Why I Stay Mad
Let’s clear something up shall we? I am a Christian and an ordained American Baptist pastor and I have earned a PhD in systematic theology and I teach the same and I support equal rights for LGBTQIA+ people including marriage equality and yes I have read the Bible. It is tragic to me that, when many people see the Christian part of my profile their first thought is I must be anti-gay like they are and right off start sending me homophobic propaganda in my inbox. They don’t think “oh she is Christian. She must be a compassionate person. Let us talk about how to be kind to others.” No. The first thing that comes to mind is “oh. She is Christian. She must hate ‘homosexuality’ (the sin, of course, not the sinner, heaven forbid) so let me send this little ‘God hates gays. Tell all your contacts.’ ” message.
Is it me? Have I been less than transparent about my beliefs and loyalties or is there something more basic happening, namely a major hijacking of the Christian faith on a massive scale?
How sad is it that the good news of a man named Jesus of Nazareth who sided with the poor and oppressed and the outcast and gave them hope – never once mentioning “homosexuality” has come to this? It is times like this I question even calling myself Christian anymore, not for the reasons my enemies would give, namely my departure from their understanding of orthodoxy, but because Jesus’ message has been lost in the institutionalization of religion and turned into the exact opposite of what it was meant to be. His promise of heaven became a “get out of hell” card for those who continue to create hell on earth for others.
He was crucified by the Romans as an enemy of state and is now being re-crucified by Christians who want to use his name to render his message irrelevant.
This is why I stay mad.
Fixin To Preach 
I thank God for our 25+ year friendship. As iron sharpens iron you have made me stronger even in my weakest areas. Your unconditional love and support as I came out quite literally saved my life as I was torn down by others who questioned my faith and very salvation. You set my feet on solid ground and I thank you.
My testimony includes you now because God wove you into the tapestry of my life and faith.
Keep the faith.
Lilydawn
July 9, 2019 at 6:46 am
Just a thought – I think the Romans were perfectly happy to have Jesus roaming the streets teaching the dispossessed how to get along – It must have made creating an orderly society a lot easier for the Romans; the Romans were surely about order after all. Later, Constantine used this principle in a different set of circumstances.
It wasn’t until Jesus started messing with the economic system, knocking over the money changers tables in the Temple, that the Romans were grudgingly willing to get serious about his disruptive influence.
It amazed me the first time I realized how closely connected the events of passion week were, almost like Jesus knew just what buttons to push to stimulate the worldly powers arrayed against love, to play into his plan for the week, a plan that ended in his whole-hearted, incredibly disciplined demonstration for a way to BE in the face of overwhelming oppression.
October 4, 2019 at 12:52 pm
Wow! Karyn Carlo I have finally found a Christian that I can identify with. One who fully embraces what it means to walk that path. Christianity is not a label or badge of honor that we attach to ourselves so that we can feel good about who we are. It is accepting Christ as our Savior and having a deep abiding desire to embrace his teachings by extending love, humanity and compassion to all of mankind. As Christians we have to take ourselves to task by acknowledging our transgressions against others. We have to examine our hearts and face hard truths about who we are and whether our lives reflect the Jesus we profess to love. Thanks for sharing the gospel.
October 4, 2019 at 1:33 pm
In Peter’s sermon to the unbelieving Jews in Acts, he said, “Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. (Acts 4:10). Peter put the blame squarely on the Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus, not the Romans. You need to read your Bible more, your PhD in Systematic Theology notwithstanding.
Homosexuality is a grave sin against the body. “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.” (Rom. 1:26-27). Your support of it goes against Bible truth in both the old and new testaments.
But you don’t really believe most of the Bible is true do you? You don’t believe that Paul’s letters are Scripture, even though the Apostle Peter said they were. You don’t believe the passages that go against your social justice narrative because that is really your religion. The hard truth is you are not a Christian. You are simply a wolf in sheep’s clothing. You should rightly question calling yourself one.
September 8, 2020 at 9:45 am