Fight for your neighbour
8th April 2010 by Nathan Moulds
Serve Suffering Humanity
One of the things we all love about The Salvation Army is that we serve suffering humanity. But who are they?
In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus gives us the greatest commandment: love God with everything we've got and love our neighbour as ourselves.
When asked "who is my neighbour", Jesus spoke about the Samaritans. The Samaritans were hated by the Jews, and yet Jesus said to love them!
Love the GLBTIQs
In our modern day context another 'Samaritan' group that we often don't think of as our neighbours are the GLBTIQ community.
No, that's not code. The GLBTIQ community is the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer community. And I would suggest they are one of the most marginalised groups in our nation today.
Disagree? See the research below:
"Homosexual or bisexual junior high school and senior high school boys are seven times more likely than heterosexual boys of the same age to report suicide attempts." (Nicholas J, Howard J [1998]. Better to be dead than gay? A study of suicidal behaviour in a sample of Australian gay and straight males aged 18-24.)
God hates fags?
What do you think about our gay brothers and sisters? Do you care about them? Do you care about the issue? Do you not really have an opinion either way?
The reality is that in the last 50 years, people (in particular people who claim to follow Jesus) have had some pretty mean and horrible things to say about the GLBTIQ community.
They picket with signs that say, "God hates fags"; "You're going to hell"; "Got Aids Yet?".
Really ugly stuff, hey?
I'm not trying to take a political or moral position here. I'm just trying to challenge you, as people who seek to follow Jesus, in your response to the gay community.
Changing the attitude
For many years, I thought I had the 'gay' thing figured out. It was sin; clear-cut, black and white, and people who 'suffered' from it just needed to change. Overall, my attitude was incredibly un-accepting.
My thoughts were challenged when I started working in Surry Hills. The inner city of Sydney has the highest percentage of gay people living there, and I began to actually meet and connect with GLBTIQ people.
To further complicate matters, I befriended young people who honestly loved Jesus but had a same-sex orientation. Gay Christian? It didn't make sense that these two words could co-exist.
Marching with 100 Revs
I was forced to begin re-evaluating what I thought and where I stood. It was in this spirit that, a few weekends ago, I decided to march in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras with a group called 100 Revs.
100 Revs marches to apologise to the GLBTIQ community for the awful way in which Christians and the Church have treated them and unfortunately, in many cases, continue to treat them.
In the midst of tens of thousands of people, I found myself carrying a sign that said, "Christians say sorry".
In my opinion, the church's position or a few Bible verses don't trump what Jesus says is the greatest commandment -- to love God and to love my neighbour, even if they are gay.
Jesus the trouble maker
After marching in the Mardi Gras I copped some criticism from certain people and groups. While I wasn't worried about this, I realised that this was the first time I'd ever felt like I'd done something controversial!
It was out of this experience that I began to read the Bible with new eyes. And I realised that Jesus was a trouble maker! In fact he got in trouble all the time!
And he wasn't on his own. Many of the key men and women we read about in the Bible got into all sorts of trouble for deciding to pick fights with the structures, systems and attitudes of their day that discriminated, enslaved and de-humanised people.
Ever been accused of being controversial?
In our pursuit of serving suffering humanity and working for justice there are going to be times when we need to be radical. There will be moments where we need to take a stand against injustice, even if it's 'the church' that's guilty of perpetrating it.
When I marched with 100 Revs in the Mardi Gras, it was to communicate a message of apology and humility to the GLBTIQ community instead of hatred and fear.
The attitude which has been shown to them is unjust and we responded by coming against those voices and speaking the opposite.
Jesus was often caught speaking out against injustice and oppression of people even when it landed him in hot water, and even when it was against the religious and spiritual structures of his day.
Nathan coordinates Streetlevel's Edify program, an urban mission discipleship program located in Surry Hills, Sydney. He is passionate about the lost, the last and the least, believing the best days of this generation are to come!
He is married to Karen and together they attend and serve at The Salvation Army's Macquarie Park church plant and Revolution Youth.
* Main photograph courtesy of Mark Tipple Photography
save. grow. serve.
save - noah rzeminski
Noah Rzeminski from Wollongong tells how his father was not happy with his decision to b... Read more
serve - nadine sorensen
Nadine Sorensen shares how God altered her persepctive while on mission in Kenya... Read more
Got your own story to share? Write to us today!
Comments
I’m sorry to hear that you been attacked for stating what you currently believe and for your actions.
When we look at the life of Jesus in the gospels we see a man who was also attacked. He was the great rule breaker and was constantly attacked by the conservatives and religious leaders of the day for mixing with wrong people and going to the wrong places. Does that sound familiar?
Jesus saw human beings not labels. His life and parables constantly remind us who are neighbours and how we can practically live out the command ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself’.
Phariseeism is alive and well in the church of the 21st century and some continue to judge, condemn and separate themselves from people. I still find it surprising that Christians who claim to be people of the Word can’t see the similarities happening today.
I’m not sure this will be of enormous comfort but worth mentioning anyway. When anyone from the Christian church actually stands on the side of the LGBT community they experience hostility, vilification, judgment and personal attack. By standing with us though you get to experience something that is an everyday experience for many gay and lesbian people. 85% of gay men and lesbians experienced harassment or violence during their lifetime, with one in four gay men and lesbians being physically attacked. Not for anything they have done but simply for being who they are. In the eyes of the attacker they are abnormal outsiders who do not deserve to be treated like everyone else, that is, with dignity and respect. This is not a special right the LGBT community are asking for, it is a basic human right.
Thank you for being like Jesus.
Right on!
BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love you Nath man!
This makde me cry because I wish more christians understood the "Love your neighbor" mindset.
Well done Nathan.....
BM.
Hey Nathan, this is exellent, was actually challenged about this , this week , but now i have red this i know a liittle more, thanks
God wants to restore these people into right relationship just as much as he wants to sort out all the stuff in our own hearts that we hide behind 'morality'. We've categorised moral sin and made it into a reason to hate and victimise. Hearing the stories of mission amongst tribal groups, it's not the major moral stuff that God deals with first, it's our willingness to allow Jesus to begin transforming our attitudes. Even in groups that head-hunt or act 'immorally', these issues seem to be secondary. The pharisees (or White-washed Tombs), made this mistake. Jesus reserved some of his worst criticism for this group - so it's a warning to us in our attitudes towards sexual preference.
Hey Nath, you continue to be an inspiration. My prayer is that young people who love God and want to follow Jesus with their whole lives will have the courage to stand up for these issues which have too long been ignored and these people condemned. May the neXt generation set a new model of loving thy neighbour, may we have the boldness and courage to find our own path paved with justice and mercy. Keep it up!
I have many gay friends and when they find out I'm a christian they take a step back with a sideways glance and say 'really? They feel like I couldn't be their friend and be a christian. This type of mentality is so sad and has come about from their experience of christians. So I agree wholeheartedly with you and wish I knew about 100 revs to join in the march!
I also know a few gay christians and they react similarly when I say I'm a salvo. But to whomever is out there perpetuating these views of the christian and salvo they need to stop!