LGBT Pride is humble. It inspires people to take up their rightful space, not too much or too little. In a culture that tells us we are worthless and lesser, it is a shout to inspire people to know their value. We have a right to exist, to be happy, to live our lives with no one telling us we are wrong.

I grew up hating myself. The church taught me my existence was a sin and hated by their false God. They embraced the demonic urge to hate and attack people who reject the forced conformity and lust for control and power.

Our duty to Christ and God is love. Love for God, for Christ, and for one another.

This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.

Jesus, John 15:12

Let all that you do be done in love.

Paul, 1 Corinthians 16:14

We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.

John, 1 John 4:16

So let’s talk about LGBT Pride.

On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Uprising crystalized the heart of the modern Queer Liberation Movement. It wasn’t the beginning, but it was the spark that lit the powder keg. The next year, the first Pride Marches started, and the movement carries on to this day.

Pride is the one thing that Allonormative. Amatonormative, Cisgender, Heterosexuals take for granted. It is baked into our culture. Where is the heterosexual pride? Most movies, music, books, video games, laws, and cultural institutions are designed to celebrate heterosexual and cisgender norms. Some even put in the effort to mock and denigrate those who don’t live up to those norms.

They assume children to be cisgender and heterosexual until they come out as something else. Our communities forcibly coerced many of us to conform to these expectations, and threaten to disown us or send us to conversion therapy if we do not deny ourselves and conform.

We are attacked, slandered, beaten, and killed for being who we are. That is why we need pride. With 500 bills to take away our rights in the states, we need Pride today more than ever.

Truth is empowering

Too many Christians and conservatives not only spread lies about us, but want us to live a lie rather than be who we are. They claim to be doing the Lord’s work, but the god that encourages lies is not the one who sent Jesus into the world. It is the one who reveled in his crucifixion.

They claim to follow the ten commandments, but ignore:

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

Exodus 20:16

They can’t even be honest about this commandment saying that it is, “Do not lie.” The actual commandment is about giving false testimony against others. In other words, don’t slander people.

As a huge part of the upside down morality, they reject science and state their opinions as facts. I am not going to waste my time and energy debunking there lies. I will let Jessie Earl to that.

There is your homework if you need all the receipts.

Embracing Love and Inclusivity

Compassion and love are at the heart of Christ’s message.

The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.He has sent me to heal the broken hearted,to proclaim release to the captives,recovering of sight to the blind,to deliver those who are crushed,and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Luke 4:17-21

How have those who claim the name and mission of Christ come to this place where they:

* convince the poor to bow to and support the rich

* insult and attack the broken hearted

* support the imprisonment of others

* hide the truth from others.

* and step on the crushed to feel superior.

For those who don’t believe this is the heart of Jesus’ teachings, he says they are the criteria for judgement (see Matthew 7:21-27). They are how you tell Christ’s real followers from the false ones.

We are called to live a life of compassion and justice making. There are no exceptions to the golden rule.

Christians have never had a full or complete understanding of justice or truth. That is why Jesus promised to send us the Spirit of Truth to guide us. He warned us against making the Scriptures into an idol or oracle of truth (John 5:39-44). As Paul says:

So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).

But what about Evil?

There are those who counter these arguments by quoting Paul:

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.

Paul, Romans 12:9

What is evil? The Christian ethics taught by Christ define evil quite well:

* oppressing and not helping the poor

* not healing and visiting the sick

* not comforting and liberating the imprisoned and enslaved

* not feeding the hungry

* not clothing the naked

* not sheltering the homeless

I see a common thread weaving through all of that.

What did Jesus have to say about oppressed gender and sexual minorities?

But he said to them, “Not all men can receive this saying, but those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven’s sake. He who is able to receive it, let him receive it (Matthew 19:11-12).”

That’s it. It would have been shocking to say that in his day.

In the Mosaic Law in states:

He who is emasculated by crushing or cutting shall not enter into Yahweh’s assembly (Deuteronomy 23:1).

Jesus not only contradicted the law, but turned it on its head. Being a eunuch can be good actually.

I am not saying that eunuchs are necessarily queer, but many were, and I don’t know how else to interpret how some people are born eunuchs. Maybe is a reference to asexuality, but it is unclear. The early church interpreted it that way and doubled down on celibacy.

However Jesus meant this, it is clear that he did not judge the most visible gender/sexual minority of his time. What mattered was the love and compassion we had for others and how we make justice in our societies.

If you wonder why I am not talking about what Paul thought, the truth is we don’t know. He coined his own term and we don’t know what he meant by it. He could have been talking about sexual slavery or cultic prostitution. Any translation of Paul that is clear is showing the bias of the translator and not the words of Paul.

Making Justice

Our call is to make justice and to love one another as Christ loved us. Justice can not be based on lies. The science is in:

* homosexuality appears in nature and thus is natural.

* gender affirming care saves lives.

Any argument to the contrary is not based in fact.

There is not an epidemic of people coming out as gay, bi, or trans, the curve is mirroring the destigmatization of left-handedness.

It will level off once the queer community feels safe enough to be themselves.

Don’t fall for lies and grifters

Remember:

* Gender, like race, is culturally constructed which is why its definition changes over time.

* The gender spectrum is real. No one is simply Man or Woman, but have many genders we take up and put down throughout our lives.

* Sex is a spectrum with males, intersex individuals, and females. Most intersex people will never know they are intersex unless it shows up in a medical test.

* Sexuality is a spectrum, and not everyone has sexual or romantic attraction to others.

* Untreated gender dysphoria kills.

* Just because something is culturally constructed does not mean that it isn’t trying to express a felt or internal reality.

* Someone being queer is natural and does no harm.

* Politeness, courtesy, and compassion cost nothing.

* Children have their own lives and should not be forced to conform to the wishes and desires of their parents.

* Humility is a key aspect of compassion.

No one has to out themself if they don’t feel comfortable or safe. Allyship and Liberation is about accepting the science, supporting one another, and fighting against the increasing wave of harassment, persecution, and legal threats to our existence and wellbeing.

Stand up this Pride, and fight for our rights to exist.

Get full access to Creation's Paths at www.creationspaths.com/subscribe

Rate