Reclaiming the Rainbow
About a month ago, Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse of the (NOM-affiliated, anti-gay) Ruth Institute, said that she wanted Christians to reclaim the rainbow from the gays. (I'm not providing links to anti-gay sites -- if you want more info, google it yourself). Originally I just rolled my eyes, something I do to many statements from NOM and their allies.
This one however wouldn't leave my mind. I don't own a lot of rainbow colored gay pride stuff. In fact, I think my gay pride stuff I own is a (gray) "Legalize Gay" T-shirt, a (blue) marriage equality T-Shirt, a necklace with a bolt with (finally) rainbow colored nuts on it, and a Rainbow Delegation rainbow colored wristband. So frankly if Dr. Morse wants my rainbow gear, fine she's not depriving me of much. (For those who didn't follow the link, Rainbow Delegation gives rainbow colored wristbands to people who are supportive of the LGBT community.)
But then I thought about the other side. I'm also a Christian. I attend church more than the average American (3 to 5 Sundays a month for services, 2 nights a month for Bible study, and about 4 nights a month for choir practice). And I stopped to think. Yes, I want the rainbow symbol back.
My minister, and his wife, wear Rainbow Delegation wristbands regularly. So does our youth minister. And so do many others in my church. We wear them, I believe, out of a very Christian belief. We believe that everyone is a special child of God, and that being Gay or Straight is not criteria on which God judges. As a Christian, I wear my rainbow -- supporting diversity, supporting LGBT people, and letting it remind me of the Biblical story of God's covenant with human beings. I think the rainbow is a big strong symbol, and it can handle several meanings.
What I'm starting to want to reclaim is the word Christian. Too many speak the most un-Christ-like words in the name of Christianity. I wish they would stop. I am reminded of one of my favorite writers, Charles Ludlam's, opinion of religion: Just as many people who claim belief in God disprove it with their ever act, so too there are those whose every deed, though they say there is no God, is an act of faith.
And now I'll put my soap box away.
This one however wouldn't leave my mind. I don't own a lot of rainbow colored gay pride stuff. In fact, I think my gay pride stuff I own is a (gray) "Legalize Gay" T-shirt, a (blue) marriage equality T-Shirt, a necklace with a bolt with (finally) rainbow colored nuts on it, and a Rainbow Delegation rainbow colored wristband. So frankly if Dr. Morse wants my rainbow gear, fine she's not depriving me of much. (For those who didn't follow the link, Rainbow Delegation gives rainbow colored wristbands to people who are supportive of the LGBT community.)
But then I thought about the other side. I'm also a Christian. I attend church more than the average American (3 to 5 Sundays a month for services, 2 nights a month for Bible study, and about 4 nights a month for choir practice). And I stopped to think. Yes, I want the rainbow symbol back.
My minister, and his wife, wear Rainbow Delegation wristbands regularly. So does our youth minister. And so do many others in my church. We wear them, I believe, out of a very Christian belief. We believe that everyone is a special child of God, and that being Gay or Straight is not criteria on which God judges. As a Christian, I wear my rainbow -- supporting diversity, supporting LGBT people, and letting it remind me of the Biblical story of God's covenant with human beings. I think the rainbow is a big strong symbol, and it can handle several meanings.
What I'm starting to want to reclaim is the word Christian. Too many speak the most un-Christ-like words in the name of Christianity. I wish they would stop. I am reminded of one of my favorite writers, Charles Ludlam's, opinion of religion: Just as many people who claim belief in God disprove it with their ever act, so too there are those whose every deed, though they say there is no God, is an act of faith.
And now I'll put my soap box away.