Goals of Christians are outreach, not hate

The Writing on the Wall

If we know nothing else, we know that University Program Board has a sick sense of humor. Someone, somewhere in Taylor Hall thought it would be a laugh riot to play the monumental "The Passion of the Christ" opposite "Saved!", which is tantamount to asking Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Moore to host the Academy Awards.

However, "Saved!" was as important a film to show at Grafton-Stovall Theatre as "The Passion" because of the parallels that can be seen between the film and our campus. The Christians in "Saved!" can be contrasted to Christians here in many ways, specifically in their dealings with the homosexual community — an issue the movie tackles head-on.

On a national level, the state of relations between the church and the homosexual community has been strained at best, and it is little different at JMU. Such a cold relationship is not necessarily deserved — it is more a case of a bad apple spoiling the bunch.

In their own special way, homosexuals have become the lepers of our time and Christians the Pharisees. Christians have become so afraid of appearing to "encourage the lifestyle," or even of appearing gay, that they avoid the issue and the people like witches do water. The dilemma is the widely held belief that in order to become a Christian, one must first be heterosexual, though nowhere in the Bible does it state that being straight is a prerequisite for being saved.

In fact, the Bible makes the same case that homosexuals have made for years — people cannot change themselves on their own accord, which is why Christians say Christ had to die for us. If any of us could change ourselves in any worthwhile respect, we’d just as well get ourselves to heaven, and his death would have been of no consequence.

According to Christians, Christ’s death is how someone begins a relationship with God in which sin is forgiven and growth begins. Except for homosexuals, who are largely under the impression that Jesus’ love is contingent upon their becoming straight, which is not the case. Gospel truth is true for gays, too.

But with Christians missing in action, there is no one left to tell the homosexual community that Jesus loves them, too.

Or better yet, there is no one left to show them. The last thing that homosexuals — battle-scarred as they are — need is someone they don’t know attempting to win their conversion. Cliché though it may be, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Therefore, we Christians need to act as the ambassadors we claim to be — acting out the love of Christ instead of just talking about it.

Not being afraid of befriending a homosexual person is a great place to start, heaven forbid. Another is getting involved with at least one of the Christian organizations on campus, most of whom have "loving the campus"-style outreaches.

One such example is coming up this Saturday — the 5k AIDS Run/Walk, a joint venture between Harmony and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. All proceeds from the $10 registration fee will go to the Valley AIDS Network.

This cooperative event is a good first step to demonstrating the Gospel on our campus. Other organizations also have proactive ways of reaching out too, and it is our responsibility to get involved. It is high time we Christians came out of the closet.

Brian Goodman is an undeclared sophomore.