Being Christian, Accepting Gay People

NOBODY KNOWS FOR SURE exactly what percentage of the population is homosexual. Estimates range from one percent, to ten percent. The more conservative the entity doing the estimating, the lower the estimate, which in itself is reason for suspicionof anti-gay bias. The truth probably lies somewhere in between, between one and ten percent. Homosexuals, like the poor, have always been among us, and always will be. Homosexuality has been observed in numerous different species of animals; if being gay is "unnatural", or "immoral", or a "sickness", then unnatural sick immoraltiy is distributed quite widely throughout nature. Like the poor, homosexuals have always been persecuted in the western, christian world. The Old Testament admonishes that gay people and disobedient children are not fit to live, and should be put to death. But, the old testament also says that there is a time for change, and change is accelerating. We are witnessing one of the most effective social protest movements in recent history, and one of the most fundamental cultural shifts in memory, during the past two decades. IN the United States, people are dropping their objection to homosexuality in droves. We are transforming ourselves froma society which shunned gay people to one which tolerates them, to one which accepts them. Like Goethe said, tolerance should be only a passing sentiment leading to ultimate accpetance. Continued tolerance is an insult. Amen to that brother. Across America, Methodist ministers numbering in the hundreds are openly defying the canons of their church, and presiding over gay weddings, because they feel strongly its the right thing to do. At least one Methodist minister is facing expulsion from the denomination, and he says he is prepared for it. All the other disobedient ministers are prepared for it too, but it will never come. The church will change, because it must. Just today Hawaii legalized gay marriage, like every state will soon do. The flow of history is towards acceptance, and inclusion, and no religion can avoid this, no matter how hard it tries. No religion, neither Islam nor Christianity, no country, not even Russia, can resist forever the rising historical tide of human equality. Just as surely as the Catholic priest Martin Luther transformed European Christianity with open protest in the year 1517, so are our modern ministers equally transformative. The Christian faith of the future is arriving, right before our eyes.