Disclaimer: Let me say from the start that this post is not about whether or not homosexuality or homosexual practice is a sin. This post is concentrated on how discussions surrounding the issue of homosexuality should be handled in academic communities, particularly those academic communities that affirm a Christian confessional stance.
For those of you who have never heard of Equality Ride, and I was one of these people not too long ago, it is basically a gay rights protest bus traveling to Christian schools that have a policy on record (explicitly or implicitly) declaring homosexual practice to be a sin. The effort was initiated by Soulforce, the purpose of which is to realize “freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious and political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance.” Equality Ride clearly fits squarely within this purpose. Some of the institutions that they have visited or plan to visit include Bob Jones University, Gordon College, Calvin College, University of Notre Dame, Bringham Young University, Pepperdine University, Seattle Pacific University, and of particular interest for me, Messiah College [The schools with links on this list have something online discussing the visit that still remains as I write this (Seattle Pacific once had something, you can see the google cache of the FAQ here)]. Also of interest is the take of the Soulforce organizers for each visit, which can be found via the links on pages for their East Bus Route and their West Bus Route. For Messiah College, we find a report of “success” where the Equality Ride author concludes:
As a native of Pennsylvania, I was very thankful and proud of the hospitality that was demonstrated at the school we visited in my home state, through the efforts of students, administration, and community members.
If you look to Messiah’s dedicated web resource on Equality Ride, you find that this hospitality as an expressed purpose for the visit:
While we did not seek this visit, and we clearly disagree with Equality Ride’s perspective, as a Christian institution of higher education, Messiah College is willing to address difficult contemporary issues through civil debate and discussion. The College is also committed to preparing students to think critically about human sexuality from a biblical perspective. Accordingly, the College has decided to respond to Equality Ride’s visit as an opportunity to model gracious Christianity and hospitality to those who express different viewpoints, to encourage meaningful campus conversation about a complex social issue, and to equip students to better understand human sexuality within a biblical framework. This response, which will take place within a caring Christian educational community, is consistent with Messiah’s ethos and heritage, and with our mission to prepare students for lives of service, leadership, and reconciliation in the Church and society.
For me, this is what is at stake here. People will disagree on the issue of how the Bible should be interpreted regarding homosexual acts, and the school may not budge from its particular stance (see under “Scriptural Guidelines” on the fourth page of the PDF, page 22 of the Student Handbook overall), but it is willing to engage a “complex social issue” in a very intentional and communal way. By all accounts, aside from an uninvited party-crashing counter-protest called Repent America, the day went rather smoothly.
I have heard that behind the scenes Messiah’s more conservative alumni, parents, and donors have been letting the Alumni and Parent Relations folks know that what they appreciate about the visit is that Messiah stayed the course, so to speak, and kept to its “biblical perspective” on homosexual practice. Personally, I would like to announce my support for the way the school handled the visit because of its hospitality and willingness to have meaningful conversation. This is the beauty of going to a relatively small Christian school that is committed to more than simple acquirement of knowledge, but in a communal development of character: to prepare students for lives of service, leadership, and reconciliation in the Church and society, as the school’s mission statement says.
For me, I am happy that the school “sticks to its guns,” if you will, on counter-cultural issues, such as its commitment to not having a flag pole on campus (HUGE AMEN from me!) [although, I am annoyed that it permits advertisements in the student newspaper from the US Army]. But a more sensitive and dialogical approach is required when it comes to a complex social issue such as homosexuality and homosexual practice, where those who feel the brunt of the conservative “gun sticking” are people who feel victimized by both church and society. A lot of Christians are fond of saying “hate the sin, love the sinner,” but is this what most Christians practice? I have my doubts. Even if you believe that the practice of homosexual practice is sinful behavior (and I’m intentionally not going to “weigh in” on this here!) , a true Christian community must show love to those they deem “sinners” by exhibiting gracious Christianity. Messiah College has shown gracious Christianity in this instance.
This approach is not only is beneficial to the discipleship of committed Christians, but also affords an academic community an opportunity to grow stronger as it practices difficult dialogue and conversation. Messiah College, keep being true to your mission! I hope that other like-minded folks who have an interest in Messiah College will contact the Alumni and Parent Relations Offices with me to “cast a vote” for genuine hospitality and gracious dialogue.
Other links of interest include a balanced article written by the Harrisburg Patriot-News, which (as school President Kim Phipps says) thankfully has influenced balanced press coverage from other news media. I appreciated the quote of Messiah’s Provost Randy Basinger in the article on Messiah’s criticism from both the left and the right: “We have Christians who think we are way too open on this issue and Christians who think we are way too closed. We are trying to model conviction with the willingness to dialogue and discuss.” There is also good front-page coverage in April 20th issue of the student newspaper, The Swinging Bridge. A
gain, I also recommend perusing Messiah’s online resource regarding the visit. As an alum, I am proud to see how Kim Phipps and others in the administration handled the situation. And in addition to the Equality Ride website itself some individual bloggers from Equality Ride have posts about the visit (for example, see here, here, and here). Something else that may be of interest is a site that you may otherwise not come across (since it is not officially sanctioned by the school), is the Gay at Messiah website, which features testimonials and apologia for promoting LGBT causes on Messiah’s campus. Finally, you can also see a few photos from the visit here.
[Further disclaimer: Comments that I feel are inappropriate (i.e., hostile remarks) will be removed.]
