"Persecution?"

           In my humble opinion, the church appears to be on its way to isolation.  Some would argue that to be a good thing, a biblical thing.   While I’m not here to point out the pros and cons, I would like to identify a possible cause of this: the persecution mentality.  Please note that I haven’t been to church in years, and am basing this off of past experiences and a plethora of Facebook posts and threads…so please feel free to take this or leave it, for what it’s worth.

            There is a growing surge of “don’t impose your beliefs on me” growing in the church, and I have yet to figure out why.  There is an organization found within the Assemblies of God (a protestant denomination) called the Royal Rangers.  It’s similar to the Boy Scouts, but with a church focus.  I was a royal ranger and I thoroughly enjoyed the campouts, building fires and tying knots.  When the Boy Scouts announced that they would not be excluding teens that identified as gay, I noticed a post on Facebook stating that the Scouts had been “taken away from us”.  I made the comment that “at least you have your Royal Rangers”, thinking that was at least fair.  Another individual chimed in, “But the Royal Rangers don’t have the same prestige as the Boy Scouts.”

            UNBELIEVABLE.  The Royal Rangers are 100% protected by law to teach and include, or exclude, whoever they want.  And I completely support that right.  But it is only arrogance to assume that the Boy Scouts were ever “yours” to begin with.  They’ve always had the right to vote how they see fit.  But what angers me more is that even when a similar organization exists, that coincides with your beliefs, it’s not good enough, and treated much like a 2 year old throws aside an old toy while kicking and screaming at the thought of sharing a new one.

            Many conservatives feel that gay marriage has imposed opposing views on its citizens – again, how?  I would love nothing more than for someone to explain that to me, while still having the capacity to have a two way conversation about it.  Many of my conservative friends have become surprisingly defensive on some of these issues.  It amazes me.  These people know me, and know my heart of wanting to see lines of communication OPEN, rather than bridges burned.   

            A few days ago I posted about gay marriage being another step towards “silencing the ignorant.”  I couldn’t believe how many people took offense, automatically assuming that I was pointing at them.  In no way does being conservative equal ignorance.  Many conservatives that I know are not ignorant at all.  In fact, they have a seriously well thought out approach to why they believe what they believe.  Many of these friends will ask me to hang out, and sometimes we do.  I’m even attending a wedding of such an individual in a few weeks (should be fun, but interesting, to hang with old friends again). 

But there are those that simply cannot listen to another point of view.  If you think someone is calling you ignorant on the gay issue, then ask yourself, “how many gay friends do I have that I hang out with?”, or “What would it be like to have to go through what a gay person goes through?”  Also…if you think the whole gay thing is about a dude wanting to have sex with another dude, guess what…you’re ignorant – ignorant as hell. 

           

            Many of my conservative friends have made it a point lately to hit me up and hang out, and I'm thrilled.  I don’t know if it’s to gain brownie points for Jesus, or a genuine desire to catch up with an old friend, but either way, I’ll take it.  It’s always cool to reconnect with old friends.

And yet I’ve got a few former close friends who are blatantly distant.  If people such as these truly aren’t ignorant, then I can only assume that they are homophobic, and are sincerely afraid of what they don’t understand.  If that’s the case, my heart goes out to them.  I think that would be a tough place to be.

I would like to point out, and own, that my identity is no longer placed in my old friends…or any human for that matter.  My life has moved on, and I’m happy to be where I am today.  But I won’t lie…I wish that there weren’t any “sides” anymore.  The devil is certainly accomplishing his goal of dividing people.

            As a whole, the church has some serious decisions to make in the near future, either learn to truly love people where they are at (while still holding its values), or continue to isolate itself and play the role of the victim – for that is certainly within its rights.  Just take a look at the Amish. 

            Just love people, let God sort it out.  The only people that Jesus got into the faces of were the Pharisees.  Ironically, these were the religious leaders of the day, not the lawmakers and politicians.  Today these would be the pastors and religious leaders that control people with their legalism. 

            Oh…and for the record, the church in America has no clue what persecution looks like, or to have its rights infringed upon.  There are those that believe that persecution is coming; that the church will be the last persecuted group on the earth.  I completely think that’s a possibility.  And while I sincerely hope that day never comes, I can now see how that could happen. 

Thanks for reading...

John