The story of Abraham and Isaac is one among non secular historical past’s most annoying narratives. God instructions Abraham to slaughter his beloved son, a check of religion so excessive it defies human comprehension. On the final second, an angel intervenes, sparing Isaac’s life.

This story has been lauded for hundreds of years as the last word act of obedience, however the fact is that some mother and father right this moment are nonetheless prepared to sacrifice their youngsters, not on historical altars, however of their dwelling rooms, church buildings, and colleges. They usually do it within the title of God.

When Kirk Franklin, a Grammy Award-winning gospel artist, confronted a check — his son popping out as bisexual — he made a seemingly completely different selection. Regardless of public feuds and a strained relationship between the 2, Kirk declared, “The love for my son just isn’t primarily based on who he loves. That’s my reply as a Christian.”

In a world the place practically half of LGBTQ+ youth are estranged from their households, Franklin’s stance is at minimal, progress, although it shouldn’t be revolutionary. Some commenters on-line have urged that Franklin’s response is manipulative and problematic akin to “hate the sin, not the sinner.” Extra about that later.

For a lot of believers, religion is a motivator to desert, reject, and forged out their queer youngsters. Within the UK, the charity, Simply Like Us, studies that nearly half of LGBT+ younger adults are estranged from at the very least one member of the family. Within the US, LGBTQ+ youth comprise 40% of the homeless inhabitants, in accordance with Covenant Home.

Whereas these younger persons are not being “bodily taken to the highest of a mountain” to be sacrificed, they’re being sacrificed socially and politically on the altars of doctrine and self-righteousness.

The Bible has been used to justify all the things from slavery to the condemnation of LGBTQ+ folks, and from the subjugation of ladies to causes to save lots of right this moment’s polluted setting. How can the identical Bible be used to justify each oppression and liberation?

As a result of it’s not concerning the textual content; it’s about who controls it and their intentions.

It’s about affect and energy.

My mother and father weren’t well-known, however I nonetheless felt the load of potential embarrassment and the worry that my being bi would mark me as a legal responsibility. I perceived they may have felt compelled to show their devotion or obedience to their non secular group by correcting or denouncing me. And group is all the things!

Maybe the entry to group and the deeper sense of id it offers are extra important than strictly following the literal interpretation of spiritual texts. Perhaps it’s this sense of belonging that persons are unwilling to sacrifice, even at the price of alienating their members of the family.

Many religion leaders use hierarchical language to emphasise that God is first, then their associate, then their youngsters, then the world. Whereas rising up, I repeatedly heard, “God first, then all the things else.” I’m not 100% positive I might have been disowned, kicked out, or enrolled in corrective remedy, however I hid for a motive. Who will get lower when social capital begins to dry up? Members of the family.

Queer youth are listening to the identical message throughout church circles, “Select religion, learn your Bible, you — your being — is sinful, resign sin and your heathenistic life-style or burn on the stake.” This isn’t religion; that is fanaticism. Vanity and ego are on fireplace. It’s selective listening to and a refusal to ask and reply inconvenient questions.

In a current textual content change, I encountered a person, let’s name him “Pastor Sal,” who believes that bisexuality is a sin and that Kirk Franklin was complicit in that sin, citing 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 as justification, which discusses the unrighteous not inheriting the dominion.

With the intent of displaying that the Bible can justify something its reader wishes, I requested which verses had been used to justify the slavery of Africans in the US. He was silent. One reply is Colossians 3:22, which means that God ordained slavery. I additionally requested him what Genesis 1:27 meant and why it indicated that everybody was made within the picture of God.

The Bible is malleable and will be twisted to serve the desire of those that wield it. In my instance, Pastor Sal supposed to color me as sinful and in want of redemption, whereas I supposed to color Pastor Sal as a manipulator who cherry-picks verses.

As a bisexual Black man raised within the church, like Kirk Franklin’s son, I do know this all too nicely. Whereas no church or religion group is a monolith, sure phrases are extra frequent in Black church buildings, for example:

• “God doesn’t condone that life-style.”

• “Bisexuality/ homosexuality resides in sin.”

• “Hate the sin, not the sinner.”

Referring to bisexuality and homosexuality as ‘existence’ or sinful ‘methods of dwelling’ not solely marginalizes however grossly misrepresents the character of those orientations, treating them as if they’re indifferent and floating above one’s core self. That is corresponding to defining straight folks by way of behaviors like infidelity, emotional and psychological abuse, incest, pedophilia, sexual habit, and misogyny.

Would it not be absurd or dehumanizing to characterize straight people by these destructive behaviors? What about characterizing somebody’s race by destructive behaviors? What about somebody’s gender?

Should you say, “Sure, it’s absurd and dehumanizing,” it’s as a result of grace is built-in for almost all (white, straight, males) and other people on the periphery get none. It’s equally absurd and dehumanizing to stigmatize LGBTQ+ folks with behavioral and performative traits.

There’s a extreme disconnect in how sexual orientation is referred to, ignoring the truth that, like heterosexuality, it’s an integral piece of a person’s nature, not a ‘life-style selection’ like selecting to reside on an opulent island or in a roach-infested house with ten roommates.

Such a flawed perspective distorts public understanding but in addition perpetuates a story that ties LGBTQ+ experiences and identities to ethical failings; this doesn’t appear honorable. Matthew 7:2 reminds Christians, “…the identical manner you decide others, you can be judged.”

Most youngsters are neither geared up nor empowered to interact in a scripture-quoting conflict and are left defenseless towards one of these rhetoric.

The Bible’s manipulability jogs my memory of the phrases of Frederick Douglass, who distinguished between the “Christianity of this land” and the “Christianity of Christ.” Douglass, in his critique, underscored how the identical Bible that endorsed the atrocity of slavery additionally holds the teachings of Christ, which advocate for love, justice, and freedom.

Douglass used the Bible to problem the establishment of slavery, emphasizing that true Christian doctrine helps the liberation and equality of all human beings. In 2024, we all know his advocacy efforts had been profitable.

Suppose Douglass might use the Bible to advocate for the liberty of enslaved folks. In that case, we, too, can select to champion the rights and acceptance of LGBTQ+ youth, drawing from the identical teachings of compassion and inclusion.

At what price are we proving our religion? Are we so determined to look obedient and sanctified that we’re prepared to sever household bonds, to go away our kids to face a racist, homophobic, misogynistic world alone?

The material of our humanity — the capability to like and be beloved — is being chipped away within the title of what!? What legacy is left if we sacrifice our heirs to show our religion? How can we coexist with typically elementary and inherent variations from our worldview?

Remaining Thought

What occurs when the identical Bible you utilize to criticize is used towards you? What occurs when a hateful guardian ages and turns into motionless or incontinent — will they ask for grace and mercy from their estranged youngster who they left on the altar, or are additionally they prepared to sacrifice themselves in full service and devotion? On this case, othering a queer youngster wouldn’t be strategic to your longevity.

This isn’t about me making an attempt to alter how and why somebody believes, that is me asking you to please not justify your dislike or private beef with others utilizing Jesus, God, the Bible, or faith. Some folks search to reside lives of compassion and love within the crossfire of your agenda. That is additionally me asking you to contemplate what coexistence and peace appear like for your loved ones’s sake. That is me asking you to contemplate altering your thoughts.

Lastly, let’s ponder collectively, contemplating this text’s objective, whether or not there are any verses within the Bible the place God adjustments their thoughts …