Immoral Laws
February 12, 2010 | Posted by Doug
"There is nothing outside of person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile." -Mark 7:15
| Reading: Mark 7:9-16
Jesus is challenging centuries old tradition here. A kosher diet was at the center of Jewish religious practice for many. Jesus says that what is more important are the things that come out of your heart, the things you say and do; rather than adhering to traditions. What traditions do we know that limit human compassion?
Jorge Lockward
on Feb 12, 2010
‘You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition!” Mark 7:9
The church’s mistreatment of sexual minorities, gay, lesbian, bisexual (which, by the way, does NOT equal promiscuous), transgender and queer folk is a present day example of “rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep [our] tradition.”
The fact that the church cannot (or refuses to) see how this mistreatment breaks both supreme commandments to love God with all our heart, mind, strength and soul and our neighbor as ourselves is a sign, in my appreciation, of the power of reinforced loopholed feedback systems through which we can blithely ignore the bleeding in God’s heart when some of his children are rejected, abused and set aside in the name of “love” and “religion”.
Out of a multitude examples, one that comes to mind is the fact that in spite of wrong, defiled and defiling church policy, God insists in calling sexual minorities to the ordained ministry. A quick tour of United Methodist Seminaries and Boards of Ordained Ministry should be ample proof. Yet…we refuse to see, and not only that, consider ourselves to be particularly righteous in holding beliefs that lead to the exercise of hurt and discrimination.
To quote again Fred Kaan…
All that kills abundant living
let it from the earth be banned:
pride of status, race or schooling
DOGMAS that obscure your plan.
In our common quest for justice,
may we hollows life’s brief span.