It is time to take sides

There is a growing movement within straight Christian churches and communities away from outright condemnation and exclusion. Many well-intentioned folks seek to be "build bridges," to show "love & grace regardless of whether it is or is not a sin," and to focus on how "we're all broken and sinful." Those may be good intentions, and even touch upon real truths, but they miss something deeper, fundamental, and more pressing. "I don't hate you" is no longer enough.
 

Elie Wiesel said “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” 

Desmond Tutu said “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

Queer people are tormented and oppressed. We are targeted for violence, discriminated against in jobs, ministry, accommodations, and daily life. The weight of having an integral part of who we are—which is celebrated in others—marked in us as sick and sinful leads to loss of faith, depression, and violence against ourselves.

We must all take sides. The question being asked is not whether “should I judge or should I not judge?” or “should I show grace or should I not show grace?” or even “can gay & straight Christians coexist within the body of Christ?” That is not the question being asked. We may wish it were, but it is not. 

The question asked is: is being gay or queer or trans a sin? That is the question which bars pastors from ministry, which kicks children out of houses, which instigates violence against queer people, and which fuels self-harm. Am I or am I not debased because of my orientation? That is the question being asked and we must all answer it. If we refuse to answer, or equivocate, or dance around it, or answer a different question, our answer is “yes.” And that answer is, frankly, death.