Same Love. Let me get on my soap box.

Hey you, long time no see.

This week I have been really busy... getting excited about my 21st birthday! My Ma and Pa have been massively generous in letting me have a big party this Friday with all my closest friends to celebrate, which is wonderful - such JOY.

So I've been doing some fun jobs, one (my favourite) includes putting together a 'birthday beatz' playlist, basically getting some grooving, dancin' tunes together. 

Some of my favourites include JT (Justin Timberlake), a bit of Whitney, Katy Perry, Rudimental and of course, Macklemore &Ryan Lewis -Thrift shop.  Hopefully people will enjoy some 'sick beatz'*

Whilst I was browsing the itunes store looking for inspiration, I stumbled across some more Macklemore songs. One of which is called 'Same Love' and features a singer/songwriter named Mary Lambert. And I don't know about you, but I love the way music through either great lyrics, instrumental skill or the whole arrangement can really affect you. 

This song makes a statement about the issue of equality in relation to homosexuality, particularly Gay marriage. I know, this is pretty intense stuff to get into a blog about. But I want to say something.

I am a Christian. And when people know that about you, they often assume three/four things:

1. I want to convert you all now, right now, on this webpage. For reals.
2. I am teetotal.
3. I don't believe in sex before marriage, and therefore judge everyone who does it.
4. I am homophobic.

To clarify, none of the above are true.

To set the record straight. I am a Christian and I believe in a God who loves us. I believe He loves us so much that he sent his only son to die for us on a cross to take away our 'sins' (I dislike using that 'churchy' word, basically I mean our mistakes/faults/screw ups etc.). This act of love was so that we could have freedom and have a relationship with him. We are called children of God. 

1. I believe that, and I try and live out my faith each day. BUT I do not want to shove that down your throat and tell you that you are wrong or evil for not believing the same as me. Everyone makes their own decisions in life, who they look up to and what they believe. If you want to chat Christianity and Jesus, then I'm all ears. If you don't, s'all good. Faith is a choice, your own choice, not mine. 

2. Haha. I love to drink. Jesus' first public miracle was at a Wedding in Cana in which he turned water into wine, because they had run out. And not just the cheap stuff because everyone was drunk and wouldn't notice the difference, but the good wine- I'm talking something like Pinot Noir or Merlot. That's right. And so no, I am not teetotal. This doesn't mean I enjoy getting blindingly drunk, I do try actively not to, although sometimes this has failed... Basically, I'm still down with drinking and I still believe Jesus loves me.

3. For me, I have friends who waited until marriage and friends who have had sex before marriage, in both cases some have been Christian and some haven't. Either way, I do not hold any judgement over anyone who does. Just because my personal decisions may be different to society's norm or other people's choices, does not in any way give me an authority to judge theirs. And I don't. I also believe that God forgives and loves us wholly. Sex is a very personal action and should remain personal to the two people involved. I realise that Churches often hold strong views on this, and I do agree to live a certain way for myself. But I stress, that is my decision. 

4. The main point of this blog. I firstly want to say sorry...

I'm sorry for the impression given that 'God hates Gays'

I'm sorry that Churches have made people who are homosexual or Bi  feel unwelcome and judged.

I'm sorry that there is an idea that all Christians are against homosexuality (bisexuality etc.)

I'm sorry that loving, normal people have felt excluded and hurt by the church.

I have a few close friends who are Gay, Bi or Lesbian- again some are Christian, some aren't. And I do not love any of them less because of it, or consider it when being friends with them, or judge them and their actions. 

To me, I try to follow what is written in the Bible and what I believe to be true. I recognise that the Bible was written a long time ago, and that society has changed. On a side note, I do think that in some ways our generation wants to be so 'free' and have the 'right' to do whatever they please that our standards have changed and we have become a culture where advertising and attraction revolve constantly around the sexualisation of people and products. But, in any case our society is different to the society in which the Bible was first written. And so I try to put the Bible into context without compromising the important values and messages it reveals. 

What I do hold to is something that is written in Mark's gospel...(it is Jesus' answer in response to a question of 'which commandment is the most important of all?) 

“The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.

Mark 12:29-31

So the way I look at it, this God of love, loves us with more than we can ever know. And asks of us to love him back and love our neighbours. This includes those in our immediate proximity, and those who are our worldly neighbours in far off places. This includes people of the same or different: creed/faith, colour, gender, sexual persuasion, height, weight, income, nationality, and so on. Christianity has a guidebook as such (the Bible), but it must not be forgotten that it is also completely about relationship. And like most relationships, you can't just rely on a guidebook to dating or 'relationships for dummies'. That is not to discount the importance of the Bible and its teachings, but to stress that Christianity is more than scripture. It is about a present, living relationship to. A living God who dotes on his children and does not have 'favourites' or only cares for those who follow his laws. He seeks out his children. Just as Jesus was friends with prostitutes and the hated tax collectors, I think that Christians should hold to loving people as Jesus loves us- irrespective of how different they are to us.

I do not believe that homosexuals are abnormal and it makes me sad that (in my eyes) the Church has got it wrong in the past (and present). The Church represents the body of Christ, i.e. the people who call themselves followers of Christ. In essence that means I am part of the Church. So as part of the Church, I want to apologise, but I also want to challenge its members. I have found in my own life Church was always a place of comfort and warmth. It was a place I could be myself, feel loved and feel appreciated.

 And so I fully believe that it should stand for inclusivity not exclusivity.

I think that what is preached- that the poor, hungry, oppressed, ostracised or lonely may find shelter and comfort within its doors- may become a reality. Where love, hope, peace and joy reign. 

Is this idealistic? Maybe so. Yet, surely it is in striving for the ideals rather than remaining steeped in cynicism and 'real' expectations, that it is possible to achieve a better reality? 

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among stars" 

I am in no way a theological scholar, but I care about relationships and I care about people. I believe that Jesus does to. I hope and pray for a world in which people won't feel judged and excluded from the Church or indeed by any other faith. I don't have all the answers, and my opinions have changed as I have grown up. But this is where I'm at....that's my two cents.

Listen to Same Love, I think it's great. As you can probably tell, it has encouraged me to take a stance of wholly loving and appreciating individuals who have felt discriminated or second rate just because of who they are and who they may love.

*I can't really pull off saying 'sick beatz', still I gave it a shot.