So our - the UK - Churches are united around an issue. It must be a biggy for the CoE and the Catholic Church to put their squabbles aside. Is it poverty? Is it inequality? Is it the demonising of the poor and the glorification of wealth? Is it tyranny? Is it injustice?
Is it hell.
It's gay marriage. Once more the selective reading of an old book has caused a number of middle-aged men who should know better to start frothing at the mouth and talking about the end of civilisation as we know it.
Apparently allowing marriage to be available to everyone is just about the worst thing that can possibley happen. Not a long history of paedophilia and cover ups, not sitting on large chunks of wealth whilst people suffer or propping up unpleasent dictatorships that serve your cause. No, none of that matters because out there are evil people who want equal marriage rights.
Marriage has never been an issue I've been particularly bothered with one way or another. It's a nice thing to do, if you wish to make a committment to a partner. I don't think it is particularly necessary but if you want to get married then feel free. It's a committement to love and to fidelity. What's the hell is Christianity about if it isn't about LOVE?
The Bible simply allows bigots a cloak of respectability and this stuff matters. Whilst gay people are still being killed, bullied to suicide or abused because some men decided that this is what God wanted several thousand years ago I suggest our Churches might be better off shutting up and condemning those people who are preaching hate in the name of Jesus Christ.
I have said before that if the gay thing was such a big deal - to both God and Jesus - you'd think the Gospel's would put some good solid words of condemnation into Jesus's mouth. But they don't. He doesn't mention homosexuality once. At all.
He does say 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone' so some of our religious friends must be feeling particularly sin free with the cairns of stones they've been chucking about recently. "Do unto others as you would have done to you." What about that you Old Testament focused zealots? I hear you whinging about the 'war against Christianity' but I don't read stories about Christian children in schools being bullied to the point of suicide and beyond. A little bit of mockery and some expectation that you might put common humanity above the small print of an old book and you start crying in the press. Imagine what it must be like to be a gay teenager? Where do they go for help?
So if you're going to unite over something unite on an issue for the common good of humanity. Unite over an issue of love, not an issue of hate. If Jesus wants me for a sunbeam I don't think he's going to want me to spend my life persecuting people for their sexuality. I think he'd probably think there are bigger priorities that the Churches should unite around.
