Christians and Gay Activists in Conversation

Conservative evangelicals and gays typically exchanged very heated words - when they exchange words at all. A conservative Baptist church in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, seems to want to change that. They believe that homosexuality is a sin, yet they set up a booth at a gay pride event - not to preach, but just to hand our free water.

The New York Times reports:

Churches have attended gay pride marches before, usually to support the marchers or to protest. But Mr. Lucas hoped that Liquid, which is part of a conservative Baptist church that considers homosexuality a sin, could take a third position, avoiding both the scolds of some evangelical Christians and the acceptance of more liberal churches. Without endorsing homosexuality, he said: "We want to dismantle the invisible hierarchy of sin that many evangelicals promote that puts gays and lesbians at the top of the list. That sense of self-righteousness and superiority runs rampant in our church like a cancer."

As the day wore on, Mr. Newkirk said he was surprised by how many of the people he talked to were Christians, and how many had been hurt by the church. "I had a moment with a lesbian couple where I apologized for Christianity," he said. "In a sense that's what we're doing here, but I didn't expect to utter the words out loud. I'm a follower of Christ, but I'm not a follower of Christianity. Christianity has done a lot of these people a lot of harm."

This is definitely an interesting and different tactic. It strikes me as if this group, unlike most other conservative Christian groups I have seen, really is trying to put into practice the principle of "hate the sin, love the sinner" with respect to homosexuality. Usually "hate the sin" translates into behavior and language that express clear contempt for the "sinner," but not here. It's a pity that more Christians don't behave in this manner.

Read More:

• Gay Rights, Gay Marriage
• Evangelical Christianity & Homosexuality
• Catholicism & Homosexuality