Discussive Things

So, the other day, I got to have an unusual experience. The two gentlement who live across the hall from me are both heavily involved in the Campus Crusade for Christ. We don't get involved with each other very much, aside from occasional stereo wars (I have no IDEA why he insists on playing his guitar in his dorm as opposed to, say, the music room). But the other day one of my neighbors and a minister he works with came over to my place to chat.

Now to set the stage, I have a pair of self-created fliers taped to my door. One says "Hitler hates gay people, too! Aren't you in good company?" and has a great picture of the Fuhrer on it. The other one says "What did Jesus say about homosexuality? NOTHING. Only Paul ever had a problem with gay people." I posted these fliers in response to some nasty, hateful things that got posted on my RA's door, because I wanted everyone in the hall to know that there would be no tolerance of homophobia or hatred.

But these guys (let's call the guy across the hall David and the minister John) knocked on my door, and asked about the Jesus flier. I invited them in, and we got to sit down and have a grand old theological discussion. It wasn't a debate, really, as neither of us was really trying to persuade the other party, but it was a good opportunity to share views and see what the other side is seeing. We went over the differences in rhetoric - how many Christian organizations falsely define being gay as a set of sexual actions, how biologically and genetically determined are two slightly different things, why I feel it's wrong to force people to "struggle" with "homosexual attractions" rather than let them live their life. I talked about how I felt the Old Testament and Paul-based arguments against being gay are silly. I talked about my own experiences with religion, and my major problems with it at this point. We talked about how they see spirituality, and how John thought about being gay.

It was really great to sit down and talk civilly with someone. To David and John's credit, I never once felt threatened, or that they came to 'convert' me, or that I was putting up with unnecessary bullshit.

So, to David and John, I say thank you. To anyone else who wants to have a similar discussion, my door is always open.

Technorati Tags: Gay, Christian, Philosophy