Choose your weapon
I finally realized why some evangelicals are starting to act nicely towards SGL/LGBTQ/SOGIE folks. No idea why I didn’t see it sooner. Nice is all they have left.
Aside from the hate they’re aiming at trans, nonbinary and gender diverse people right now.
Nothing else has worked in the long term:
1) They fire us, but we get other jobs.
2) AIDS didn’t “kill all the gays” like they were praying for it to.
3) Encouraging others to murder from their pulpits still hasn’t made a big dent.
4) And they lost the fight to keep marriage to themselves.
So now what?
Now they shift stances and play “Good Christian/Bad Bigot”. Some write articles about how Jesus respected all people, so heterosexual Christians should too. Others might repent(?) of having waved hateful signs at Pride events. Alright cool. What positive things have you been doing since then?
And still others write books saying that, if all else fails, you may have to let your gender diverse child transition. But only after you’ve tried everything. It sounds empathetic, but it’s a softer version of conversion therapy. Just because they aren’t using those words doesn’t mean it’s a different thing.
It’s the youngsters I feel bad for. They want this “new nice” to be real. They have every right to be able to stay in the churches they grew up in. We fought for that much. For them to have at least that slice of Americana. To be able to come out in the church their family has gone to forever, and not have the so-called “baptismal promise” evaporate in a cloud of judgmental dust. Like it did for so many of us older ones.
And that’s the crux of it for me. I’m too old and I’ve seen too much for this “new nice” to work on me. I can’t be lured in with a treat and a smile. Especially when I’m 99% certain you’re holding a club behind your back. I’m not a baby seal.
I know that most cishet church people don’t do anything without an agenda. For decades, the church agenda towards us has been #changeordie. There’s no reason for you to stop now.
I’ll stay out here and keep working with others who build SOGIE/SGL/LGBTQ specific religious communities. That way hurting people always have somewhere to go. But there will always be a part of me hoping that our folks will get a chance to worship wherever they want to.
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