Matthew 7
Why was BridgePointLoma originally started? Let’s go back to my April article in the Point Weekly.
What is making that unbelieving student want to learn about our faith? Or that struggling gay Christian to say, “I still want in on this thing you call Christianity”? — The road to love
Questions.
From this impeding loneliness, I felt questions, and I didn’t know where to go with them. I knew that when I signed up to go to this university, it did not support the homosexual lifestyle. To my dismay, I still wanted to come to a Christian university because I had this passion for God, yet I still had an innate desire to kiss a guy over kissing a girl.
As these questions sat on my heart, it never seemed okay for me to ask them, at least without fear of losing many friends in the process. After a long and gruesome process, I made it to where I am today.
7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” — Matthew 7
“Where can our experiences be heard without the questionable smirk on her face or the reprimanding glare in his eyes?” — The road to love
Fear.
In spite of this fear I had overcome, I put together BridgePointLoma. I didn’t want students — who were encountering my same sorts of feelings — to have to go through the same frightful process I had to. I wanted to form a respectful community. So I made BridgePointLoma, where
we hope LGBT students at PLNU can share their neglected stories, lingering questions, and increasing trials with their Christian comrades, and together, we can learn what it means to practice listening to and dignifying your political or theological enemy and actively learning to live and love in real-time. We hope to seek reconciliation not based on a change of belief system but rather from a commitment to live in relationship with opposing worldviews while seeking to understand and dignify the humanity of the “other”. — BPL Mission Statement
1“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” — Matthew 7
Too often, people point fingers and make their claims, but BridgePointLoma is not about making — or even reaching — theological or political claims. We are not trying to change a belief system. We are not trying to figure out if homosexuality is a sin. Our sole focus, our foundation, is that there is an overlooked population and to better engage with them, we need to hear their stories and experiences along as share ours with them.
24“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” — Matthew 7
Through the mumbo jumbo of numerous individuals and a nationwide game of “telephone,” I fear people are losing this purpose of my group, founded on and continuing through withholding judgment and asking questions.
I don’t believe that advocating for BridgePointLoma is causing PLNU to compromise its theological beliefs. I am not asking it to. The group is not asking it to. I am advocating for a place that can be shared across PLNU’s campus, where “we can learn what it means to practice listening to and dignifying your political or theological enemy and actively learning to live and love in real-time.”
Amidst the temporal forums that PLNU puts together, these suffering students need something more sustaining. Yes, they can get a counselor to constantly share their stories with, but what I needed more than anything was friends who would listen to my story. Friends, the people who expressed love with me on a day-to-day basis. Their perception of me is what was important. The random members of a book discussion or a forum could not provide me with that. Hence, BridgePointLoma.
So when people say that BridgePointLoma is contrary to the beliefs of Point Loma Nazarene University, I look at them puzzled because I wonder why the university is against seeking reconciliation through “a commitment to live in relationship with opposing worldviews while seeking to understand and dignify the humanity of the ‘other’.” To me, that is BridgePointLoma
Friends, I am not trying to tear down the university. I am trying to build a bridge between two hostile communities. BridgePointLoma. Since the news entered social media, a lot of what has been happening feels much like bridge burning, thwarting my original intentions. I feel the petition – although something I would like to see happen – is too radical for the goals I would like to accomplish through BridgePointLoma. We gain no ground stirring up more ruckus between these communities. We just get left with the rubbish remains of a rundown construction site.
PLNU is a fantastic university, and I hold no bitterness towards it or any of its administration. Although administration and I disagree on the importance of BridgePointLoma, we are both staying in touch and continuing this two-way conversation through their methods with minimal pushback. Family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers, I greatly admire your support. Thank you for hearing my words, but we all know this is much greater than I.
This seems inherently flawed:
“BridgePointLoma is not about making — or even reaching — theological or political claims. Our sole focus…to better engage with them”
What’s the point in engaging if there is no theological truth that is being conveyed? If the engagement is not founded on truth?
“we need to hear their stories and experiences along as share ours with them.”
Stories? Really? What’s the point? If the point isn’t to reconcile sinners with God through Christ — a theological claim about reality, about sin, about our behaviors and desires, about who God is and about His wrath — then who cares about stories?
This sounds like aiming for a great big group hug. That’s nice…but that’s not really going to help anyone. It might make them feel better about their sin, and I guess that’s the point of BPL apparently — make Christianity more appealing by stripping away anything offensive. But the Gospel IS offensive, and if you’re not going to call sin “sin”, then you’re not preaching the Gospel.
“I wonder why the university is against seeking reconciliation through “a commitment to live in relationship with opposing worldviews while seeking to understand and dignify the humanity of the ‘other’.””
This is dishonest, of course. You can call homosexuality sinful without in any way failing to understand or dignify those who practice it. This is about making people feel comfortable.
These people always dress up their goals as just being about respect and dignity, but really they take issue with “the common exclusiveness of the Christian community”.
They take issue with some people being/feeling judged or left out. They take issue with people taking stands on issues.
From another post:
““I don’t know you, but I’ll be praying for your sins.”
WOW.
Like a dagger to the heart.
My sins? Hadn’t I tried to explain that being gay isn’t a choice in my article?”
The enemy is the one who calls homosexuality a sin.
This is nonsense and should be treated as such. This isn’t about dignity or respect. This is about not condemning sin — because you’ll offend those who sin.
This is anti-Christian. This is anti-Gospel.
Or do liberals only want to condemn corrupt rich people? They take greater issue with how others handle money than with how they handle sexuality, apparently. It’s OK to condemn the rich and put laws into place against them, but homosexuality? No, we don’t condemn them, and we don’t make laws against them.
Funny system of thought.
Anyway, this is clearly not about dignity. It’s about not offending homosexuals by calling homosexuality a sin.
Offend people. If they accept the Gospel only when it doesn’t condemn their sin, then they haven’t really accepted the Gospel.
And if they submit to Scripture only when they agree with it, they don’t really submit.
Here’s the problem:
“[What is making]…that struggling gay Christian to say, “I still want in on this thing you call Christianity”?”
We’re not supposed to make a righeous God’s truth acceptable to sinful people. Christianity is about making sinful people acceptable to a righteous God.
Rw,
If the point of Christianity is to point out the flaws of others, then you may be onto something.
If the point of Christianity is to love God, love others, and express the gospel of God’s love through God’s grace presented on the cross, I think you have entirely missed it.
Ranting and raving about someone’s flaws doesn’t make them want to listen, rendering those actions practically useless. This is why Jesus calls us to love.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” — 1 Cor 13
BridgePointLoma exists to be patient and kind, thus creating a respectful environment where people are inclined to listen to one another. Here God’s Spirit will do as God’s Spirit will. We’re not trying to make anything more acceptable nor compromise the popular Christian belief. We are making room for God’s Spirit to move amongst relationships between individuals.
“Ranting and raving about someone’s flaws doesn’t make them want to listen, rendering those actions practically useless. This is why Jesus calls us to love.”
Well that’s not a fair representation of my position, is it?
The problem is that BPL doesn’t seem OK with people thinking homosexuality IS a flaw. And Jesus, Paul, James, John…they all pointed out many, many flaws. Do not dismiss the importance of calling out sin as sin under the guise of “God is love”. That same God demands repentance. That same God condemned many sins while incarnate. That same God spoke through the apostles and prophets condemning sins all over the place (including sexual sin).
Do you want to know what God’s love looks like? It looks like calling sinners to repent of their sins and believe, because that loving God is also a God of wrath, and those who do not repent will bear that loving God’s wrath for all eternity.
I am not advocating obnoxious raving about homosexuality. But you seem to take the conservative position, and my own post, and twist them (without any obnoxious raving about homosexuality) into something evil. That’s very revealing of your attitude towards sin — especially when that sin is such a trendy sin to accept these days.
An acquaintance said, “It amazes me the dances we use to get around Scripture so that we can ignore God and do what we want to do.”
In the Scripture, I’ve seen Jesus set the following example.
He accepted sex-workers, biological heretics (half-breed Samaritans), fallen women, the occupying Roman soldiers, and traitors and collaborators. The only people he deliberately offended and denounced on a routine basis were pastors and theologians.
It’s amazing to me how he was able to dance around the commands of James, Paul, and Jesus to love, to forgive, to not judge, to not condemn. He neglects the center of the Christian life, and instead he embraces every thing we are told to forsake.
RW, you and my acquaintance already know this. The spirit of God has already told you this. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.
SW, you “ignore God and do what you want to do.”
Take care that you do not ascribe to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit.
Could Christ embrace what He commanded us to forsake? Paul and the others are speaking God’s words to us, and pitting Christ versus Paul is really just pitting Christ versus Christ, which means you’re obviously on the wrong path.
Christ embraced repentant sinners, and condemned those who did not repent. Christ also had people turn away from Him in tears because He called out their love of money, despite their insisting that they wanted to follow Him.
And if you’re not willing to turn away from homosexuality, then Christ would respond so that you turn away in tears as well. “Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.” Those are the words of Christ not just to theologians and oppressive rulers, but also to homosexuals, adulterers, etc.
I hope you’ll do more Bible reading, Ron. There’s a lot of good stuff in there, but you have to be willing to take it all and not just cherrypick liberal soundbytes.