Something Must Be Done

I must confess. I was both bullied and a bully in school. I was always the fat kid which made me a prime target for bullying and teasing. In response to that, I bullied other kids mostly to prevent myself from being the target. Even as a child I remember knowing that what I was doing was wrong and I not liking myself when I bullied others. I just felt it was what I had to do to fit in and save myself. I do not say this to justify my actions or to absolve myself from responsibility. I wish I could go back an talk to myself as a child and show him that there is a better way.

For as long as there have been humans there have been those who push others around. There are few who escape school without being bullied in some form or fashion. Kids can be very cruel and despite the old rhyme words do hurt and they do leave scars. With the advent of the Internet kids are coming up with new and inventive ways of torturing their classmates. Now teasing is not only instantaneous, but it also goes viral. A victim is not only humiliated locally in a class or a school, but also worldwide.

Adolescence is tough for any kid, but it can be especially brutal for those struggling with sexual orientation and gender identity. In the last three weeks, six kids have taken their own lives because of homophobic bullying, three in the last week. This is a situation where one death is too many. The sad truth is that while these six have made national headlines there are dozens if not hundreds more kids who are hurting because of bullying. How many more have to die before we understand? Suicide is a statement. It is a final cry for help that goes unheard or unnoticed. Listen to the cries from these kids and let's do something about it.

Why is sexual orientation a means of discrimination? Is this bullying based on certain Biblical views on homosexuality? The very Scripture that teaches us to love one another as Christ loved us is being used as a reason to hate and bully LGBTQ people. Despite what your views on homosexuality are the Bible is crystal clear that we are to love each other. There are those from the American Family Association and other groups who claim that hate crime and anti-bullying legislation that includes sexual orientation and gender identity is part of some "homosexual agenda." They claim that all bullies should be punished no matter what the reason. But if we do not look at the reason and examine the motives behind the bullying then we will never solved the problem.

If you are a pastor or a youth director, talk to the parents in the church and then talk to your kids. Let them know that every person is a sacred child of God created in God's image. There is no reason for bullying and there are no excuses not to take a stand against it. We need to talk about this in the Church. If we claim to have "Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors." then this is a subject we must face. Something must be done. And if you are a kid who is being bullied remember that tomorrow will be better and there are those who love you very much. Suicide is not the answer and there is no coming back.

And for those kids that I picked on in school, I am truly sorry. I wish I had the strength back then to do what I knew was right.

License to Shrill: The Bible Says So

Once again there is controversy in the California Miss USA pageant. Coming off the heels of the Carrie Prejean "opposite marriage" comments last year, the self-proclaimed Miss Beverly Hill USA Lauren Ashley states that the Bible is "pretty black and white" on the whole gay issue. She refers to Leviticus 20:13 "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." This verse is commonly used not only to denouse gay marriage, but also recently in Uganda it was used to create a law that would execute gay persons.

I am about to make some assumptions about Miss Ashley. I could be wrong, but if I was a betting man I would be I'm going to be right. I assume that Miss Ashley hasn't been trained in Biblical exegesis. I assume that she probably has never read the Bible completely or even reads it on a regular basis. I am also going to assume that she does not attend church regularly. Here is a person, with no qualifications to exegete any part of the Bible, proof-texting that old stand-by from Leviticus. Those of us who understand basic Biblical scholarship see this statement for what it is, stupidity and homophobia. We could allow this kind of garbage go unnoticed and unchallenged. However, there are those with limited biblical understanding and hate embedded in their hearts who see words like this as a holy mandate to kill or hurt GBLT people. There are also those people who long to hear another voice from the Church. One not of hate, but of the love and grace demonstrated by Jesus Christ.

Why do people automatically assume they are biblical scholars just because they've read the Bible front to back? I could read a textbook on quantum physics. I would understand the language. I know what the words mean, but I most assuredly would not comprehend what I was reading. Just because you or I have read the Bible front to back does not mean that we have comprehended every jot and tittle. There are scholars who spent their entire careers studying and scrutinizing the Bible in the original Hebrew and Greek and they STILL do not comprehend every jot and tittle. We show great arrogance when we claim that we know the exact will and word of God.

Perhaps there needs to be a licensing system put into place. One would need a license before randomly proof-texting verses to suit one's own agenda. A crazy idea? One needs to demonstrate proficiency before driving a car or handling explosives. Misusing holy Scriptures, the self-professed Word of God, is equally dangerous. People have and continue to die because of it.