Bill Browning, who runs the outstanding LGBT blog "The Bilerico Project," attended a recent Love Won Out conference in Indianapolis, IN as the guest of Ryan McCann, Public Policy Director of the Indiana Family Institute. It's sad that most organizations with "family" in the title are anti-gay, but the IFI is yet another one of those.
Browning came away with a different take than you might expect:
What happened to fire and brimstone, Sodom and Gomorrah? What happened to holy retribution and pillars of salt? Is it possible that the evangelical church has finally realized that gays and lesbian exist and have a right to share the planet? While they are not reaffirming our lives are they, at the very least, acknowledging the fundamental need for kindness and tolerance? It wasn’t that long ago that the tent revival-call of “Repent!” was the only voice we heard echoing out of the church. How many untold suicides and hate crimes have happened as a direct corollary to anti-gay teachings? I was almost one of those statistics. How many children have been thrown out of their family homes?
As many mainline Protestant denominations have welcomed the LGBT community into their pews, the evangelicals have steadfastly condemned our very lives. I attended Love Won Out because I accepted the Indiana Family Institute’s challenge to see it for myself. IFI opposes and demonizes our community. They fight against our rights to fair housing, workplace discrimination protections, public accommodations and even our protection from hate crimes – all items they favor continuing for the religious community. By no means are they a friend to my family or countless others, but even IFI draws a line in the sand and doesn’t condone parental abuse.
I found a small kernel of hope at that convention. No child should be abandoned because of its sexuality. No child should be “shunned.” That should be the clarion call of all religious organizations no matter their stance on homosexuality. Perhaps it is too late for my parents to hear this message but for the hundreds of attendees that early Saturday morning I hope the statement came through loud and clear.
I heard it. I’ll bet God did too.
Click here to read the rest of the post. When you read more about Browning's religious background, you'll appreciate what this must have meant to him.
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This is good news. One of the worse things that a parent can do is disown their own children.
ReplyDeleteI've been blessed to have a supportive Mother, no matter what stage I have been in.
Thanks for the linkety-love! I'm glad you liked my post.
ReplyDeleteLet me be clear though: in no way am I endorsing Love Won Out. They teach very dangerous dogma and layman (and inaccurate) psychology. I am heartened, though, by the small steps they've taken.
Also, would you please be willing to change the name for our site on your blogroll? You have "Billerico" while our name actually is "Bilerico Project" (add Project and drop an extra L). Thanks!
Bill,
ReplyDeleteHappy to make the change, and thanks for adding clarification to your post.