Room for Elephants

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
Last Sunday night, we began our Spring Ethics Series, “The Church and Homosexuality.” The Great Room was packed with a polite, attentive audience. Craig McMahon, a member of our church and University Minister at Mercer, led us through an exploration of the seven biblical texts that speak specifically to homosexual practice. Having served as a pastor for 25 years, Craig knows how tense an issue this is for most local churches. He also knows the struggle many families face in embracing their gay sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and other loved ones, while feeling conflicted about the moral and religious implications of that acceptance.

Craig didn’t solve all the issues surrounding our theme for the evening, “The Bible and Homosexuality,” nor was that our goal. But he did treat the biblical text with respect and understanding, probing for the real meaning of what the Bible meant in its original context, the  first critical step in understanding what the Bible means for us today. Essentially, Craig argued that much of what is under consideration when the Bible speaks of homosexuality relates to such deplorable practices as gang rang (Sodom and Gomorrah) or the Greco-Roman practice of turning boys into sex toys (1 Corinthians 6:9), and not what we think of as homosexuality today. In his thoughtful sharing, my friend, Craig, showed me anew how much the Bible has to offer on most any subject, when interpreted aright.

This Sunday night, our series continues with ethicist David Gushee from the McAfee School of Theology and our own Rick Wilson, a theologian and Chair of the Christianity Department at Mercer. These two will offer their own theological perspectives in relating biblical truth, Christian tradition, and the modern understanding of what it means to be born gay rather than to choose a particular lifestyle. The following Sunday night, April 3, Dr. Paige Tench, a psychiatrist and FBC member, will acquaint us with the current state of medical research on homosexuality. The last night, April 10, I will lead a panel discussion of persons directly affected by the question of “The Church and Homosexuality.”

Therapists sometimes speak of “the elephant in the room.” The expression refers to the reluctance of many families to talk about the secret or shame (e.g., daddy or mama’s alcoholism) that is causing the family much pain. Healing only begins when someone summons the courage to name “the elephant in the room.”

To those who wonder why we must talk about such “unseemly subjects” as the Bible and sexuality, out loud and at church!, I can only answer that’s what families do when they love and trust each other enough to grow toward greater understanding, health, and compassion. As God’s people at the Top of Poplar, “speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15) is our native dialect. After all, we learned to talk like that from our older brother, Jesus.