Saturday, August 22, 2009

Whose Tolerance?

My point about patience is that tolerance is a luxury that can be invited only by those on the inside. Those still being excluded, still having their access to the earthly expression of God's Kingdom denied, have little investment in tolerance of those who are barring the doors. That there is difference of opinion is plainly evident. Even that some of those who are homophobic or who are are all too eager to condemn gay people and we who are their friends may be sincere, let's accept this proposition for the sake of argument as well. But what then is the relevance of this to the Gospel or the Church?

People make choices. If they cannot follow the Gospel into the Episcopal Church, or cannot follow the Episcopal Church into the Gospel, so be it. I can admit, for the sake of argument, that people who despise gay people and who loathe us who advocate for their full welcome and integration into the life and ministry of the Church, can be intelligent, sincere, and honest. Done. But how does this translate into a some vague Utopian vision wherein none of these differences matter? Is it the suggestion of those calling for tolerance that humility before God, such as at the Eucharist, equalizes everyone in some practical way? Surely they can acknowledge that this isn't so. Instead of trying to pretend that the Church is a place and a fellowship where differences don't much matter, can't we instead be proud that this Church, now joined by the ELCA, is one that says that the difference between prejudice and bigotry on the one hand, and the Love of God on the other, is a difference we are proud to emphasize?


Some seem to have a great deal of sympathy for the angst of those so-called 'orthodox' who continue to want to condemn gay people for being gay and for loving as such without apologizing for it. I appreciate their good intentions (those tolerant of the bigots; not the bigots, themselves). But the difference between them and me, a significant difference perhaps, is that my sympathies lie much more with those who have been subjected to the sins and powers of those 'orthodox' for centuries.

I thank God the Episcopal Church 'has left' the self-proclaimed 'orthodox.' Fortunately for them, they still have hundreds of denominations that will welcome their prejudice and self-serving theology with arms and doors wide open. Quite to the contrary, LGBT persons, couples, and families still have very few, sinfully few, Churches who welcome them and their allies unreservedly.

To the point: there are winners and losers when it comes to games and politics. When it comes to Church there are, currently those on the inside and those cast to the outside. I think this is far more serious than mere 'winners and losers.' Some seem to believe that passage of C056 and D025 somehow means that LGBT people and their allies have 'won' something. Yet, nothing has changed canonically. There are but a scant three years before this conflict over real difference arises again, hopefully in a determinative way. Those pouting 'conservatives' may have time to catch their breath; but those of us working and praying for the Church finally to become officially non-discriminatory don't have time to delay.

Too much suffering, real and tangible suffering, life-costing suffering, has gone on in the name of waiting. Until the canons reflect the intention of these two resolutions, the insiders (or 'winners' if you will) are still those benefiting from the Church's participation in discrimination and bigotry. Why not invite those folks whom some seem to think have 'lost' to accept their loss graciously and, instead of humbling themselves before an altar and a celebrant, go humble themselves before a living image of God who has been denied full access, membership, and participation in the Church's life and ministry. And if they can't do this, then let them go in peace to love and serve God, but recognizing that they have no inherent 'right' to the name Episcopalian. Otherwise, pleas for 'tolerance' read as mere platitudes arising from the safety and comfort of the dominant center, far distant from the margins where the real abuse continues to take place.

Honestly, I have great respect for the passionately 'orthodox' in that at least the hard-core hater of gays in the name of Christ is honest enough to admit that our differences really do matter. I've wondered lately if the core ethos of the Episcopal Church and of mainstream Protestantism hasn't long been rooted in the assumption that religion is something not worth getting excited about. Then some event or circumstance comes along to remind us that our assumption is not grounded in God. Exclusion of us Gentiles, pogroms against the Jews, slavery, the holocaust, segregation, the social oppression of women, and now the condemnation of LGBT persons come along and remind us that pleas for tolerance stem from the threatened majority far more often than they arise from the subjugated minority. These examples remind us that in real life, some things really are right and some things really are wrong.

I'm happy to tolerate the bigot, once the bigot no longer has the weight of officialdom behind him or her. As long as expressions of tolerance lend the appearance of validity to prejudice and bigotry expressed supposedly in God's name, then, I am unable to regard such tolerance as anything more than participation in those sins. When the Episcopal Church canonically ends its own participation, then 'that horse will indeed be dead.' Until then, we need to keep kicking.

God's Peace.
Jim +

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