Erskine College is the latest to use God’s Word to promote hatred. Wai Sallas wonders, when will love conquer hate?
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This past week, Erskine College came out as an openly bigoted institution by publicly stating they do not want Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender students and those who are enrolled will be disciplined.
The South Carolina supposed place of higher learning issued a statement that students are “expected to follow the teachings of scripture concerning matters of human sexuality and institutional decisions will be made in light of this position.”
I’m curious, will Erskine College stop serving pork chops or bacon since “it is unclean?” – Leviticus 11:7.
On admissions day, will Erskine College ask every male to drop his pants since “Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant?” – Genesis 17:14.
I wonder if Trustee Dody Morris is there for her looks since “Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says?” – 1 Corinthians 14:34.
What those who so ardently speak of being victims of their religion fail to see is they are in direct opposition of God’s Word.
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I did not grow up in an openly religious household. Our Sundays, however, were spent like most typical families in America. We woke up, ate breakfast and drove to church. Where my story differs is once at church, my mom would kiss me on the cheek walk me in the doors, get back in her car and drive home.
I assumed she had already met the prerequisite of Jesus stories and therefore had graduated from church. In fact, the only time I saw my mom in church was when I had a church choir recital, or my Sunday school class was putting on a play.
That all changed when my Dad and I started to explore God together. I watched the word of God and the unabashed love of Jesus sweep over my Dad and turn him from an abusive alcoholic to a God fearing, responsible human being. I grew a huge man crush on Jesus during that time. As I watched my Dad transform his life, I too looked to change mine.
For a while, my dad, mom and I were all going to church. We had all received God’s love and we were all better for it. That’s before the hate started to seep in. That was before people had the crazy notion that all people, regardless of color or sexual orientation deserved the same rights. My mom quickly soured and left church. She couldn’t understand how the God that she was now being taught was one of hate. My dad was torn, unable to find the middle ground with the people he met in everyday life and the sermons he was now preaching as pastor of his own church.
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The God and religion Erskine College speaks of is not the God and religion that I follow. When Fox News and the Religious Right speak of the “War on Religion” they don’t realize they are engaging in a battle where the only casualty are the innocent followers who love God for his love, not his judgement.
There is a reason more and more people are turning away from organized religion. In a recent report on NPR, one-fifth of Americans are religiously unaffiliated — higher than at any time in recent U.S. history — and those younger than 30 especially seem to be drifting from organized religion. A third of young Americans say they don’t belong to any religion.
Who wants to engage in a communion of hate? Who wants to believe in a community that persecutes friends, families and loved ones?
In our history, religion has been used in the name of war from the Crusades all the way to the terrorism that threatens our current life with Al Qaida and ISIS. Yet we still preach hate, we still detract the educated with an archaic and biased ideology that picks and chooses what biblical laws we dub as scripture and which verses we throw out and ignore.
What those who so ardently speak of being victims of their religion fail to see is they are in direct opposition of God’s Word.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” – John 13:34
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The sad part is Drew Davis and Juan Varona felt love at Erskine College. The two were volleyball players at the college had found acceptance from their teammates and the community. Davis and Varona helped lead the Flying Fleet to an NCAA tournament bid in just the program’s second year of existence.
“I have never received anything but kind treatment from everyone at this school,” he said after Erskine College released their statement.
“I feel that in the time that we are living right now,” he continued, “where even in the conservative state of South Carolina same-sex marriage is legal, the school took several steps back instead of progressing towards a future where everyone can be treated as an equal, which is a future most of the county is moving towards.”
According to UCLA’s Williams Institute review, there are over 9 million people who identify themselves as gay. That doesn’t include the millions too afraid to come out due to institutions like Erskine College that outwardly persecute gays.
It’s bad enough 20% of [LGBT students] fear for their physical safety due to their gender identity or their perceived sexual orientation, according to The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. They now have to deal with established institutions promoting this hate mongering.
As a Christian, I stand in embarrassment at what some in my religion deem as right and “godly”. It’s the reason I have searched for 8 years, trying to find a church that promotes God’s love without exacting man’s judgment.
The most famous bible verse is “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. It’s plastered everywhere from sporting events to fast food drink cups. It’s a shame that for certain Christians, the world they perceive is different than the one God loves.
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Photo Credit: Facebook
Update 3/1/15: Erskine College has released a statement regarding their position on Human Sexuality. “This statement describes a position. It does not prescribe a policy and does not ‘ban’ any individual or class of individuals from attending Erskine. No students have been asked to leave Erskine based on this statement.” It is unclear how or what institutional decisions detailed in its initial statement will be affected by its updated statement.
Fortunately, many Christian denominations are welcoming to LGBTQ folks. I recommend my denomination, the United Church of Christ (www.ucc.org). The Metropolitan Community Church is a denomination that intentionally ministers to the LGBTQ population. The Unitarian Universalist Association is very gay-friendly. And several denominations, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, now allow congregations to proclaim themselves as gay-friendly. Slowly, we American Christians are getting better at that whole “practice love” thing.
this is a regurgitation of tired old hermeneutics that fail to understand how Protestant Christians (like Erskine College) understand the relationship of the Old and New Testament. It’s called allowing scripture to interpret scripture. For example, Titus of the New Testament was not circumcised–the debate of the early church settled that. Second Peter received a dream opening the unclean and clean foods–so Erskine probably serves pork, or at least bacon…mmmmm….bacon. As women were the first at the tomb and teach the disciples the gospel, and ones such as Lydia came home to teach their family there is space for women… Read more »
Students are “expected to follow the teachings of scripture concerning matters of human sexuality and institutional decisions will be made in light of this position.”
This is such a vague statement that it could mean anything. Gays will be stoned? Could be. Gays will be embraced? Could be. WHICH teachings of scripture, and which institutional decisions? They seem to have wanted to make a vague threat that they could then carry out however they wish. That in itself is pretty nasty.
Just because I’m white doesn’t make me a raciest or if I’m black makes me a con or if I’m a Muslim that I hate Americans or If I’m a Christian that I hate homosexuals. It’s the few out there that makes the rest of us look bad. But people shouldn’t categorize the few with the multitudes. As I read the comments about the article I couldn’t help but feel hostility and negativity with the responses that was given. It’s funny how we try to write about not hating but our own words condemns. Shouldn’t we respond with our disagreements… Read more »
There is no place in the bible where it is written to hate people of different preferences. There are place that speak about hate and one of them is in Proverbs 6:16-19 There are six rings the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours our lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. Man put hate words into their writings and people believe it as true. In fact… Read more »
The atmosphere at Erskine College is the furthest thing from homophobic, this coming from a current gay student who is about to graduate in May. When you say “by publicly stating they do not want Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender students and those who are enrolled will be disciplined,” that is an unfortunate, but blatant misinterpretation of what is being said. There is a vast difference between “expected to” and “required to.” If you will please read the statement which the college has issued in response to the confusion–which yes, was admittedly their fault by not issuing the statement with… Read more »
Happy to do that. Thank you for your comments.
Christianity was created by the Romans as propaganda to offset rebellions in Jewish lands.
and Jesus seemed pretty gay the way i read it
This is not a good article. Your understanding of Christian theology of sexuality is shallow, at best. Christians have long had a sexual ethic that is narrow and particular. Yes, it has been used to abuse and harm people in the past, but the beginnings of this ethic, millennia ago, put it deeply out-of-step with the Roman world. If you think, however, that the traditional Christian view of sexuality is just rooted in a few Old Testament verses, you reveal your ignorance of Christian theology. Moreover, the fact that Christians have a peculiar sexual ethic that you do not share… Read more »
I appreciate your feedback. I think you are missing the point of my article. This is not about the Christian view on sexuality. It is more about certain Christians subjectively choosing which scriptures they abide by and which they ignore. I was not comparing this college to ISIS, that is ridiculous. If you read the article, you would see that I said organized religion has been used as the reasoning behind wars and terrorism, which is infallible. I never say current Christian views of sexuality are rooted in a few Old Testament verses. Finally, asking people to abide by guidelines… Read more »