FUSE39 — Rainbow Spiritualism
Do to others as you would have them do unto you. (Luke 6:31)
It’s encouraging to see many Christians, including scholars and pastors, now believing that homosexuality is not a sin and that a benevolent god would certainty love all his/her children without exception. As hearts open, it’s a tide that I believe is slowing turning. Sadly however, the world still has many people that are not so enlightened — people that cause a great deal of suffering for LGBTI people. This is not helped by the fact that at least 76 countries still have anti-homosexuality laws, some including the death penalty or life in jail.
We have seen the terrible things that have been happening in places like Uganda, Nigeria and more recently in Russia where LGBTI people are savagely brutalised in the name of God. How anyone can think for even a second that this type of behaviour is in any way acceptable, begs disbelief. The sad fact is it’s misguided politicians and church leaders that cause most of this suffering, spreading fear and falsehoods throughout their communities like a virus. The result is that misguided people who are full of fear, tend to do bad things. This is why it’s so important to expose these wrong teachings and have open-hearted leaders that want to bring the best out in people and not the worst.
Reverend Jim Lucas is one of those men. Jim, who runs a ministry for LGBTI people, believes that God loves and welcomes us all, whatever our sexual orientation. And when you ask him about what other Christians say about homosexuality being a sin, he goes straight to his Bible.
“How can we discern false teaching from true teaching? Jesus taught a very simple method. Jesus said, ‘By their fruit you shall know them. A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.” It has become unequivocally clear to Jim that the traditional approach of condemning LGBTI people has borne rotten, stinking fruit. An approach that has driven many LGBTI people to lives of shame, depression, anxiety, self-hatred, fear, and alienation from family.
Reverend Jim believes that the Church has misinterpreted many parts of the Bible and is one of many Christians that now believe a new message needs to be delivered at the pulpit. In our feature article ‘Affirmation of Gay Unions’ Jim looks at the Bible passages that appear to condemn homosexual relationships and puts a few things straight. p32.
We are of course, not all Christians and in our second spirituality feature we discover a community of gay men that gather to connect, open and heal. The Radical Faeries look to find the spirit of joy and love inside all of us. They join together in spaces of queer spirit, which they believe creates high vibrational energies capable of profound healings and awesome transformations. p12.
Oh and don't forget to check out the 'BEST OF SPRINGOUT PRIDE' p40. I hope everyone enjoys this our fifth birthday issue. I’d like to say thank you to everyone that has contributed to making FUSE what it is.
Enjoy, Alex
FUSE39 — Rainbow Spiritualism
FUSE39 — Rainbow Spiritualism
