Thursday, July 05, 2018

The Problem Is…

They are not the ones who should be apologizing…
Christians surprise Pride parade marchers with signs apologizing for anti-LGBTQ views
CBS News
By Danielle Garrand
July 3, 2018

Jamilah Salvador was walking in her first ever Pride parade this weekend in the Philippines when she came across something unexpected at the finish. Christians were holding signs apologizing for ways the religion had hurt the LGBTQ community.

The 19-year-old was marching with thousands of others in the annual parade in Marikina City, east of the country's capital, Manila. The parade came to a close at Marikina Stadium, where Salvador was pleasantly surprised by the Christian group.

"My heart really felt light upon seeing them," Salvador told CBS News. "I stopped when I saw them and read all of their messages and immediately felt goosebumps all over my body, then my tears started to build up."

The main banners held by the group listed the ways "Christians harmed the LGBT community," including statements, such as "I've rejected and hurt your family in the name of 'family values.'" The other individual signs varied with messages like, "God loves you, so do we," and "I used to be a Bible-banging homophobe Sorry!!
The problem is not that church but all the other churches that still marginalize us, demean us, and demonize us. They are the ones that should apologize.
The pastor continued that, "I used to believe that God condemns homosexuals, but when I studied the Scriptures, especially the ones that we call 'clobber Scriptures' that are being cherry-picked from the Bible to condemn LGBT people, I realized that there's a lot to discover, including the truth that God is not against anyone. God does not discriminate against people based on gender.
The problem is the cherry-pickers, they turn love into hate. They use their hatred to warp the love

I always have a hard time for those who hate all the time, life is too short to go through it hating all the time. I don’t hate them, I feel sorry for them.

2 comments:

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  2. The pro-LGBT churches have a big job to do. They are and must be responsible for a dialogue and whatever else comes up with the rabid phobic churches. Their apology is meaningless unless they confront the evil of those churches. It is not enough to hold a sign at Pride or to be welcoming and affirming. If there is a holy war and there is one going on, then I as an old out gay man want no part of it. We chanted at one time in Hartford when the conservative churches were marching to the liberal gathering, "One, Two, Three Four, we don't want your holy war!" The liberal churches must become a buffer zone protecting our people for those who hate and meddle in our lives. It is their job to fight off any and all attacks against us. Of course, this is not to say we are let off the hook in this battle where the un-proven treads so heavily in our lives.

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