What if

sking hypothetical –“what if” – questions is a meaningful way to clarify our beliefs and thinking. I hope you will take the time to seriously consider two very simple questions which wrestle with some Christian’s harsh treatment of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) people; some of whom are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

What if the Church is Wrong?

What if the scores of Bible scholars – including some conservative scholars – are right in their understanding that using the word “homosexual” is inappropriate and inaccurate for the six Bible passages that are too often used to condemn LGBT? Did you know that the word “homosexual” did not exist until less than 200 years ago? What if the Bible does not teach this harsh condemnation?

What if the dozens of research projects which strongly suggest that being homosexual or transgender is biological in nature are right? What if sexual orientation and gender identity are just part of the rich diversity that we see in so much of God’s creation? The “research” that Dr. James Dobson and others quote has been denied and condemned by the very scientists he quotes! These scientists and most reputable counseling organizations are angry about their misuse of scholarship in a way implies conclusions have been reached that are not only not supported by the data, but often even refuted.

What if the Church is wrong about LGBT people? The church has been wrong before in rejecting scientific evidence to hold on to a wrong, human interpretation of God’s Word. Some examples of this include the church’s teaching that the world is flat, that the sun revolves around the earth, that certain races are inferior, that women should not be allowed to vote, and that all Moslems should be put to death. While the Church has since retracted most of its false teaching in these areas, its slowness in doing so caused thousands of needless deaths.

What if LGBT believers are right in professing that God made them who they are and He is honored in their lives for Him? Some of the most Christ-like people I have known have no church home because the Church won’t let them in. Is that really Jesus’ desire?

What if the Church is Right?

What if this condemning part of the Church is right in their negative view of LGBT people? Is hateful condemnation then really the best approach? Jesus didn’t think so. His response to people that the religious leaders of his day identified as sinners was to love them and accept them. Where sin was involved, this loving acceptance was often the catalyst for repentance and a changed life. Jesus’ harshest words were for those who delighted in judging other people and separating themselves from them. What if Jesus expects us to treat LGBT people like he treated the outcasts of society?

What if the need of some in the Church to be intellectually “right” has crippled our ability to demonstrate the love of Jesus? If our thinking is right but our actions are wrong, is God really honored? Didn’t Jesus sum up what the actions of our lives should look like by saying we should love God with our whole being and love our neighbor as ourselves? In the parable that followed this teaching, Jesus made it clear that demonstrating real love to those we are least inclined to love is what the Gospel response of love is all about.

What if it really is the Holy Spirit’s job (see John 16:8) to convict of sin and not ours?

Right or Wrong?

On one hand it doesn’t make much difference whether the anti-LGBT people in the Church are right or wrong. Either way, the behavior needs to change. How can we expect Jesus to say to us, “Well done good and faithful servant” if we ignore his command to show the love of Christ to all . . . even “the least of these.”

LGBT people are loved by God.

When will all Christians

tell them so?

When will you tell them so?