Redeemed! Or Rebuked?

Are you sure that following your preacher will save your soul?

Does what your heart tell you contradict what your preacher says to believe?

If you are sure that your preacher has the mainline to God, then submit when he tells you to shun your neighbor. If you believe that your preacher knows what God wants, then surrender when he says women are helpmeets. If you know that your preacher represents God, then applaud when he condemns lgbt, same-gender-loving people. If you accept that your preacher speaks with the Spirit, then harden when he tells you to hate.

Conversely, if your soul longs to heal hurt caused by bigotry, then understand that God ends oppression with you. If your mind questions why sexuality is so painful, then know that God’s love shines through you. If your heart doubts that lgbt, same-gender-loving people are especially perverted, then remember that God’s truth lives in you.

Charlene E. Cothran, Venus Magazine Publisher disappointed Black lesbians when she started a campaign that included betrayal and vilification. Cothran betrayed many lesbians who saw her as their role model when she announced that she was out of the closet and saved from the lesbian lifestyle. From betrayal, Cothran went on to vilify.

In her article “Redeemed! 10 Ways to Get Out of the Gay Life, If You Want Out” she claims to write for Black lesbians and gays who are … searching for a way out. Cothran connects lgbt, same-gender-loving relationships with standing at the gates of hell, and writes that as a believer of the word of God I fully accept and have always known that same-sex relationships are not what God intended for us.

Cothran’s betrayal and vilification are products of the quagmire in which many Black lgbt, same-gender-loving people live. Her words are a poignant illustration: I had been struggling with trying to reckon my spiritual upbringing with my lesbian lifestyle.

Black preachers perpetuate the perception that to be Black, lgbt, same-gender-loving, and Christian means you are condemned to hell. These preachers emphasize the fact that domestic violence, child abuse, alcohol/drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, HIV/AIDS, STD’s and suicide are all present within our communities as justification for their condemnation.

They justify condemning us all while they ignore the fact that statistics show heterosexuals are more likely to sexually abuse children. Alcoholism, promiscuity, and domestic violence are prevalent among heterosexuals, and HIV/AIDS is spreading most rapidly among black heterosexual women, youth, and men.

Meanwhile, Black lgbt, same-gender-loving people who value belonging to a traditionally Black religious institution, feel violated, demonized, and threatened into silence about their love. Unfortunately, Cothran’s way out of her quagmire was to follow the example of the preachers; she connects the vilification of lesbians and gays to her personal salvation from sin.

Maybe it is not God speaking through preachers, but preachers talking in their confusion.

Maybe it is not God directing Cothran’s actions, but Cothran acting out of her pain.

Maybe it is time for us to rebuke those who vilify lgbt, same-gender-loving people because of their own loneliness, shame, and spiritual distress.

Maybe we should listen when God speaks through Jesus and says that it is our faith that saves us (Lk. 8:48). God speaks through Jesus and says to bear witness to God’s work in our lives (Lk. 8:39).

Maybe we should recognize that God speaks through us when we boldly share our stories of the love, respect, and honor we have for one another.