TELEPHONE
CONSIDER SUPPORTING THE WORK OF LGBTQIA+ FAITH ACCESS. ALL OF MY WORK IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE, BUT YOUR GENEROSITY MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO CONTINUE. THANKS!Maybe you remember the children's game telephone. I play this game with my children all the time. It is inevitable that the original message is either slightly different or totally off by the end of the game. For example, one time I told my oldest daughter “I love you”, and as that message made its way through my other children my littlest repeated the words “I love poop”. While these two phrases sounded exactly alike; it was a far cry from the original intention of my heart.
Just like this silly game that we play with children, God's intentions and original messages have gone through generations of telephone. Over centuries and multiple generations, people have been reading scripture less and the interpretation of the original message has veered far off of the path of God's original intention. Somehow the unfailing and undiscriminating love of Jesus has turned into politics and people screaming outside of LGBTQIA+ clubs. The message of God is being used to advocate against people's humanity.
Understanding biblical cultural context is essential as it allows for a nuanced interpretation of religious texts. In the light of ever evolving social and ethical norms, we must know scripture and begin recognizing the historical and cultural backdrop in which the scriptures were written. This will better enable us to transcend rigid literalism and uncover the underlying messages of justice, compassion, and equality that transcend time and cultural boundaries. By appreciating the social dynamics, power structures, and biases of ancient societies, we can engage in critical analysis, challenge oppressive interpretations, and promote inclusive values that align with the principles of social justice, gender equality, and human rights, thereby fostering a more inclusive and progressive understanding of biblical teachings.
We need to go back continually to the words of Jesus himself. We need to continue going back to scripture when we are faced with situations that challenge us. We must be willing to ask ourselves: "did I get that right? "At the end of the telephone line we need to recognize when something doesn't sound like Jesus. We need to be able to see that our stances have veered far from Love. We need to find our way back to the source of that love. Jesus is a perfect source. It is possible to read scripture and completely miss Jesus. After you read the gospels we can begin to see that telephone message play out. Paul, who never met Jesus face to face when he walked Earth, gave a lot of instruction about Christianity and about following Jesus. Some may argue with me, but you can already see the game of telephone beginning in scripture.
We must continually look back to the source that is love. That love is Jesus. We need to take a look at the idea that LGBTQIA+ people are labeled and mistreated by christians. We need to ask ourselves honestly “did I get that right?” We need to be willing to take anything we've heard from a convincing person and measure it back to the reality of Jesus. Going back to the source that is him will lead us back to the original intent of God's love. The next time we are tempted to demonize someone from the LGBTQIA+ community for just being who they are, let's ask ourselves “did I get that message right? Have I gone back to jesus? Did Jesus say this?” If we don't see Jesus saying it, we need to stop playing telephone with his message.
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