In last week’s post, I referred to Preston Sprinkle’s desire to focus on real people regarding LGBTQ life.  Sprinkle has studied the Bible and human sexuality for many years, in his own words: “I have devoted countless hours to studying the Scriptures with an open mind.  I have read piles of books and articles on the topic from both sides of the debate.  I have researched the ancient Near Eastern and Greco-Roman context in which the Bible was written.  I have looked at the ever-evolving conclusions of psychologists, counselors and medical researchers.  But studying the issue of homosexuality is not enough.  Like flying an airplane with only one wing, reading about homosexuality is necessary—but dangerously insufficient” [People to Be Loved, 19].

Last week’s post was devoted to people, real people who have felt the sting of hatred because of their sexual preference.  I entitled it “Tim, Jeremy, Julie, Wes or Lesli” because Sprinkle referenced those people in his chapter.  These “real people” have reported harassment, bullying and physical harm.  Some have reported a desire to commit suicide because their friends and families have been so cruel. 

As I read chapter one of his book, I often wondered about Sprinkle’s approach to his subject.  Is he using extreme examples of abuse?  Is American society really that hard on gay people?  He cites “Maddie” a young girl who was chained by her father to a toilet in the basement of her home when she was nine years old. He fed her scraps of food to keep her alive and raped her repeatedly over a four-year period.  Now Maddie chooses to have relationships only with other women.  Maddie states that she does not have any desire to be touched by a man.  I have to ask, can you blame her?

That is extreme.  Is Sprinkle citing examples that are too extreme to make his point?  Is this fair or is this issue really “much ado about nothing.”  Surely it’s not really that tough to be a gay person in America today. 

Let’s pull back from individual cases of persecution in favor of a “big picture” point of view.  Are there many attempts to persecute gay people through wide-spread governmental legislation?  According to USA Today [April 5, 2023], 650 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced by legislatures across America.  In this source entitled “War on LGBTQ Existence” a senior policy researcher states “the dramatic rise in political attacks clearly illustrates how emboldened anti-LGBTQ activists seem to feel…this moment is very different and frankly terrifying for many people.”  The goal of all this legislation is to force LGBTQ people out of public life, to censor open discussion of LGBTQ issues out of the schools, to eliminate bullying and harassment protections, and to outlaw supportive school environments. 

Maybe to quote Shakespeare is naïve on my part.  Maybe it is getting harder to be gay in America?  But what is the church to do about it.  This past Sunday I taught from Luke 10: 29-37, the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  A man is travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho on a dangerous stretch of road and robbers stop him and beat him.  A priest passes by and ignores the victim.  Then a Levite passes by and ignores the victim.  A Samaritan passes the victim and he stops and helps the poor man.  Two leaders of the Jewish faith don’t have anything to do with the poor victim but an “outcast” stops and saves the man’s life.  Jesus tells the parable to make the point that when someone is suffering, others should take note and try to help in any way that they can. 

It is too much of a stretch to say that when members of the LBGTQ community are being persecuted, Christians should give help and comfort?  In the parable, Samaritans and orthodox Jews are sworn enemies, Jews stating that Samaritans were “half-breeds” for intermarrying after they were exiled. Did religious differences matter when a man’s life was at stake?  The Samaritan does not see it that way; compassion for another human being does not require agreement on issues of lifestyle or approval of other’s behavior.  Jesus says that we are to overcome evil with good, pure and simple.  There are times when we must follow the rules but there are times when human compassion rules:  “And [Jesus] answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?” [Luke 14: 5-6].

Too often Christians have let their stance against the LGBTQ community get in the way of behaving as Christians.  The Bible condemns homosexuality but the Bible does not say that gay people are to be hated.  The Bible does not say that the needs of persecuted people need to be ignored.  The Bible [indeed Jesus in Luke 10] does not say that someone who needs help should not receive it. 

“When the LGBTQ community is the victim of persecution, violence or other harms, Christians have a clear mandate from the Lord.  Just as the Good Samaritan bound the wounds of a social and religious antagonist, we are to love our neighbors, whoever they are.  For the Christian, there is only one proper response when those in the LGBTQ community are suffering persecution.  We should come along beside them, show them mercy and demonstrate the love of Christ.”*

Are there LGBTQ people who have suffered grievous harm like those cited in Sprinkle’s book—yes there are some who have suffered grievous harm.  Are there widespread attacks on this group of people from legislation designed to discriminate against them—yes that legislation does exist.  In either case the proper response is not to say that all this is “much ado about nothing.”

That kind of response puts us in the category of the priest and the Levite in Jesus’ parable.  I don’t know about you, but as a person who professes a belief in Jesus Christ, I don’t want to be someone who ignores suffering.  If suffering is real, I need to feel compassion.  I need to love my neighbor as myself. 

Who inherits eternal life?  The expert in the law who is questioning Jesus did not expect to get the Parable of the Good Samaritan as a reply to his question, but he does.  At the end of the parable, Jesus asks “the expert” who will inherit eternal life in the story.  The man says the one who had mercy on the victim.  Jesus says it plain and simple:

“Go and do likewise.”

*From “How Should Christians react to persecution against the LGBTQ community?”  from the Gotquestions.org website, accessed on July 19, 2023.