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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 3, 2011)
JUNE 3. 2011 -I AREA I SIGN ERECTORS/MAKERS Apprenticeship Program (Non Union) Accepts Applications Bridging an Ancient Divide On the eve of his retirement, and a Portland visit, Bishop Gene Robinson talks faith and sexuality Wednesdays only year round. 1:30 PM - 4 PM 15800 SW Boones Ferry Rd. Suite B3, Lake Oswego. R equirem ents-m in 18 yrs old, H igh School D ip lo m a /G E D & transcript w /o n e year o f H igh School pre-algebra o r higher w ith a passing grade o f “C ” o r better, o r equivalent c o m m u n ity college placem ent test. Minorities and women encouraged to apply. www.areaonejatc.com Apprenticeship Program (Non Union) Will be accepting applications June 6-July 20 M o n d a y -T h u rs d a y (c lo s e d F rid a y s ) 10 AM - 4 PM 15800 SW Boones Ferry Rd. Suite B3, Lake Oswego. R equirem ents-m in 18 yrs old, H igh School D ip lo m a /G E D an d transcript w/1 yr. H igh School algebra or higher w /passing grade o r equivalent c o m m u n ity college placem ent test. Minorities and women encouraged to apply. www.areaonejatc.com profile WWW.JUSTOUT.COM BY GLENN SCOFIELD WILLIAMS Almost every Pride celebration, they’re there, a small but very loud gaggle o f C hris tians, carrying placards that read “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God for A ID S.” And each one o f these sentiments is followed by a ref erence to scripture: Romans 1:27, Leviticus 20:13, etc. I t’s hard to understand why they would travel thousands of miles to show us just how hard the church has turned its back on us. W hat makes it even more difficult is that some o f us cheering the parade on the side lines, or marching row by row down SW Broadway, are also people o f deep religious conviction— torn by the teachings o f a church that has brought us this age-old condemna tion while struggling to believe in a God of compassion and understanding. And every time, standing there on the pa rade route, we have to ask, How is it possible to reconcile our fa ith with our sexuality? Can the 2,000-year-old divide between Christianity and queerness ever be bridged? “I think religion is enormously important, even for non-religious people,” Bishop V. Gene Robinson, 64, told Just Out recently, “because o f having been steeped in Judeo- Christian culture. Those passages, and the attitudes about homosexuality that come from them, are in the very air we breathe.” In 2003, Robinson, a priest of the Episco pal Church, was voted the new diocesan Bishop of New Hampshire, prompting a tor rent of controversy and conversation among those in the Christian community. This up roar, because he is a proudly, openly, unabash edly gay man and the first to be so voted bishop. A small section of the church split away in disgust with the appointment and with the movement of the church toward recognizing LG B T people as equal members of the fold. Robinson, a priest more interested in preaching the gospel than in becoming a political icon, found himself thrust into the midst of a firestorm where, like it or not, he bravely and articulately became the spokes person for LG B T issues in the Christian community. Eight years, a No. 7 ranking on Out Maga zine's 2009 Power 50 List and an invocation at President Obam a’s inaugural ceremonies later, Robinson prepares to retire the bishop ric— having become a fiercely vocal symbol of reconciliation, confronting the church he loves and asking it to admit.the errors o f its ways and to move into a new era o f compassion. “Generally speaking, love trumps the histori cal teaching,” Robinson re minds the church. The fact is a vast number o f LG B T individuals con sider themselves persons of faith, and a vast number o f faiths are beginning to come around. Robinson, in his book In the Eye o f the Storm, points to a study that seems to indicate that nearly 40-60 percent o f Catholic priests worldwide may be gay. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (G LA A D ) proclaims on its “Religion, Faith &. Values” website that “more than three-quarters o f American Jews and Buddhists believe society should accept gay people, as well as more than half o f mainline Protestants and Catholics and almost one-third o f Muslims."There is a sea change occurring in faith communities around the globe and prejudices concerning religion and spiritual ity are starting to crumble. As recently reported on blogout.justout. com, Oregon’s own Episcopal bishop, the Right Reverend Michael J. Hanley, stated, “I strongly believe in the inclusion o f all persons in the life o f the church. O ur gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in Christ deserve all the rights and privileges, including the right to marry and raise a family.” In the years 2000 So after two millennia o f being called “abom inations,” how do we reconcile his torical scriptural teachings with our sexual ity? “You can talk to a biblical literalist all day and get nowhere,” Robinson said, “when the real question is, ‘How are we going to understand this book?’” Robinson— along with millions o f other Christians— points away from a literalist approach to the Bible. The Scriptures, he insists, must be approached within the bounds o f the context in which it was w rit ten and the people to whom the authors wrote. W hen speaking to a literalist about the Bible, Robinson said, “Until you come to some sort o f agreement as to how you are going to regard that book, you’re going to be speaking from two different platforms.” Does this make the Bible irrelevant then? FILE PHOTO fl 14 “I think it’s im p o rta n t to h ave religious lead ers say, ‘You kn o w w h a t? T h e church g o t it w ro n g a b o u t slavery, using th e s ys tem to justify slavery. W e ’ve g o tte n it w ro n g a b o u t w o m e n . A nd n o w it’s tim e to a d m it w e g o t it w rong a b o u t this, to o .’ Just having s o m e b o d y in a le ad ers h ip po sition say th a t is e n o rm o u s ly freein g an d helpful to p e o p le .” -B IS H O P G E N E R O B IN S O N Do we simply ignore the text? By no means, said Robinson: “M y understanding o f that book is that it’s a marvelous record o f people who’ve had an experience o f the living G od and have sat down and tried to describe that. A nd the reason it’s so im portant is that it gives us the best clues about how to en counter the living G od in our own lives.” The church leadership, in the meantime, has an important step to take— and it may be the hardest one of all. “I think,” Robinson said, “it’s important to have religious leaders say, ‘You know what? The church got it wrong about slavery, using the system to justify slav ery. W e’ve gotten it wrong about women. And
