Love Requires Action

That's one of the main points in this post by Peterson Tuscano, a theatrical performer and activist who calls himself an "ex-gay survivor" and travels the country to enlighten people by sharing that experience.

Peterson did just that on a public radio program yesterday, and here's a link to the podcast (it's in the second half of the program).

Why I link to it here is this excerpt from his post:

What I see in the Evangelical church is a lot of Love Inaction. If you really love us queer folks, don't just say it, show it. Faith without works is dead.

Here is an example, for too long many of us white Christian folks (liberal and conservative) have been saying stuff like, "I have nothing against Black people. Some of my best friends are Black. I love Black people" yet we do little to nothing to undo institutional racism that exists in this country as we cash in on the power and privilege we possess as a direct reslut of our skin color. Big deal that we "love" people of color. Folks don't need our declarations of love and harmony, they need equal opportunities for employment, education, housing and safety.

I believe that racism is much more severe in the US than homophobia, but how the people in power view the issues is similar. We look in our hearts and think that if we don't have anything ugly to say, then we are okay, job done, and we can move on and feel good about ourselves. That is not the message I see in the words attributed to Jesus. His Gospel is one of action, of true love in action. Anything short of that is a loud gong or a clanging cymbal.

In other words, talk is cheap. Many from the religious right talk about love while they ignore the needs of GLBT, or even worse actively practice hate.

Jesus not only preached love, He practiced it. Those who seek to be like Him need to follow His example.