Entries tagged with “hypocrisy” from Trans-cendental

I attempted to register for a class at Northern Baptist Seminary.

The seminary I attend, Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS), is part of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS), which "was formed in 1984 by twelve theological schools located in the Chicago area to provide means for cooperation among the member institutions in the areas of student cross-registration, library access and acquisitions, interchange among faculty members in the disciplines of theological education, and communications between the schools."  - http://www.actschicago.org/index.html

Students at ACTS schools may register at other ACTS schools:

Available to the approximately 3,000 students currently enrolled at its member schools are 400 faculty, about 900 courses offered annually, and library collections of 1.7 million volumes and nearly 5,000 currently received periodical subscriptions.
   - http://www.actschicago.org/index.html

Except, in the case of at least one school, if you're gay.

Now, granted, there is a stated exception:

Exceptions to the process of cross-registration exist (1) during the summer term when tuition is normally paid to the school offering the course; (2) for D.Min. courses other than Pastoral Care and Counseling and for those students in the ACTS D.Min. in Preaching Program; and (3) in certain courses with limited enrollment. Each school in ACTS reserves the right to limit enrollment in certain courses for pedagogical reasons and to set its own policies for the admission of students from other schools to such courses.
 - http://www.actschicago.org/catalog2009/cat06.html#how, emphases mine.

I attempted to cross-register for a class at Northern Baptist Seminary (which has the awesome domain name of seminary.edu). I was aware that the seminary was more conservative, and I did not expect it to be easy to take a class there. But I was willing to sit with far more conservative students in a far more conservative school, in part to keep from having my graduation date from being pushed back another two years, and in part because I do not want to be estranged from my more conservative brothers and sisters in Christ.

I didn't want to go stealthily into the seminary for several reasons. First, I am not ashamed of who I am, nor the path taken to get here. While I don't advertise my sexual orientation or transgender history to everyone, I don't take steps to hide these parts of my life either. To do so is to walk in shadow, and I prefer to be in the light.

Second, to hide an aspect of one's life can result in feelings of betrayal should the secret be found out. It is damaging to a relationship when trust is broken: witness what happened with Ted Haggard.

Third, even if the secret is never found out (unlikely as a simple web search will find enough information about me), keeping a secret from those with whom one is in relationship creates an inauthentic, dysfunctional, and, dare I say it, sinful relationship.

So, to be as honest and authentic as possible in my relationship to the class, I sent e-mail to the professor teaching the class. I explained my background (Evangelical Free, Bible Students, Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, and United Church of Christ), my school affiliation (CTS), and my sexual orientation and transgender history. I asked for advice on what I could do to make the situation easier for everyone involved.

I did not expect the culture clash to be easy. I also did not expect, however, to be rejected from taking any classes whatsoever.

My e-mail to the instructor was apparently forwarded to the administration who, in a very polite but firm e-mail, explained to me that the school's admission policy is applied to cross-registered students. The seminary, in their catalog, under code of conduct, states:

In matters related to homosexuality:

1. Northern will not knowingly admit as a student any person having a homosexual lifestyle.

2. If, without the knowledge of the Admissions Committee, a person is admitted to the Seminary and is found not to be a practicing homosexual, but to be striving to overcome homosexual tendencies, such a person will, in Christian love, be counseled to obtain the best help available so that with the power of God such a person may overcome the problem.

3. If, without the knowledge of the Admissions Committee, a practicing homosexual is found to have been admitted to the Seminary, when such knowledge is discovered, such said practicing homosexual would be counseled to seek education elsewhere and to enter some other vocation, and failing voluntary withdrawal from Northern, would be disallowed to continue at the Seminary.

4. In no case would the Seminary recommend for ordination or for ministry any practicing homosexual or an advocate of a homosexual lifestyle.

5. Congruent with its policy of institutional integrity, Northern Baptist Seminary will not hire a practicing homosexual or an advocate of a homosexual lifestyle, and it reserves the right to dismiss from employment any such person on the grounds that it would conflict with the purpose of the institution.
- http://www.seminary.edu/about/PDFs/Seminary%20Catalog%202008-2009%20Revised.pdf

This means they are reinterpreting the ACTS policy to say:

Each school in ACTS reserves the right to limit enrollment in all courses for pedagogical reasons and to set its own policies for the admission of students from other schools to all courses.

This in order to prevent any homosexuals from taking any courses at their school, ever.

Northern Baptist may believe my twenty-one year relationship with my spouse to be sinful and unChristian. They may believe my transition, twenty-five years ago, to living as my identified gender to be a violation of Deuteronomy 22:5.

They may well object to my behavior off school grounds, but they were not going to change that by rejecting my cross-registration. They can't make me a straight white male again by denying me the chance to study with their professor and students.

So exactly what is sinful or harmful about my taking a class at their school? Exactly what is made worse by my presence there?

At their school, I'm certainly going to hear about their viewpoint on homosexuality and transgender issues - especially since the class I was going to take was on the Pentateuch, which includes Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Were they afraid that I would rebut the reading of the few verses applied to homosexuals as they were glossing over the dietary laws, mixing of fabrics, wearing of tassels, uncleanness of women during their periods and after giving birth, trimming of beards, and the Jubilee year? Were they concerned that I would point out that Levitical law says nothing about Lesbian relationships? Did they worry that I would point out that the word "know" in Genesis 19:5 is the same as the word "know" in Genesis 18:19? (I really wasn't planning on it.)

And, perhaps more to the point, how is this following Jesus' example? Did Jesus teach only the holy? Did Jesus not teach prostitutes, lepers, tax collectors, Samaritans, Syrophoenicians, Roman soldiers, and (at the cross) thieves and murderers?

I am disappointed that Northern Baptist Seminary chose to not honor its covenant with the Association of Chicago Theological Schools.

I am also sad that sixty faculty and staff are more afraid of me than I am of them.

So Glenn Beck says that Social Justice is the equivalent of Nazism and Socialism. Of course, Nazism and Socialism are about as alike as drought and rain, but we'll leave that alone. And Beck tells his viewers to leave their churches if they say anything about Social Justice.

So what's a church to do? Charity only, without calling for change in the system?

On the surface, that seems ok. We'll give to the poor to help them out, but we don't want any changes to our financial and social systems. Yet it is our systems that create and maintain poverty. Charity does not erase poverty, it merely treats the symptom.

Imagine a person who could not walk to where the food was. You could bring food to the person, but that person would have to eat again. The person becomes reliant on charity for survival.

What would Jesus do?

Sure, we have the parable of the sheep and the goats, where Jesus speaks about visiting the sick and imprisoned, feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked, but is that all Jesus calls us to?

Did Jesus bring the man crippled from birth a loaf of bread and a fish? Did Jesus hand the paralytic a meal?

Of course not. Jesus healed people and restored them to community. Jesus made people whole in body and social status.

And was Jesus content with treating prostitutes, tax collectors, Samaritans, and others as unclean sinners to stay on the outside of society?

Of course not. Jesus ate with them and even said they would be getting into heaven before the (self) righteous.

Charity without change is a formula for continued dependence and subjugation. That is unethical, unjust, and unChristian. (It's also economically foolish, because it means keeping a class of people dependent on you.)

So I say:

If you belong to a church that offers charity but does not work for change, run as fast as you can and leave that church. It is not a church of Jesus Christ.

I was thinking today about our tendency to help when it's convenient.

When we have a few extra dollars, we contribute to charity.

When we have extra food, we give some to the food bank (some of us offer the dented cans or things we don't want to eat).

Yet need does not wax and wane with availability. Homeless people don't disappear when there's a shortage of beds in shelters. People don't magically have enough winter clothing when there are no coats available. People aren't magically filled when there is no food available. And the needs of people for community don't disappear when churches decide they have no room for "people like that".

There was a certain rich man, who wore expensive suits and ate at the finest restaurants every day, and there was a poor man who begged outside his house.

And it came to pass that the rich man's investments collapsed, and his business was about to go bankrupt. And the rich man lifted up his eyes in torment, and cried and said, "have mercy on me, and send a bailout package ; for I am tormented in this economy."

 - Luke 16:19-24

In nearly every language, there is a variation of what Christianity calls the Golden Rule.

What is hateful to you, do not to your fellowmen. That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary. --- Judaism: Talmud, Shabbat, 31a

That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself. --- Zoroastrianism: Dadistan-i-dinik 94:5

This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you. --- Brahmanism: Mahabharata, 5:1517

Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. --- Buddhism: Udana-Varga 5:18

Surely it is the maxim of loving-kindness: Do not unto others that you would not have them do unto you. --- Confucianism: Analects 15:23

Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss. --- Taoism: T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien

All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the Law and the Prophets. --- Christianity: Matthew 7:12

No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother what which he desires for himself. --- Islam: Sunnah

*In that it harm none, do as ye will. --- Wicca/Pagan: Wicca Rede 1

* --- Shintoism:

* --- Native American

My duty towards my neighbors is to love him as myself, and to do all men as I would they should do unto me. --- Book of Common Prayer: Catechism

All things whatsoever that thou wouldst not wish to be done to thee, do thou also not to another. --- The Diache, Teachings of the Twelve Apostles

Do as you would be done by. --- English Proverb

What thou avoidest suffering thyself seek not to impose on others. --- Epictetus: Encheiridion

Do not do to others what would anger you if done to you by others. --- Isocrates

This is the sum of all true righteousness: deal with others as thou wouldst thyself be dealt by. Do nothing to they neighbor which thou wouldst not have him do to thee hereafter. --- The Mahabharata

To do as one would be done by, and to love one's neighbor as one's self, constitue the ideal perfection of utiltarian morality. --- John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism

Treat you inferiors as you would be treated by your betters. --- Seneca: Epistolae ad Lucilium, Epis. XLVII, 11

Be excellent to each other. --- Bill and Tedism


This is a very nearly universal idea. And yet, we are willing to apply this only to people who believe in our own version, and sometimes only a subset of that group.


So what of waterboarding?

Waterboarding was developed to help in converting people to Christianity by the Spanish Inquisition, so it does have a Christian basis. I wonder how many of the inquisitors were subjected to waterboarding?

Kaj Larsen was waterboarded as part of his training, and had it done again to demonstrate what was happening. I think this person may be able to judge what he would have done to him.


When will we learn to treat other human beings as human beings? When will we learn that torture encourages torture? When will we learn that killing encourages killing?

And when we we learn that mercy encourages mercy ?

I'm really tired of settling. I'm not interested in incremental rights. I'm not willing to support a candidate who talks out of both sides of his - or her - mouth, speaking on one hand of "protecting marriage" from gays and at the same time "supporting gay and lesbian people" with domestic partnerships or civil unions.

Have mercy, been waitin' for the bus all day.
Have mercy, been waitin' for the bus all day. - "Waitin' for the Bus", Gibbons, Hill

In the Chicago area, riders may be waiting a bit longer for the bus. In fact, depending on where they're waiting, it could be months... or years. Deep service cuts are about to take effect due to a lack of funding for public transportation.

I gave you all a break on Sunday, but it's time to resume preparation for National Coming Out Day.

OK, so I'm gay. Or Republican. Or transgender. Or I like to gossip. Why not stay in the closet?

There are certainly advantages to being in the closet. There aren't a lot of questions to answer. You don't have to worry about people criticizing you.

All you have to worry about is being found out.

Brian Wingfield has an interesting article on sex scandals - and the publicity that surrounds them - in Forbes. But it's not just notoriety one risks.

Repressing an important aspect of one's life can lead people to behave in erratic ways, such as text messaging young people, seeking sexual partners in parks and public bathrooms, and patronizing prostitutes. And if this sort of behavior comes to light, the fallout can be enormous. Representative Mark Foley resigned from Congress in disgrace. Ted Haggard lost his ministry.

In addition to the personal losses these men incurred, their families, friends, and constituents or parishioners also suffered by being put at risk and by feeling betrayed  by trusted leaders.

How great can the toll be?

Michael Crawford reports that a 55 year old man killed himself rather than face the consequences of being caught in a park sex sting.


The toll can be quite high, but even the less controversial parts of our lives can wreak havoc.

We might just keep quiet about where we stand politically, so as to not lose standing with friends. Yet how does it feel to listen to people say things with which you disagree, talking to you as if you were with them on the issues? We don't have to get in big arguments, but we're often afraid to just say "well, I feel differently".

In the third chapter of the Gospel of John we read

19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.

Whether or not we are ashamed of the things we do, we should bring them to the light. We cannot at the same time condemn something and secretly do the same thing.

Had these men, who so loathed homosexuality, merely admitted they struggled with it, their lives would have been much healthier.

When we are ashamed, we should admit what we do and who we are and get help.

When we are not ashamed, we should celebrate what we do and who we are.

If instead we hide what we do and who we are, we deny ourselves, harming ourselves and those around us.

National Coming Out Day is October 11.

References:

• http://www.forbes.com/business/2007/10/06/politics-politicians-sex-biz-wash-cx_bw_1008sexscandals.html
• http://www.bilerico.com/2007/10/man_commits_suicide_after_tennessee_park.php

We all have things about us which we'd like to change. But it's critical that we own these things about ourselves as well. Whether they can be changed or not, we need to accept that these are things about ourselves.

I deal with low self-esteem and anxiety. I can choose to deny this, but it won't help me.

What happens when we live in denial? At the very least, we fail to deal with the very issues that trouble us. At the worst, we're caught in hypocrisy.

People have laughed at Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.), Reverend Ted Haggard, Florida State Rep. Bob Allen , Louisiana St. Bernard Parish Councilman Joey DiFatta, and others. Yet a compassionate heart recognizes these people have lived in fear and denial, unable to find a healthy way to deal with an important part of their lives. The better choice is to pray for these men, that they will come to come out to themselves - to recognize their same-sex attraction. Recognizing an issue is the first step to dealing with it.

So what are you hiding? What's your secret?

You don't have to tell me.

You don't have to tell anyone.

Except yourself.