Dear Editor,
It breaks my heart to hear people use Christianity as an excuse for bigotry against our children – our LGBTQ children. As a Christian and as a pastor I want to tell you that the majority of Canadian Christians believe that LGBTQ children are made and loved by God. It is said that there are two kinds of people in the world: those who believe there are only two kinds of people in the world, and those who believe God is way more creative than that.
It breaks my heart that people take from the Bible only the passages that support bigotry rather than ones that support love. There are, of course, passages that are not supportive of same sex relationships. There are four. But there are also passages that condemn men for wearing cotton and polyester shirts, that would ban marriage between people of different tribes and race. Women cut their hair and men shave their beards – all things that the bible tells us are “abominations.” The Bible has explicit passages about paying fair wages, about supporting the homeless and feeding the hungry. It has more passages about honesty with money and commanding the rich to help the poor, than it does about sex.
The gospel, the ‘good news’ that Christians are asked to share, has nothing to do with sex. It has everything to do with love. Again and again, Jesus asked people to love one another, and love their neighbours. He told them that God is love. He told them that love is more important than law, and that the grace of God is all that is needed.
We hold as a Canadian value, the ideal that our children should be taught to respect one another’s diversity and difference. We hold as a Christian value, that all people are loved by God, and deserve the same safety and opportunity. This is faithful. This is biblical. This is a Christian witness in a hurting world.
Reverend Maggie Watts-Hammond
RICHMOND
