Tablers thought, “You are loved” too
“Why would three guys take it upon themselves to sit with a sign that they knew would upset people?”
I wasn’t present at the now infamous “March 9 table,” but I imagine that plenty of students were asking questions like this as they stopped suddenly in front of the big blue sign reading “LGBTQ is Sin. The Bible Says. Change My Mind.”
Some have assumed an answer to this question: “These students wanted to spread hate for LGBTQ people and were masking their bigotry in religious language.”
This answer is easy. It’s popular. But are things really that simple?
For just a moment, test the limits of your empathy:
Ask yourself, what if you believed that certain lifestyles are displeasing to God? (1 Corinthians 6:8-10)
What if you believed that homosexuality (for example) is one of many sins that is “contrary to sound doctrine” and is fatal if not repented of? (1 Timothy 1:10)
Imagine if you, like Jesus, believed in Hell. (Matthew 13:42 & Mark 9:43-49)
If you sincerely believed these things, wouldn’t you see it as an obligation of love to talk (without slurs or shouting) to your peers about it? Wouldn’t that be true even if it meant making some, including yourself, uncomfortable?
With this in mind, ask again: “What was motivating the ‘March 9’ guys?”
At this point, some people may respond that there’s no excuse for believing these things. They may assume that arguments from scripture against LGBTQ lifestyles are artificial and can be easily waved away by anyone whose judgment isn’t clouded by bigotry.
After a quick Google search, arguments about shrimp are brought up: “Leviticus 11 forbids eating shellfish. Isn’t it hypocritical and arbitrary to eat shrimp and then make a stand on the prohibitions in Leviticus 20?”
The argument betrays a simplistic reading of the Old Testament. It fails to distinguish between Levitical ceremonial law, which Christians have always acknowledged is not binding any longer (read Acts 10:10-16), and Levitical moral law, which is affirmed by and carries into the New Testament (read the Sermon on the Mount). In Old Testament Israel, the moral law was enforced by the state and carried civil penalties. New Testament Christians follow Christ’s and the Apostles’ lead of implementing church discipline (which is spiritual, and very serious), not state discipline, for unrepentant transgressions of the moral law.
My purpose in highlighting this argument is not to conclusively refute those who might bring it, but rather to demonstrate that Christians who believe that homosexuality is sinful are not coming out of nowhere. Even if you don’t buy into the ceremonial v. moral law distinction, at least have the intellectual honesty to acknowledge that the distinction has been made throughout most of Christian history. Acknowledge the possibility that believers are acting upon it, and not upon some bigotry or an uninformed whim when they do not obey commands in Leviticus 11, and then make a stand for commands in Leviticus 20.
In both the Old and the New Testaments, the Holy Spirit’s presentation of homosexuality seems to be consistent to many Christians: the tone is only ever one of condemnation and never celebration —or even affirmation. Ways of explaining the relevant texts differently seem forced, as if certain scholars are trying to keep Christianity’s (rather outdated) holy book palatable for a changing society (or student body).
What happened on March 9 cannot simply be explained away as “hate speech.” Whether you condone their methods or not, in the minds of the three students, their message had a rational, scriptural basis, and far from being hateful, was an act of love. Re-read the Sermon on the Mount. Check out Galatians 5:16-21: God does not smile down on everyone regardless of their lifestyle. He loves and forgives sinners who repent. Repentance is not a condition; it’s an identifying mark of forgiven Christians. This was their message.
To my peers who struggle with the temptation of LGBTQ lifestyles, we who support the message of March 9 do not hate you. We are fellow sinners with our own besetting sins. We do have a sincere concern for you. We believe our concern is biblical. When we share the concern, it is because you are indeed loved.
Sam • Mar 25, 2021 at 2:14 pm
Baby I’m not struggling with being queer. I’m radically succeeding and having a good time doing it. I could break down your arguments, but you don’t care. Cuz overall I just wanna say I don’t care—just like you don’t actually care about the queer students on this campus. I don’t care why someone chose to do this, because the truth is their motive doesn’t matter. It’s motivated by the believe that my existence and behavior is wrong. My existence is not a question or a debate point and neither is my right to live a fulfilled life in regards to both gender and sexuality (with a lovely relationship with God to boot!). You can fear monger—because that’s what this is, don’t get it wrong—all you’d like, but I DO not care. You wanna talk about flexing your empathy? How about you look up what percentage of queer youth ends up homeless. Or the Church and governments response to the AIDS crisis. Don’t pretend you care about us. Save us all some time. Just call us Fags and move on
Liana Hirner • Mar 19, 2021 at 11:21 pm
In the last paragraph, you use the phrase: “LGBTQ lifestyles.” “Lifestyle” is not at all a word that should be used to describe the LGBTQ+ community. This word implies that being gay, bisexual, pansexual, or transgender, is a choice or way of life. Being a part of the LGBTQ+ community is not a way of life, but it is one’s life. No one chooses to be gay, transgender, or bisexual. I know that you may be referring to acting on one’s same-sex attraction when you refer to the word “lifestyle,” but this also cannot be considered a lifestyle, because if a person was born gay, why should he or she deny himself or herself a loving relationship? They cannot control who they love, so they shouldn’t be expected to not pursue a relationship that is natural for them.
Heidi • Mar 19, 2021 at 2:51 pm
You don’t have to tell me to test the limits of my empathy. I have been the one upholding the moral righteousness of biblical marriage between a man and a woman. I have been the one saying that orientation may not be sinful but “lifestyle” is. I have been the one insisting that this rhetoric is Christian love. I know the motivations of those boys at the table. It is no test on my empathy, because I have been there.
So I ask you to test your empathy. Why do queer people say that defending traditional marriage is hateful, even if you say that everybody is a sinner and God still loves you? Why are queer Christians able to hold onto their faith? Have you genuinely explored the LGBTQ affirming interpretation of scripture? Because if you think your knowledge of the bible is stronger than the many theology professors and seminary professors who support LGBTQ marriages and ordinations, then I don’t know how your faith can withstand such pride. The bible is very rarely clear on how it is meant to be interpreted. The vehement convictions harbored by most Christians are founded on such shaky ground. The only examples of same-sex behavior writers of the bible had seen were orgies and pedophilia in pagan temples. So of course that behavior was condemned as sexually immoral. They are not talking about two consenting adults in a loving committed relationship. The “ideal marriage” that God intended for His people was one of support, companionship, faithfulness, and growing together in Christ. That marriage is what exemplifies the relationship between Christ and the Church. Gender has nothing to do with it.
Phil • Mar 19, 2021 at 11:57 am
How can you possibly be asking people to “test the limits of their empathy” when yours is the perspective that, as its amplified by the church and by Christian institutions, is propelling queer people in the church to literally kill themselves? You’re so caught up in your own narrative of self-righteousness that you somehow equate yourself being called hateful with queer people being invalidated, discriminated against, hate-crimed, and religiously condemned by their peers and by those in power around them. What’s in your heart doesn’t really matter if your ‘methods’ are received as hateful, which they are. You don’t get to decide otherwise.
Alex Raycroft • Mar 19, 2021 at 10:28 am
LGBTQ+ students know that there are many people who think they’re living in sin. They’ve heard the bible verses, the arguments about moral versus ceremonial law, the fear from those around them that they might be condemned to hell. That table did nothing to reach an already marginalized population of students. It only reminded them of the multitude of people whose “concern” and “love” for them has compelled them to make their God-created identity a spectacle of public debate. Frankly, I don’t care if their intention was love. Love was not communicated, and it was not received. Re-read the Sermon on the Mount. Check out Galatians 5:16-21.
Quinton Quagliano • Mar 19, 2021 at 10:13 am
Numerous research studies have shown that religious intolerance is driving away LGBT individuals away from the church and religion (e.g. Wood and Conley, 2014). Additionally, other studies have shown that acceptance (particularly among family members) has a positive impact on the mental health on LGBT individuals (Miller et al., 2020). LGBT individuals already have a noted higher rate of problems with mental health, possibly arising from social stigma and discriminatory treatment (Kidd et al., 2016).
The “love” of these “tablers” has driven LGBT people away from Christianity and towards mental health issues. They might have good intentions, but their execution has emotionally hurt sexual/gender minorities for decades. This hardly seems like a way to live out the Great Commission. The church needs to reassess the ways in which it treats LGBT individuals, otherwise they will continue to become disenchanted with religion as a whole.
Ben • Mar 18, 2021 at 2:31 pm
I don’t know what was going through the minds of people who set up the booth, but I find it problematic to characterize it as an act of love. “Change my mind” is a well known trolling phrase. Their poster was clearly not intended to lead to thoughtful discussion, but was an attempt to provoke anger and fear in others. Scripture tells us that “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud” (1 Cor. 13). That poster was not kind. It was a boastful and proud attempt to stir up controversy and get into an argument without taking into consideration the deep pain it would cause the LGBT+ community.