Would Jesus discriminate?

Continuing the thread of political hot topics, I read an article today about billboards being placed around Indianapolis "by Jesus Metropolitan Community Church of Indianapolis with support from Faith In America and Metropolitan Community Churches worldwide." The billboards quote Scripture in defense of homosexuality and each includes the question/website www.WouldJesusDiscriminate.com. Here are some examples:

• Jesus affirmed a gay couple. Matthew 8:5-13.
• David loved Jonathan more than women. II Samuel 1:26.
• Ruth loved Naomi as Adam loved Eve. Genesis 2:24; Ruth 1:14.
• Jesus said some are born gay. Matthew 19:10-12.
• The early church welcomed a gay man. Acts 8:26-40.

The website has explanations for each of the passages.

"I can already hear tires screeching across Indianapolis as folks see the billboards," said Reverend Jeff Miner, Senior Pastor of Jesus MCC. "Most people have no idea that the Bible contains passages that powerfully affirm gay people."

On www.WouldJesusDiscriminate.com, there is a short video in which a man explains how "good-hearted" Christians have used the Bible to support wrong stances on significant issues such as slavery, voting rights for women, and interracial marriage. How could we have been so wrong? His answer: "They allowed deeply ingrained cultural prejudices to distort their interpretation of the Scriptures on each of those issues...For all of human history, slavery had been regarded as an established institution, it just seemed to be part of God's natural creation. For all of human history, women had been denied the right to vote. This too just seemed to be part of God's natural order...we pray that we would never make that kind of mistake again...Could most Christians be wrong again today when they say God condemns homosexual relationships?"

The website also has rebuttals for Romans 1:21-28, Leviticus 18 and 20, Sodom and Gomorrah, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and 1 Timothy 1:10.

I'm not 100% sure what they mean when asking "Would Jesus discriminate?" I don't know if they are asking whether Jesus would withhold love, grace, redemption, compassion, forgiveness...but I do assume they are talking specifically about discriminating between heterosexual and homosexual men/women. So what do you think? Would Jesus discriminate?

How can we live in light of the Resurrection?

"But we are here today, on Sunday, the resurrection day, to celebrate and proclaim to the world the fact that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. We live by this truth and we shall die by this truth. We comfort each other by this truth and we are stirred to love and devotion and service by this truth. Let us therefore settle it in our minds and hearts that we will allow the truth of the resurrection to propel us to be true revolutionaries. Not the cheap and easy kind of revolutionary, those who want to use violence to overthrow the present order and simply turn it upside down and replace it with one of their own. No, we’ve had plenty of those and it doesn’t work. No, we are like Jesus and, in his love and power to be double revolutionaries, celebrating his victory over death and sin, and finding through prayer and politics and Bible study and campaigning and love and fellowship and celebration and truth — finding the way to bring that victory to birth, both in the dark corners of our own private and personal lives and in the dark corners of God’s suffering world.

May God give you grace and joy in his service and in believing and living the gospel of the resurrection and to his name be the praise and the glory. Amen."

--Bishop N.T. Wright, from a sermon given at The Falls Church

My question today is a simple one:

While we stand in the shadow of the cross, how can we live in light of the resurrection?

Maybe some of us haven't, as Bishop Wright has said, "settled it in our minds and hearts that we will allow the truth of the resurrection to propel us to be true revolutionaries." What is holding you back? This weekend we were able to celebrate the resurrection in our local communities. What might it mean for us to proclaim the resurrection of the Lord through our work? Is that even possible?

He is risen!

Why Love Is Not the Answer

From a talk given by Stanley Hauerwas posted on The Dude's personal blog last year:

http://postcritical.blogspot.com/2006/04/why-love-is-not-answer_19.html