Rage: Sing, Blog, Thomas' Rage.

“Rage:
Sing, Goddess, Achilles' rage,
Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks
Incalculable pain, pitched countless souls
Of heroes into Hades' dark,
And left their bodies to rot as feasts
For dogs and birds, as Zeus' will was done.
Begin with the clash between Agamemnon--
The Greek warlord--and godlike Achilles.”

The first lines of Homer’s Iliad.

Rage. And countless, pointless deaths. All as the will of God.

I need a minute. I need a god-damned minute. I've got my own rage.

………………

This week, news dropped from the international charity World Vision that they would begin to allow same-sex couples to work for their organization. They did not affirm homosexual marriages as good or bad. They did not claim that practicing homosexuality was moral or immoral. They merely said they wanted to allow homosexual Christians to have the opportunity to work for World Vision the same as heterosexual Christians.

And the evangelical community lost their mind.

People called World Vision apostates. Some said this ultimately shows LESS compassion for the poor by showing disdain or apathy for their eternal souls. One man said it was a betrayal to the kids they serve. Scores of people flocked to the internet to proclaim they would no longer support the organization, and thus, the children and poor families they serve.

All because World Vision said they wanted to give a gay person the opportunity to cook, vaccinate, and otherwise serve the poor.

Less than two days later, World Vision backtracked, reversed their hiring practices, and even apologized for the confusion they caused the evangelical community about … here it is… their unwavering commitment to the authority of Scripture.

And now I'm going to lose my mind.

……………..

This might be the epitome of human arrogance and sinful behavior right here. I have such disgust for my brothers and sisters in Christ right now I can barely put together coherent sentences.

The organization’s mission is to offer food, clothing, medicine, education – the basic subsistence level care to relieve poverty and human suffering. All things we Americans take for granted. Things every American considers the bare necessities and gives their children without a second thought.

But the concept of a gay person offering that same aid is so repugnant to the evangelical sensibility that they would hold those services – THE VERY SURVIVAL OF ANOTHER HUMAN BEING – in order to ensure their own sense of righteousness isn’t transgressed.

I can barely even speak my teeth are clenched so hard right now.

Let’s take a moment and look at the actual words that Richard Stearns, CEO of World Vision, said concerning the inclusion of gay Christians.

“Through our many discussions and much prayer, we began to discern some clarity around this issue. You see, World Vision’s mission is not the same as that of our local churches; nor are we a body of theologians whose responsibility is to render biblical advice and interpretations of theological matters. We are, as our mission statement so clearly expresses, “an international partnership of Christians whose mission is to follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice, and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of God.” And it is this mission that unites us—Baptist, Pentecostal, Seventh-day Adventist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Orthodox, nondenominational, etc.—more than 50 different expressions of the Christian faith represented within WVUS alone. In fact, for 60 years the Christian mission of World Vision has been a platform uniting followers of Christ around the world. 

As World Vision employees, we are first and foremost united in our response to Jesus’ call to follow Him and to serve the poor. This unity gives us space to acknowledge a range of views on issues among the Christian churches we attend and the denominations we represent. Those issues include methods of baptism, divorce and remarriage, views on evolution, the role of women in church leadership, and whether birth control is acceptable. At World Vision we hold a strong view of the authority of Scripture in the life of the church and in the lives of each of us as followers of Christ, but we intentionally choose not to require specific beliefs or practice in any of these debated issues as conditions of employment at World Vision U.S. In other words, we don’t have a list of issues on which we mandate agreement as a litmus test for hiring. Instead, we leave these areas under the authority of the various church bodies to which each of us belongs and to the freedom of all of our employees to discern for themselves, fully understanding that there is a range of views within and among our churches.” (Emphasis mine.)

On what planet is withdrawing food from a starving person considered “good news?” Who wants to be a part of a Kingdom that regulates the bare necessities needed for existence based on the moral purity of the person handing it out??! And for 60 years, Christians have been united under the mission of World Vision despite theological and moral disagreement. What God creates human souls, has them born into abject poverty, and then decides his elect group of followers can’t feed them because the person who wants to cook the food or make the copies in the home office puts his genitals in the “wrong hole.”

WHO CARES?! I have to say, if God turns out to be more concerned about one guy having sex with another man instead of the fact that millions of people are dying without basic access to food and water, he isn't worth our worship. He is no different that the Greek gods and goddesses we read in ancient epics that played chess with human souls.

But, that kind of God isn't the one I see in Jesus. And she’s not the one I hear about from the prophets. And he isn't the God that I have experienced. And I am not alone.

God cares about the poor. God redeems those who experience injustice. God upholds all those who fall, whether from the weight of poverty or as an act of submission crying out “Get away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man.” It is in truly knowing this God that I cannot help but be disgusted by the stark contrast I am seeing – a God that would have his followers starve out the poor in order to shun and shame someone who fell in love in a disagreeable manner. It makes me want to spit.

………………..

Ok. I have calmed down a tad.

I keep hearing this word “sin” getting thrown about. There is this (sometimes implicit) accusation that liberal Christians are afraid to use the word sin but the evangelical community is the stalwart and courageous remnant staying true to the truth of the Gospel. Or that liberal Christians are erasing the concept of sin from Christianity.

Let me disabuse everyone of that notion right now.

If there were ever a better time to talk about the incredible amount of Scripture concerning greed, I don’t know when it would be. In fact, many of the Bible verses I see getting thrown around as proof that homosexual Christians shouldn’t serve the poor for World Vision ALSO LIST GREED as a chief sin to avoid.

The reason why liberal incredulity over this isn't devolving into a slap fest of each wing accusing the other of ignoring sin is because it would miss the entire point! World Vision’s mission relies on sinners of all varieties being able to come under the big tent of the service of the Kingdom of God. In fact, I think it could be argued that one of their key evangelizing goals is to convert the rich and greedy sinners into servants of the oppressed and “least of these.” And that goal is accomplished by owning a really big tent that is open to all without prerequisites.

Also, sin is not simply some list of things we should avoid doing. It is a placeholder for the fact that we aren't God. It is a state of being. It is the quintessential quality of humanity: imperfection. Yet the other quintessential quality is our desire to not be that way – our constant struggle, as individuals and as a race of living beings, to be better.

This is something the evangelical community can never understand. Because for them, the equation that leads to heaven is one of repentance for specific actions. And simply being isn't specific enough of an action. And of course, it doesn't give one that sense of moral superiority that offers assurance of being “saved.”

The height of sin very well might be when an entire group of people feels their own imperfections are excusable while another group is somehow more imperfect and beyond repair. And that lack of humility is only worsened by taking an entire class of vulnerable people as hostages. They effectively lifted their own sense of righteousness to the place of God – choosing what lives are worth saving and which lives are worth sacrificing.

I am still beyond shocked by this whole thing.

So will I stop supporting World Vision because they have reversed their policy? No. Not at all. And I encourage everyone reading to support their mission despite the fact they caved to the callused sociopathic wing of the Church.

And in this moment, even though I want so badly to be angry forever and to never fall back into the naïve hope that evangelicals could learn what it means to empathize in a way that mimics our Lord Jesus, World Vision reminds me of our end goal:

“Together we share a quest for justice, peace, reconciliation, and healing in a broken world.”

I welcome the opportunity to feed the hungry and heal the sick with my evangelical brothers and sisters – the ones I feel so much rage towards right now. I need to find forgiveness and mercy. And there might not be a better way to do that than to set aside our differences and join forces by helping relieve human suffering and ensuring that all of God’s children have the basics necessary for survival.

And perhaps while I undertake this journey, my evangelical brothers and sisters will find it in their hearts to invite our homosexual Christian brethren along for the journey as well. And through the mutual exposure, true peace, reconciliation, and healing in this broken, messed up whore of a Church can be forged.

God’s will cannot be to forfeit so many human lives and cause incalculable pain all for the sake of self-righteous rage, whether mine or theirs. We are better than Achilles and Agamemnon. God is not Zeus. Other human beings are not pawns to be played to serve our own ends. We have an obligation to them by holy edict from our Savior as well as the reason-based claims of a common humanity and those obligations do not rise and fall with the policy changes of who stands beside us in that service!

I’m seven times seventy scraping knees. I need to give forgiveness and mercy just as I so desperately need it. I am a man. But I am a criminal.

It is because of his great love we are not consumed, his compassion never fails. May we all remember that humble place we end every day – as an imperfect human in need of reconciliation and healing. Shame on us all when we forget it.