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| Tony Campolo. Sociologist, Pastor, Author |
Jesus answered, “The first is,
‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all
your strength.’ The second is
this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment
greater than these.”
Mark 12:29-31
More than twenty years ago, I
was part of a small gathering at Community Baptist Church in Manchester,
Connecticut, listening to Tony Campolo
talk about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. He was and is a compelling
speaker: bold, enthusiastic, insightful, inspiring, and honest. He spoke in
conversational tones, but his energy filled the room.
When it was time for questions,
someone asked him what he thought about homosexuality.
This was long before there
was any serious thought about equal marriage. At that time, most Protestant churches
were still grappling with the basic idea of gay and lesbian civil rights.
Campolo paused. He looked
directly at the questioner. “Well,” he asked slowly, “What did Jesus say about
it?”
Silence.
And then, with increased
energy, he answered his own question. “Jesus didn’t say anything about it.”
“So,” he said, “My question
for you is, ‘Why is this so important to you?’”
I have thought about that
exchange often over the years. I had already been committed to gay and lesbian civil
rights for a long time. In terms of philosophical and theological ethics, it
seemed obvious. But twenty something years ago, the biblical piece had not yet become clear to me and I
found his response very helpful.
A few weeks ago, when Tony Campolo unsettled
many evangelicals by “coming out” in support of the full inclusion of gays and
lesbians within the church, I was not surprised. I doubt that it was a great
change in his perspective. I think he was just finally admitting to the world
(and possibly to himself) what he had believed for a long time.
Kevin DeYoung, senior pastor
of University Reformed Church in East Lansiing, Michigan published a blog post titled,
“40
Questions for Christians Now Waving Rainbow Flags,” that has been widely
shared on social media. Some of the questions might prompt reflection, others
are obvious, and some are accusatory, but the overall thrust is to suggest that
supporting equal marriage is unbiblical. Many others have answered
those questions in a variety of ways, and some of the answering is probably
necessary. If only to prove that those of us waving the rainbow flags have also
read the Bible.
My first response was to
think of all the questions I have for those who think that the advent of equal
marriage is the beginning of the end of civilization as we know it. I thought
of writing something called “400 Questions for Christians Opposed to Equal
Marriage.”
But in the end, all of my
questions boiled down to the one Tony Campolo asked two decades ago.
Why?
Why is this so important to
you?
Why aren’t you more
concerned, as Jesus was, about income inequality, about social and economic
justice? Why aren’t you more concerned about war?
When the Hebrew prophets
pronounced God’s judgment, the issue was justice, not sexuality. If you are
looking for signs of the end, why aren’t you looking there?
How can you possibly be so
invested in denying rights to people? And how can you believe that is what
Jesus would want you to do?
