It was about two weeks ago that I came across a story on the Internet. A true story. I haven�t printed it out, but you can find it online at http://members.tripod.com/~claytoly/Bills_Story. You see, Bill, decided to be honest with his family and a few of his friends that he was gay. His mother was very supportive, but when word got out at school that Bill was gay, he found out that not everyone is like his mother. He put up with the physical abuse. He put up with the names. He put up with everything, until he could put up with no more. Bill was just a teenager. He thought that by coming out and admitting that he was gay that people would realize that homosexuals don�t always fit the stereotype we�ve given them. But he didn�t realize how much it would cost. Depression got a hold of him and on May 8th Bill took his life. I got sick as I read Bill�s story. I literally had to run to the bathroom and throw up because I knew that I had contributed. Perhaps I wasn�t responsible for Bill�s death or Matthew Shephard�s or any of the many people who have been assaulted, abused, killed, or driven to the point of suicide. I had nothing directly to do with any of that. What I was guilty of was perpetrating the myth that God hates homosexuals. I was throwing fuel on the fire, even if I wasn�t lighting the match.

Summary: The Bible does talk about homosexual behavior. Paul wrote about it in Romans and First Corinthians. Moses wrote about it in Leviticus. A quick reading of Romans Chapter one will tell you that God hates homosexual behavior. Sadly, a quick reading of Paul�s writings also led to the support of slavery. A quick reading of the Old Testament led to the killing of hundreds during the famous Crusades. A quick reading of the Bible and you can justify almost anything. But if the truth were known, even a careful reading of the Bible will cause two different people to come to different conclusions. (http://www.bridges-across.org/ba/campolo.htm) Some say the Bible outright declares homosexuality to be an abomination. Others say that the Bible is often vague, that it�s sometimes mistranslated, and that it never condemns homosexuality, but rather condemns only homosexual behavior that is immoral or sacrilegious.

In addition, Paul, likely had no concept of a monogamous homosexual relationship, but rather had only seen homosexuality manifest in the realm of religious temple sex acts. Beyond this, Paul and his 1st century contemporaries did not know all that scientists have discovered about sexual preference within this century. Scientists think they have discovered that a "gay gene" that is likely passed on to 10% of the population in the Xq28 region of the X chromosome. The penetrance of this "gay gene" is approximately 65%, which means that 65% of people will this "gay gene" will become homosexual. [inserted note (July 15): A new study shows that the gene in the Xq28 region probably does not determine sexual preference. Scientists are still researching the biological causes of homosexuality.] Scientists don�t know yet what causes this gene to be triggered, but they know that it occurs at an early age and definitely before a child reaches school age (http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_fixe.htm). Almost everyone except those who hold the Bible above reason, agree that sexual preference is genetically transferred at birth and determined at a very early age. It is simply a fact that five percent of the population will be homosexual with a small percentage being bisexual and the remainder heterosexual.

No amount of prayer has every changed one�s sexual orientation any more than it has changed one�s gender or race. Ex-gay movements which once aimed at converting homosexuals into heterosexuals have almost all given up at trying to change people�s sexual orientation and most are now encouraging celibacy for homosexuals and opposite-gender relations for bisexuals. The founders of many ex-gay movements, such as Exodus International, have left, claiming the programs never worked and acknowledging that sexual orientation is a fixed trait that can not be changed. Slowly, very slowly, more and more churches are acknowledging that gays can not become heterosexual and many are promoting celibacy as the only god-approved lifestyle for a homosexual individual. Others are realizing that homosexuality is as valid as heterosexuality and are encouraging monogamous same-sex relationships for homosexual persons. Many homosexuals have prayed for years for God to remove their feelings, but the walls echo silence. If God truly despises homosexuality, why are their prayers unanswered?

Critique: I�m not Buddhist. I don�t know what The Buddha�s Kalama Sutra is or where it came from. But I know that little else holds as much wisdom as those short seven sentences. I would have hoped that in 1999, we would have gotten beyond believing in something just because we�re told it�s true. It�s hard to change a belief that we�ve grown up holding on to. But when evidence is presented that shows us we are wrong, we have no choice but to admit we were wrong. A quick reading of the Bible will suggest that homosexuality is a sin and an abomination in God�s sight. Yet, scientific evidence shows that sexual orientation is determined biologically and set at an early age. We must recognize this discrepancy and work at coming to an understanding that is "conducive to the good and benefit of one and all." Some are quick to dismiss the scientific evidence as wrong, but are we doing so because we have a reason, or just because it disagrees with our interpretation of scripture. I would suggest that as a community of faith we look not only at the doctrines of our church, but at the consequences of those doctrines. Is it God�s intent for us to cause harm, suffering, and in the end death, for hundreds of gay, lesbian, and bisexual teenagers across the country. Christians should be known as people of compassion, yet more often than not we are known as the ones who boycotted Disney because they gave the same rights to gays as they give to heterosexuals. We�re known as the ones who hold signs saying "Two Gay Rights: Aids and Hell." We�re known as the ones who Sunday after Sunday tell of the wrongness of being gay. We�re known as the ones who Monday through Saturday tell jokes about homosexuals and laugh at their expense. Christians are so used to making fun of homosexuals that they forget that gays and lesbians are people too. Homosexuals have feelings. They hurt. They cry. They get depressed. And in the end, many of them take their lives because it�s much easier to step out the backdoor of a world that doesn�t want them.

It�s no longer enough to be tolerant of homosexuals. To tolerate them simply leaves them standing alone while they suffer. We should be the first people to stand up beside them and tell them they are loved. If we don�t take a stand with them, who will? They deserve the same rights as any human being. Christians were the last people to admit that slavery was wrong. We held on to our interpretation of scripture for as long as we could, but in the end the cries of the slave were heard beyond our commands to "shut up." The world heard the cries of the slave and slavery was abolished with Christians only realizing decades later all the pain they were causing. Today the cries of a different people are being heard. Even as the Christian community shouts "Fags burn in hell" the world is hearing their cries. Will we again be the last to acknowledge the wrongs done to a group of people? Will we continue to watch from the sidelines as homosexuals get abused and mistreated? Or will we step in and demand that they be treated as the human beings that God created them to be? Perhaps one day all God�s creation will be treated with the respect and dignity it deserves.

White Ribbon Campaign. Raising awareness about gay teen suicide and remembering those who we�ve lost.

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Matthew Shepard - 1976 to 1998
Died from serious injuries October 12, 1998
due to brutal beatings and torture in Laramie, WV.