s why a very important part of that mission – if not the mission itself - is in defending the poor and persecuted, since they represent a very important part of the healing process. By fighting against injustice, hatred and bigotry and reconciling the poor and persecuted, Christians are helping to heal the wounds in God’s creation caused by sin, hatred and bigotry, by reconciling mankind to the fullness of God. What is unique and distinctive about Christians is their selfless love for others - especially their love of the poor and their defense of all those who are persecuted - or at least it should be.
If Christians aren’t defending those who seem the most persecuted in society, there is good evidence and reason to believe that they are not really Christians at all. If rather than healing and reconciling mankind in the spirit of love, Christians are fighting cultural wars intended to deepen the rifts and wounds that already exist, they are not Christians but anti-Christians. Because their uniqueness is no longer found in their selfless love for others, but in the abundance of their hatred and selfishness, which exceeds even that of the rest of the world, which they also deride for being so corrupted by simple compassion that they are not quite as extreme and unbending in their hatred of the ‘homosexual’s lifestyle’ as they ought to be. Christian tolerance has become a dirty word for many anti-Christians.
The same love that reconciles us to God must also reconcile us to the fullness of God’s creation, or else we should seriously question the nature and origin of our love. A love that is merely selfish and inward, and a love that can be hateful and persecuting towards others is not a love that comes from God, but a love of the world masquerading as God’s love, and the hatred of the antichrist masquerading as the compassion of Christ.
God created people in His image, and our spirit was created in the image of God. God is spirit, and our spirit was created in His image. The same human spirit that God first gave to Adam is the one with which we were created. There is that of God in every human being that makes every human life of equal and infinite value. Our spirit was created to reflect all the fullness, all the joy and all the love of God’s creation, as well as all the diversity that exists within mankind. The spirit of mankind was created to reflect upon and praise all the fullness of God, because we were created in the image of God.
But sin not only divided mankind from God, and divided people from each other; it also created unnatural wounds and divisions within every person’s spirit. So that we have lost that fullness of spirit we were created to possess, inasmuch as we were first created in the image and fullness of God's Spirit. That’s why the gift of our own uniqueness that we give to others and receive from others is also the gift of reconciliation, and as we are reconciled to others in love and in acceptance of their differences, we are also reconciled to God and to ourselves, and we find within ourselves and within our own spirit a new understanding and appreciation for what it means to be a whole and healthy human being. We can finally experience the true fullness and joy of being as alive as God originally intended for us.
But just as with any other gift, the gift of reconciliation that we receive from others or would give to others can either be appreciated or ridiculed, valued or belittled, honored or dishonored, accepted or persecuted. It is as we appreciate, value, honor and accept the differences we recognize in others that we are healed within our own spirit and reconciled to God. It is when we ridicule, belittle, dishonor or persecute others for being different from us that we wound our spirit and forfeit the true fullness and joy of life. That is the punnishment we carry around in ourselves for hating others, and which some unfortunately must carry around for an eternity. Because our spirit wasn’t created only to reflect our uniqueness or our own prejudices - it was given to all mankind, and it was created to reflect all the fullness of God. That’s what it means to be a human being.
But even though others might reject who we are and the gift of reconciliation that we have for them, it is by forgiving them that we become reconciled nonetheless. So that ultimately even those who hate us cannot rob us of the joy of being whole within ourselves and reconciled to God through the love of Jesus Christ. Their choice to dishonor who we are can never trump our free choice and decision to be reconciled in love just as long as we also remember to forgive. It is by forgiving and praying for those who hate and persecute us that we discover true peace and reconciliation in the fullness of God. Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” There will always be people who hate us, but that same spirit of love and reconciliation that first overcame the world with Jesus, is also ours whenever we forgive others in Christ’s name.
The temptation for many is to fall into a trap and become as cruel and hateful as those who hate us. But in doing so we become no better than they are, and we condemn ourselves to leading lives that can be just as narrow and spiritually empty. The only way out of the trap that hatred has set for us is to forgive.
But how do we forgive, and how can we find meaning and purpose in our persecutions and in all the difficulties of our life? Potentially what is the most important part of our unique experience in life is what comes through our suffering. It is through pain and suffering that God can forge within us a heart that is full of love and compassion towards those who are poor, in distress and who are also being persecuted. This work is a gift from God, and it is the same gift that Jesus gave to his disciples – to be able to comfort others with the same comfort with which God has also comforted us. A heartfelt compassion for others who are in distress is a gift that is necessarily forged in adversity. It is as we help to heal others that we are healed and made whole within ourselves. We forgive those who persecute us by becoming an instrument of God’s healing in the lives of others. We do good to those who hate us by turning their own hatred into a healing for others.
Lesbians and gays have had an experience of life that is different from most people in many ways. But what they have to contribute to others is something much more important than their sexual diversity. What we suffer becomes meaningful only as we choose to do God’s will in giving it meaning. Jesus turned his life into the gift of healing for others. He turned his death into the gift of life for all. He forgave and prayed for those who persecuted him so that his life would have meaning and purpose for whosoever believed in him. So that as we believe in Christ and participate in his persecutions, we find meaning and purpose and our life becomes a way of healing for others.
posted by R. Stephen Hanchett at 3:39 PM
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