Ayon sa Rappler ay ang Metro Manila Pride March daw ang pinakamalaking demonstration ng Pride na makikita sa Southeast Asia. Dahil sa growing movement ng LGBT Activism around the world, and also dahil sa access sa internet ay dumarami ang sumasama sa movement na ito. Malakas din ang influence ng LGBT Activism na ito even sa University of the Philippines Diliman where I serve, kasi ay maraming students ang vocal in support sa ganitong kind of activism. Even professing Christians are influenced to agree. Nevertheless, ay God has an amazing purpose for marriage and family. And in a world that is rebelling against God, siyempre we are tempted to compromise our convictions. Regardless, ay we as Christians are called to speak the truth. We must speak this truth for the good of our souls, and also for the good of the souls of our fellow men. The Philippines needs the proclamation of the person and work of Christ!
Dahil dito ay we selected common objections na puwede natin ma-encounter about sa usapin about LGBT Activism. It’s my hope na ang pag-uusapan natin would encourage us Christians in standing firm. And also if mayroon man na mga LGBT people na nakikinig ay that they would really come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. To start our series ay I will start to discuss the objection na ang non-affirmation of the LGBT lifestyle necessarily leads to suicide. What I’ll do first is to lay down muna ang background information related dito for us to see the picture of what is behind their objection, then I’ll give insights in response doon.
Dr. Michael Brown wrote a commentary which talks about sharing God’s goodness. He talked about a local lesbian activist na nakasama niya kumain and said na she experienced radical love sa kanilang interactions. May activist din na nag hold ng protest sa labas ng church nila and nag apologize ito afterwards dahil na meet daw niya ang perfect love of God through the church. The point of the commentary is to show na sharing God’s goodness is never a failure, and he said na open sila for people from the LGBT to meet and dialog with them. In that article ay makikita natin si Ryan Kingston na sinabi in response kay Dr. Brown ay, “Yes you do contribute to the harm of many in the gay community through your short sided views. Just because you are “polite” or have good intentions does not mean what you say is not damaging. When we have kids not taking their own lives because they are gay then we can sit down and have a friendly debate about this subject. Until then you may want to shut up and do more listening than talking.” Aside from this sentiment na damaging ang message natin for LGBT people, we can see na ang narrative na propagated is that LGBT people commit suicide dahil sa religious conviction ng people they love. One example ay relationship between parents and children, like sa Prayers for Bobby na movie. Here is a quote from the plot summary of the movie:
Bobby Griffith was his mother's favorite son, the perfect all-American boy growing up under deeply religious influences in Walnut Creek, California. Bobby was also gay. Struggling with a conflict no one knew of much less understood Bobby finally came out to his family. Despite the tentative support of his father, two sisters, and older brother, Bobby's mother, Mary, turned to the fundamentalist teachings of her church to rescue her son from what she felt was an irredeemable sin. As Mary came closer to the realization that Bobby could not be "healed," she rejected him, denying him a mother's unconditional love, and driving her favorite son to suicide.Accounts like this make people think na indeed Christians are judgemental and homophobic. And unfortunately, I agree na there are Christians na talagang judgemental and homophobic ang reaction against sa LGBTs. I would like to say na this is indeed wrong based on God’s Word. Nevertheless, I would say na even if it’s true na homophobic and judgemental ang some Christians ay it doesn’t follow that Christians ought to affirm ang LGBT lifestyle. Sinasabi nila na we should affirm their lifestyle, kasi if we don’t affirm their lifestyle ay this is the reason why they kill themselves. How should we respond to this?
As I’m thinking of not affirming the LGBT lifestyle will lead to suicide, this reminded me of Dr. Michael Brown’s statement pertaining sa black people in America. Let me read it for you:
But please allow me to get more controversial still. During the days of harsh segregation here in America, when blacks were treated far worse than gays were treated one generation ago, did you hear about an epidemic of black suicides? Did you hear about all the young blacks in the schools who were robbed of hope and dignity and were taking their own lives? And did you hear black leaders raise the scepter of the suicide of black youths over the nation, warning them that if America didn’t change its racist ways these kids would take their own lives? Obviously not. Why? Because these young African Americans were encouraged to be strong, to take a stand, to refuse to be intimidated, to make a determination that they would live with dignity even when society degraded them, and to work toward a better and brighter future.Si Dr. Paul McHugh naman, which is a distinguished professor of Psychiatry sa Johns Hopkins Hospital wanted to see sa study nila if people who had sex-change surgery will find resolution sa kanilang psychological problems. And sabi niya in light of the study ay as I quote,
He found that most of the patients he tracked down some years after their surgery were contented with what they had done and that only a few regretted it. But in every other respect, they were little changed in their psychological condition. They had much the same problems with relationships, work, and emotions as before. The hope that they would emerge now from their emotional difficulties to flourish psychologically had not been fulfilled.Regarding the blacks ay though they were persecuted by virtue of the color of their skin, instead of committing suicide ay they learned resilience. And we could see from Dr. McHugh’s assessment ay even if the patient’s got what they wanted ay they are still experiencing the same psychological problems. Somehow this gives us a clue na complex ang discussion and may other factors at work na nag lead sa suicide ng LGBT people. It would be irresponsible for people to say na mere affirmation of LGBT lifestyle would cure their problem, and mere non-affirmation is the cause of suicide. In light of this ay we can still give them hope in their life without affirming their lifestyle, one example ay instead of parents removing their unconditional love for their child as seen sa plot ng Prayers for Bobby na movie, parents could respond sa gay child nila in love. I loved Michael Brown’s remark related to this. Sabi niya, “I’m asked by parents what to do when their child comes out as gay, I tell them this: Sit down with them and say, “You know that we don’t believe that God made you gay or that homosexuality is His will, but we want to make it clear to you that we love you unconditionally, that you are our child no matter what, that we will always be here for you, that we are totally committed to you, that we want to be involved in your life, and that what you shared with us doesn’t change your relationship with us or diminish our love for you in any way.” After that I encourage them not to bring the subject up to their child but rather to pray for him or her and demonstrate that unconditional love.” Our desires don’t define our identity. God’s Word does. In this world na fallen, it would make sense na our desires may be contrary to God’s design. And since LGBT people are made in the image of God ay we must respond to them with love and respect. This means na we treat them the same way we respectfully treat heterosexuals. And to love them means na we don’t affirm their lifestyle. As our friends, we can encourage them to be strong sa journey nila in life so that by God’s common grace ay through our encouragement ay LGBT people will benefit society as a whole. Aside from this ay ultimately, more than earthly benefits ay we share with them what will benefit their souls because we love them. This means that we tell them the truth that they need Christ. The same way na all of us are sinners and we need Christ. May this encourage us as Christians to unapologetically recognize truth from error in this age, make proper moral judgements and also proclaim the gospel no matter what.
Photo Credit: Rappler
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