In Remembering Urvashi Vaid, A Blogspot Spotlight on Raging Homophobia in a Christian High School Academy

Many of us who have been reading and listening to leaders in the LGBTQIA2S+ community knew the work of the tireless advocate for social justice, Urvashi Vaid. I met her when she was working with the then-National Gay Lesbian Task Force, at one of the Creating Change conferences. I have used materials from the Institute for Welcoming Resources and Practice Faith, Do Justice resources when I was the LGBTQIA+ Advocacy Coordinator with OR-ID UMC Conference, an Institute which she helped create. In light of her death a week ago, I've read many great and beautiful tributes to this tireless worker for justice and equality. I thought the best way to honor her memory would be to write a blogspot on injustice in the US towards LGBTQIA2S+ people, as she herself would do, were she still with us.

This case of injustice and homophobia takes place at the Christian Academy of Louisville, KY. As reported by Donald Padgett on the advocate.com on May 16, 2022, the students were asked to write an "imaginary letter to a 'same gender' questioning or gay friend from their church they have known since kindergarten. 'The aim of your letter should be to lovingly and compassionately speak truth to the person you're talking to in a way that does not approve of any sin,' the assignment read. 'instead, TRY TO PERSUADE THEM OF THE GOODNESS OF GOD'S DESIGN FOR THEM' (Their emphasis, not mine.). The assignment called for a letter with a minimum of eight sentences using 'the Bible, reason, and your personal friendship' to demonstrate hoe 'God's design for them is good, that homosexuality will not bring them satisfaction, that you love them even though you don't approve of their lifestyles.'"

Darin Long, the Superintendent of the Christian Academy, defended the assignment, saying that the Academy believed that "'God created the marriage covenant between one and and one woman,' and that 'sex is a good gift of God, to be celebrated within the confines of the marriage covenant" and that any other type of 'sexual expressions go against God's design.'"

Here's the link to the article: https://www.advocate.com/news/2022/5/16/school-asks-students-write-letter-convincing-friend-not-be-gay.

I'm old enough to know when I am reading old cherry-picked and non-historical, context-free, poorly translated and lousy interpretations of "biblical" arguments against LGBTQIA2S+ people. In all of these cases they reduced those of us who are  LGBTQIA2S+ people to simply being sexual beings, lying about with each other and doing nothing else, and that our lives are seen as inherently sinful because of who we are attracted to and who we love. This is article about the so-called Christian Academy of Louisville, again, shows how people are either mis-educated or poorly educated about reading some portions of the Bible with the overriding purpose of weaponizing certain short passages of Scripture to clobber LGBTQIA2S+ people. 

Enough of this blather.

Here's the reality. Those of us who are LGBTQIA2S+ and our allies will always have to teach each and every generation about:

a) how to read the Bible and these simple passages, which are set in a certain historical context for certain people in a certain place and time, and are not universal, moral truths;

b) that if you read the Bible one way, you have to read the entire Bible that way;

c) putting one's anti-LGBTQIA2S+ bias "in search" of biblical passages is not the way to read, study, or understand the Bible. 

d) In the Hebrew Scripture, the book of Leviticus was for the protocols for a priestly cult that no longer exists;

e) the Apostle Paul was not a sex therapist, nor did he have any clue as to modern sexual development theories. And remember, he himself was never married, so what did he know about sex, let alone long term relationships?

But we must report and speak out loud and put a spotlight on these horrific practices, like the Christian Academy of Louisville. Wherever there is hate and division like this, we must root it out and expose it. 

After all, that's what I think Urvashi Vaid would've done.

May it be so.