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Delivered April 19, 2007 at the Soulforce panel discussion at Cedarville University
When I was a student at Cedarville, I dreamed of being invited back to speak at Chapel. As a gay alumni, this space in the Stevens Student Center is probably the closest that I will get! Thank you first to Cedarville and to Soulforce for loving each other enough for this event to happen, even though each has different ends in mind.
When I was a student here, the most heated debates we had were over Post vs. Premillennialism. You see, Cedarville in the early 80s was a much different place than it is today: we couldn't go to movies (we heard entire sermons in chapel about this sin), listen to rock (the devil's music), jazz (really the devil's music), or have beards (a professor was offered a job in the Bible Department but because he refused to shave his beard, the offer was rescinded). Some were labeled "personal preferences" of the university; others were labeled "sinful". It was always difficult to determine which was which, and we spent hours arguing over these issues. Today, looking back, some would say these concerns were inconsequential, but they were not: Many people believed that going to the movies landed a person in hell. Or more close to your lives today, Google "jazz, Cedarville, and fundamentalism" some time and read what some Christians say about Cedarville.
Even though most of the above have been settled on the more open side, some debates rage on -- such as those over homosexuality. One of the things I learned at Cedarville was that theology (the study of God) and interpretation are humanly constructed, and thus open to change. God doesn't change, but our understanding of God and scripture does. And thank goodness that is true or we would still own slaves in this country (an institution that received over 1800 years of Biblical support from both the Old and New Testament), and women would still be at home, unable to work or vote and subject to the whims of men. While Christians helped loosen the hold of slavery and sexism, many other Christians tried to keep both in place. These are both telling examples to help frame debates over homosexuality.
But the reason I flew across the country was not because I thought I could add anything to the debates or arguments over the Biblical passages (I dropped my Greek class after a week) -- but to provide physical proof that you can be a graduate of Cedarville, be gay, a Christian and still be happy and well-adjusted. I didn't see or hear that in any of the on-line materials (including the lectures, article-links, etc.) that Cedarville used to prepare all of you for Soulforce's visit. It was as if a "Gay Christian," someone who had integrated his sexuality and his spirituality, was an impossibility. I'm also here to tell you that I'm not the only Cedarville alum who is a happy gay, well-adjusted Christian. Since I've graduated I've found many, and yes, some Cedarville grads, including T.J. Rivetti who also traveled here today.
But enough about me -- now about you. I'd like to offer students a challenge: Search out opportunities to talk with people who hold views different than yours. Rather than hear these views filtered through the perspective you already agree with, read the work of those who actually believe the positions espoused, talk with people who really disagree with you, not to evangelize or witness to them, but to try and understand their world, their wounds and their joys. The conversation started here is wonderful -- and it has also filtered down to gay Cedarville alums. Recently we've constructed a web-site, CedarvilleOUT.org that allows us a presence/visibility and a way to stay in contact. Please visit the site, as we'd be delighted to dialogue more with you after Soulforce's visit.
I will forever be thankful to Cedarville as it provided me an excellent education in critical thinking, which played a major role in my intellectual and emotional journey towards freedom as a gay Christian. And thanks to Cedarville for letting me have my little bit of chapel.
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