Closet Talk

Well, I just got through reading a novel dealing (indirectly) with the issue of gays in the military. Since my background and (ever-so-resented) expertise lies in the field of theology, I thought I would throw out some things for you guys to ponder, affirm and/or dispute.

One thing the author mentioned in the novel is that we never complain that homosexuals pay taxes but we get red in the face over them serving in the military. He's right - they can support their country all day long by giving money but if they want to lay down their life for their country in a public fashion then they better do it hetero-style. In other words, as long as you stay in that closet, you can slide as many checks under the door as you like. We'll promise to make good use of it. There's always Iraq to concern us.

Well, let's see. The church's responsibility is to provide an alternative politics, an alternative way of relating to one another. Paul's "neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, nor male nor female, you are all one" comment surely encourages Christians to abide by some type of ethos that demands a lack of recognition of categories that desperately attempt to simplify the omnipresent gray into an easy black-and-white. I've been outside of the church for some time now and yet I still see it fighting some type of war against these heathen human beings who are trying to introduce "unnatural sex" into God's family. Well, pardon me while I ask, but what the hell is "natural sex" anyway? (Not to mention, per dante, why God would ever care in the first place). Anybody who has ever had prolonged sexual relations with someone knows damn well that little about it ever just comes "naturally." It's (as it should be) a work in progress that requires effort and attention to become a true work of art. And that's not even mentioning the more pertinent theological fact that the world in general is so fucking "unnatural" that at some point we might just realize that maybe, just maybe, that's why we have the story of Jesus Christ coming in the first place? To grace the ungraceful. And yet it seems all the church ever does publicly is dis-grace.

I'm trying not to sound too angry here b/c I'm actually a relatively content person. But, for God's sake (literally), can't we get our heads on straight about this stuff? I mean, yes, it took us a while to get to the point where we considered other races to be equally human (which now seems so antiquated to all of us) but should it be taking us this long to see the same with sexual orientation?

And I grew up in Alabama, folks, so don't think this ever came easy to me. I don't sport rainbows, I don't go tanning, I don't watch Desperate Housewives (sorry, had to do it), and I don't drink apple martini's (or anything that has unrecognizable colors and begs for an umbrella and a cherry) but I'll blow up your house, seduce your girlfriend, and add your ass to my (non-existent) trophy collection if you say a cross word to my bi or gay friends. Why? Because they're my friends. Period. I really don't give two shits about what gets them aroused. I've never made it a routine habit to have discussions with my friends about their erections and I have no future plans to do so. So why the hell would I suddenly want to make it a litmus test for someone's faith? And don't give me the whole "well, the Bible says so" bit b/c the Bible also indisputably justifies slavery. Toss that hermeneutic before somebody sees you.

The only investment I have here is the fact that I have friends who swing a different way and, as long as I know them, I will demand that their faith be respected. It's also just a generally interesting conversation, I guess. Well, just some random late-night thoughts to ponder. Let me know what you think.