During the debate over TCF, a lot of interesting and intelligent points have been made by Tufts students and faculty. However, I think many people have made their comments without first trying to understand the perspectives of the other parties involved. Nowhere has this been more pronounced than in Andrew Gould's Viewpoint, "Clarifying Christianity"(10-24-00).
First of all, Mr. Gould misguidedly titles his article, "Clarifying Christianity." Mr. Gould speaks for Christianity no more than I speak for America. Christianity is a word that refers to a wide variety of religious groups and individuals that are divided on a wide variety of issues, homosexuality being one of them. To say, "The Judeo-Christian tradition has ascribed homosexuality to [the category of tendencies that are sinful and should be denied]," or "Christians will always encourage homosexuals to avoid succumbing to their particular temptations," is absolutely wrong. I know Christians and Jews, indeed Christian preachers, who are openly gay and do not deny their sexuality. There are Christian churches that ordain homosexuals. Many say that the Bible proclaims homosexuality to be a sin, but, truly, the argument is ludicrous.
There are a couple of sections in the Bible that vaguely refer to homosexuality, and from which it is possible to say that the Bible says homosexuality is a sin. However, there are far more direct commandments in the Bible that are now considered socially obsolete in most Judeo-Christian sects (the treatment of women, for example). So we should be careful when we say, "the Bible says."
The most over-riding theme of the New Testament, by far, is that of love and acceptance for everyone, and belief in Jesus. John 3:16 says, "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in him may not perish but have eternal life." Notice the word everyone. I don't see any qualification for sexuality. It damages the faith when people use vague and relatively insignificant pieces of scripture to obscure this message.
After considering the perspective of all Christians and Jews, Mr. Gould should try to think about the perspective of the gay community. For instance, he says, "To argue on more generally convincing grounds, a homosexual relationship does not naturally result in procreation, and the form of the human body was clearly designed for sex to be between a man and a woman. There is simply no explanation for what role homosexuality is intended to fulfill." If you were homosexual, Mr. Gould, or tried to understand that perspective, you would never say this. What if you were sterile, and could not procreate? I doubt you would then consider your sexuality as "meeting all the criteria for an unintended aspect of fallen nature," even though you would be equally fruitless as a homosexual. Furthermore, the human male body is equally well suited to have sex with a female chimpanzee - and for all I know, they might even be able to procreate. I know of no scripture that forbids it, but I don't think many Christians would condone it.
However thoughtless some of Mr. Gould's comments may seem to homosexuals, they are sometimes guilty of the same sins. Sometimes I hear from members of the gay community that Christians, "hate gays." It's true that you used to see protests with people holding up signs like, "God Hates Fags," and Matthew Shepherd's tragic death was an awful reminder that we're not yet past this. But in my experience, the overwhelming majority of Christians who think of homosexuality as a sin don't think that way. One has to understand that Christianity, in most of its permutations, is a missionary faith. Christians believe it's their job to save people, and they really believe they're helping others. They don't hate those with whom they disagree - they just think they're as misguided as those people think them to be.
In our liberal college campus bubble, we have a tendency to label anyone with non-PC beliefs as a "bigot." But the issues are much more complicated than that. Understanding everyone's beliefs and where they come from is a crucial step towards solving the problem. To compare the TCF to the KKK is like Mr. Gould's comparison between homosexuality and alcoholism. It is to understand the opposing position, as Mr. Gould says, "exactly wrongly."
Protection of the minority opinion is the single most important component of a successful democracy. Gay and lesbian activists should remember that they were not in the majority opinion not too many years ago, and still aren't in the majority opinion in many parts of the country. And it doesn't matter who thinks she or he is "right." No matter how much scientific proof there is to say that homosexuality isn't a choice, there will still be people comparing it to alcoholism. Do you know when the Catholic Church admitted that the sun is the center of the solar system? Or when they acknowledged the theory of evolution? Find out, it may give you an idea of what you're up against. But this is not a situation of right and wrong - this is about understanding and free speech. What if the situation was reversed? What if we were all at Christian Fundamentalist University, and the campus gay and lesbian coalition denied leadership to a person who believed homosexuality is a sin? Do you think that coalition should be de-recognized? Think about it. But also think about what the people around you would say. They're important too.
David Eil is a sophomore who has not yet chosen a major.
