In an article in the DP today, the Penn Christian Association’s Reverend Beverly Dale was quoted as she discussed Christianity, sexuality, and Penn. I don’t hear those three words together especially often, but I definitely have seen them grouped together before.
I had the good fortune to wander, by way of random listserve, into a Queer Christian Fellowship discussion last semester. RevBev herself sat at the head of the table and, over a hearty homemade QCF-sponsored dinner, led attendees in a talk about the Bible and homosexuality. Equipped with Bibles and multiple texts presenting different interpretations of key passages, she explained exactly how faith, gay identity, and the Bible all fit together.
RevBev serves as an example to other leaders on campus. If there’s any way to reach Penn students, it’s certainly through food and good, solid arguments.
As a staunch non-Christian interested in the topic, I was impressed at her approach; over the course of an hour, RevBev not only reconciled the Bible and homosexuality, but also gave me a new view of how differently each individual practices Christianity. She invited discussion and questions, drew diagrams on a white board, and handed out books full of information on Christianity and homosexuality. The next morning, I found an email and a Facebook friend invitation in my inbox.
From the DP:
It’s the separation of body and spirit that Dale finds dangerous as she feels that many people afflicted by this disconnect turn to harmful behaviors to satisfy the void.
“I see Penn students using alcohol to justify the sex they want to have but are too ashamed to claim, or too guilt ridden,” she said.
Anyone sending a message to Penn students about how to practice healthy sexual decision-making that fits with one’s lifestyle (Christian or otherwise) is good in my book. Sexuality is too often the object of unnatural repression and a source of shame.
If everyone at Penn had RevBev’s enthusiasm and creativity, maybe we’d all get along and live our lives making campus a little more open-minded and, thus, a little better.
Tags: Christianity, religion, sexuality
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November 7th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
This discussion makes me think of the double standard inherent in the “purity” pledges that some young people are taking today. These young people have every right to decide not tohave sex until they are married, if it is THEIR OWN belief that such a choice is what is best for them. It does seem unnatural to me as well as inconsistent with what goes on in our culture in general, but I support their right ot make this choice.
What I do take exception with in these “purity pledges” is how they imply that sex is “impure” aka dirty, etc. If these young people are pure because they are not having sex, are the parents who created them acting impurely by having sex?? Are their fathers and (GOD forbid) their Mothers impure. This is not a purity pledge, it is an abstinence pledge. To call it anything else perpetuates the destructive and unnatural thinking that sex is dirty. It is just another way to arbitrarily divide and disjoin the human family which needs, now more than ever to embrace every member and to promote the truth that we are all connected to one creative and loving source.