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By Henry Miller March, 1999 In The God of Jesus, the Christian minister Stephen J. Patterson writes: "when faith in God is exchanged for faith in the Bible, the nature of faith is altered dramatically and fatally. For in so doing we have exchanged a relationship of trust in a living God for a very different kind of relationship: the possession of a text. ... It reduces God to an object we can easily use. ... But this use of the Bible is idolatrous. The Bible is not God; God is not an object. God does not submit to our desires in this way." In a similar manner, we Mormons exchange our faith in God for faith in our leaders when we follow their every word without question. They are not our God, and are just as mortal and imperfect as any of the rest of us. They say things that they later must correct or modify. Things which could better be described as church policies rather than doctrine. Homosexuality is one of these things. Church policies that speak of it are not based on either revelation (no leader has ever made the claim), scripture (there are no scriptures that condemn same-sex loving relationships), or experience (their guidance to us on how to change does not work). To follow them blindly in this area (or any other) is another form of idolatry. Church leader worship may be very popular in the church today, but it isn't right. True followers of Christ do not need someone to tell them how to act, dress, speak, think, eat, or whom to associate with. True followers have been taught higher principles and then decide for themselves, led by the spirit. An idolatrous people looks to church leaders for all their answers. The Spirit wasn't given to us at baptism so we could do whatever we were told. The Glory of God is not obedience. And if "by their fruits ye shall know them" has any meaning, it means that guidance given us by our leaders needs to work, or we can know for ourselves that our leaders are not following Him in this area. Policies in the church about homosexuality have been changing since they were put into action over 20 years ago. Changing because their experience relating to us has forced them to. Things they once said (like the parents are to blame, or that it's an evil choice), and techniques they once used to change us (like the use of electroshock therapy, pornography and drugs at BYU) are no longer taught or practiced because they have learned better. An interesting and important lesson here for all leader worshippers is that our church leaders learned these things because WE taught them, not God. Once again, it was their relating to us as homosexuals that taught them what worked and what didn't. It is their ongoing experience that teaches them new truths about us. God is not behind their ever-changing policies because new ones are not built upon previous precepts. Old polices are quietly abandoned (and sometimes even denied that they were ever used) because they did not, and do not work. New policies are chosen because it seems (at the moment) that they might better explain our situation. If "line upon line, precept upon precept" is the manner which God uses to teach His people, then we can assume that God is not a part of their thinking process, and has no role in their conclusions. There would be no need to cover up or make radical changes in policies about homosexuality if God played a role in forming them-He doesn't make those kinds of mistakes. Prejudice about homosexuality is not limited to the beer-guzzlers of the world. It runs deep in the Mormon culture. God is not a part of our church leaders thinking process, because they have already made up their minds. You have no need to ask sincere questions if you already think that you have all the answers. Our practice of worshipping our leaders by never questioning their guidance does not help them to overcome their prejudice. They speak truth or untruth with equal determination and sincerity because they know that we will drool over every word. They have no need to gain a better understanding or to question their assumptions when we fail to challenge them. Until our church leaders recognize that their policies are based on prejudice, harm will continue. Harm is always the result of false beliefs. Youth will choose suicide rather than face the hostility, judgement, and rejection by those who should be their greatest allies. Families will be broken apart by close-minded homophobes who choose to exclude homosexual family members in an effort to protect the rest of the family from the influences of an "evil lifestyle." Basic human rights will be denied homosexual members of society by a church that forms policies on false beliefs and then makes contributions of millions of dollars to political causes that further their misguided objectives. The solution is so simple and yet impossible to achieve when we give up our relationship with God to following our leaders without question. The Pharisees offered lists of things that were acceptable to do on any and every occasion. Christ broke those rules all the time, if they needed breaking. We need to likewise, start thinking for ourselves and acting in a manner that shows that we truly follow God--even if and when our paths differ from the "correlated" standards. |
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