A conference titled 'A Different Conversation' was held in Sydney, and its aim was to encourage dialogue between Christians and gay people. Some very well meaning Christians were involved in the running of this meeting. They included some members of the clergy who are at the 'coal face' in dealing pastorally with the effects of orthodoxy on GLBTI people. The conference dealt with the by-products of orthodox Christianity on the mental health of GLBTI people, gay Christians in particular... by-products such as, depression, anxiety, self harm, OCD, self medicating, suicide, ex-gay therapies, marriage to heterosexual partners to appear straight, risk taking behaviours that include young gay Christians feeling so isolated that they place themselves in danger of being attacked or sexually assaulted when they seek help from unfamiliar people, exclusion from their church group and isolation from their families who are unable to accept their GLBTI child.
So why don't these orthordox Christians give birth to a Bible? They seem to love God's written word more than listening to, and loving their children! It's a bit like Jesus showed his 'unconditional love' for them by dying on the cross, so they inturn can demonstrate 'conditional love' for their fellow man! What losers... I mean their poor GLBTI children!
Some of the research presented indicated that a GLBTI people raised in Christian fundamentalist families have a higher risk of mental health issues than those Christians who grow up in families where biblical interpretation is less rigid in its interpretation.
You know what's sad Bill... I personally witnessed a moment when Christianity and same-sex attraction collided... it was back in Australia... 25 years ago... and you know what Bill ...the conversation hasn't changed very much for GLBTI Christians. All I see Bill... is now there are some very compassionate Christians, 'mopping up' the devastating effects of orthodoxy ... and these people can't do much because they are silenced by their employers. They've got to keep their jobs you know.Calam... the conversation was called "What would Jesus look like and act like during Mardi Gras?". I think Jesus would remove himself from any collusion with churches that used orthodoxy to harm GLBTI people. I reckon he would call for an end to religious orthodoxy and help legislate against homophobia, and close down ex-gay ministries... It's a shame Christians are so focussed on the protection of an institution that causes damage, instead of standing up in unity and speaking out about this abuse, to create a far more credible church.
Yeah Bill... and you know the funniest thing... one of the orthodox Christians who spoke at the conference, said that many fundamentalist Christians have been hurt by the term 'bigot' , when used to describe those who use biblical authority, to oppose same-sex marriage. I reckon their fore fathers, would have been offended when they were called 'sexist' by suffragettes and 'racist' by African Americans, especially when biblical authority to was used to oppress these groups!
My friend Haydn Sennitt and I spend most of our time persecuting homos. As erect fundamentalists married to Oriental women, we don't wish to become unemployed. If there were no gays to persecute, our lives would be meaningless and we'd be on the dole.
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