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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 2014)
street roots 13 Jan. 17. 2014 Relationships can help guide religious understanding BY PETER WALKER CONTRIBUTING WRITER y parents and the people I grew up around are kind, loving, caring people. Stereotypes are easy, but reality is always more complicated. I never learned hate from them, but there was a lot of fear. As Evangelicals, one of the things they feared most was homosexuality - it was sort of our “litmus test” of Christian orthodoxy. Homosexuality was never identified as the worst sin. But it was the scariest because it was so foreign. Over the last three decades or so, fear of homosexuality has helped solidify conservative Christian communities into a politically homogenous force. Homosexuality served as the external “other,” an enemy threatening Christian families. I have to confess that I joined in spreading the fear. I was in grade school when I helped gather signatures at the mall to ban rights for LGBTQ people in Oregon. When I was in middle school, I strapped on roller blades and went door to door distributing anti-gay literature in support of an anti-gay ballot initiative. I felt like my actions validated me as a good Christian. My world view faltered a bit when I reached high school and made friends who were gay. I liked them. They were good people. So I started developing a dualistic world view, which is what I think a lot of P H O TO BY LAUREN HU R T Evangelical Christians do: what you believe Peter Walker receiving communion a t First Congregational from the Bible or the pulpit of your church is somehow separate from the people you in November to legalize gay marriage in you would love them? know in the real world, as long as those Oregon, and telling my story of The world is full of crystaldear mirrors - relationships aren’t too deep. Because transformation. people God leads us to. They help us see , relationships have the power to change God works in mysterious ways. Not who and what we really are, so that we can everything. everything documented in the Bible was see who and What God really is. The In college, my world view began to meant to be carbon-copied to th e ^ ls t g® reflection is sometimes uncomfortable. crumble. I started to wrestle with the idea century world. Context is important. When we really pay that what I believed and what Iexperienced Relationships and people are important. attention to the truth in the people around me, friends of mine, The way I see it, we are all children of the world reflects back were not congruent. Then several of my Whereas once X gathered God. We should love God and love each <••• at us, from the people friends came out of the closet When my other. I married my wife because I love her signatures lo r a n ti-g a y we find hardest to best friend from childhood came out to me, and am committed to her. I believe that p o litic a l w o rk, stow X aa® love, we begin to I stopped believing being gay was a sin. I treating others as one would hope to be understand how Jesus voting .lit November to couldn’t ctintinue to allow my belief system treated includes allowing same-sex couples to undermine the people I loved m ost And got himself into all le g a lise gay m a rria g e 1st to marry and that it is not for us to judge. my relationships mattered to me more than sorts of sordid, . Oregon^ a a i te llin g m y sto ry I have learned that arguing doesn’t get one small piece of religious doctrine that -scandalous, anyone anywhere. A good argument didn’t o i tra n sfo rm a tio n . didn’t seem relevant in the modern world. compromising, chafige my beliefs. Love did. Relationships Today, I have come full circle, while never uncomfortable, dirty did. If you are willing to sit in the same abandoning my faith. Whereas once I argued situations - from room with people who believe something with a friend that it’s not “biblical” to have loving the people who were hardest to love different from you and simply listen, female pastors, now I’m married to one ; in his time. He paid for his unconditional amazing things can happen. But (which is pretty cool). Whereas once I relationships are not about changing people. love with his life, in part to show us that it’s distributed anti-gay literature on Relationships are about loving someone just not easy. But it is worth i t • roilerblades, now I receive frequent emails because they deserve to be loved. And and Facebook messages from Evangelical To get involved with the Oregon United for Evangelicals deserve love just as much as believers and leaders struggling with this Marriage Campaign go to www. gay people. So who do you struggle to love issue. Whereas once I gathered signatures oregonunitedformarriage. org most? Who poses the greatest risk to you, if for anti-gay political work, now I am voting B Peter Walker 7Vzzs column is the latest in a series fo r Street Roots from Basic R ights Oregon. » C anning jars & equipm ent, cookw are, kitchen to o k & appliances M irador COMMUNITY STORE 1 fca? I—..... .. Bi Natural Kitchen &> Home 2 1 0 6 SE D iv isio n (674-2642) S N ^ /W a c c e p te d Weekly Farmers’ Market, Wednesdays 2-7pm w^v.peopies.coop 4 503«231’5175 m irad o rco m m u n ity sto re.co m M o n -S at 10-6 • Sun 11-5 to i O rganic cotton sheets, tow els, & blankets Food dryers Juicers I Books o n m eat-free I cooking, gardening & sustainability
