It’s unreasonable to believe that all Christians think alike, and there is plenty of debate among and within the various sects as to what level of acceptance of gay people they will accommodate.

It is heartening to see that we have an ally that actually goes on record with visible advertising to witness for the right of gay people to marry.

This is a reminder that we should not paint all Christians as intolerant or hateful. To do so would be to become as the enemies of gay rights, judging a whole class of individuals as somehow undeserving of respect and all the rights normally afforded members of society in this country.

Something I’ve started to take notice of is which organizations sponsor what kinds of legislation. Many of these are not churches, with of course the glaring exception of the LDS and Catholic churches allying to sponsor and pass Prop 8.

For instance, Focus on the Family, American Family Association, and others of their ilk are not churches, but trot out their take on Judeo-Christian traditions to justify their stances and stimulate donation to their causes. It’s not particularly clear just how much these organizations actually contribute to the direct aid of even traditional families, but it is blindingly evident how much of their substance they are willing to commit to political battles to halt the advancement of gay freedoms.

This might lead one to conclude that these so-called “pro-family” organizations are using the Christian community as a gold mine and source of ideology from which they can cherry-pick to promulgate their message of intolerance, stir up passions, and increase the yield of that mine.

Irrespective of how one views religion, it’s evident that not all practitioners of it are anti-gay, though those that would use religion and belief as a club are plentiful, well organized, and ready to sow their tares in the fertile ground of ongoing gay rights discourse.

While not all emerging churches are pro-gay, many have views that range from civil equality as a sign of love to full inclusion in the church.

McCullen is an advocate for treating gay people as Children of God and has preached sermons on their inclusion. He believes that Jesus was specifically inclusive of gays in Matthew 19 (the discussion of eunuchs from birth) and has adopted the understanding of the Centurian and his pais as relating to a same-sex couple.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/11/25/proposition_8_religion/

“hey there…

my name is alex, and i am one of the pastors at the church that posted the billboards. thanks to so many for your words of thanks. i am a Christian, i am a pastor, and i am gay. it has been a long road and will continue to be. our church is predominantly straight but is a place for all people to come and worship.

if you go to our website – http://www.missiongathering.com – and click on the main “sorry” graphic, it will take you to a page explaining more about our statement.

we were out campaigning against Prop 8 in the days leading up to the election, working with the LGBT Center in San Diego, and with the No on 8 offices….and we will continue to fight for Prop 8 to be overturned and will fight against any proposition that tries to do this again.

together in the fight for equality…
alexr”

http://ourheartsarewithyou.wordpress.com/

You should check it out, it gives more personal depth to their position. There’s a very moving letter from “Jay” to his Uncle and Father in response to their disapproval of his belief that Prop 8 is bad.