Cultural Clubbing
As a gay guy I have been fairly aware of the internet building some kind of case of Christians against gays. It seemed odd because churches around here were flying more rainbow flags than anybody.
When I attended my small town’s gay pride party I noticed the local priest was there shaking hands and enjoying himself. I didn’t know him but I was curious what he thought about the seemingly fictional clash.
When I asked, he rolled his eyes in a manner that let me know this was not the first time he had heard this question. His answer was still surprising. He explained that in his mind there are the Jesus Christians who believe love is the basis of Christianity. And there are the other ones who seek reasons in the Old Testament to condemn decent folks. It sounded a bit rehearsed, but I got the point.
He added, “No sane person in 2015 could actually live following the beliefs of the Old Testament.”
He continued,” Remember, Jesus was not a Christian. He believed the books we call the Old Testament were out of step with modern times. Even Jesus thought the old book missed the basic point of being kind to each other.”
There was a protracted pause. Then he swallowed deeply. He said there was something else that he would be sorry not to have said.
He blushed, “I’m a bit of a Residents fan.” Then I blushed too. I felt awkward.
I said, “Thank you, that is very kind.” I sounded totally insincere, even a bit demeaning, though that was not my intent. I didn’t have a good response for people saying something intended as flattering. Somehow complimenting a musician who writes music is as weird as complimenting a priest on listening to confessions. It’s just the job. As a way of promoting sounding nice, I asked if I could buy him a beer. He said, “I’d rather have a joint.”
Oh dear lord, he thought I was a stoner because of The Residents music. It got awkward again. I told him I didn’t smoke. Not since the ’70s. He winked at me and I wasn’t certain if that meant he was only playing with me, trying to be shocking. Maybe he was serious. The room did smell like skunks in heat.
As a gay guy I have been fairly aware of the internet building some kind of case of Christians against gays. It seemed odd because churches around here were flying more rainbow flags than anybody.
When I attended my small town’s gay pride party I noticed the local priest was there shaking hands and enjoying himself. I didn’t know him but I was curious what he thought about the seemingly fictional clash.
When I asked, he rolled his eyes in a manner that let me know this was not the first time he had heard this question. His answer was still surprising. He explained that in his mind there are the Jesus Christians who believe love is the basis of Christianity. And there are the other ones who seek reasons in the Old Testament to condemn decent folks. It sounded a bit rehearsed, but I got the point.
He added, “No sane person in 2015 could actually live following the beliefs of the Old Testament.”
He continued,” Remember, Jesus was not a Christian. He believed the books we call the Old Testament were out of step with modern times. Even Jesus thought the old book missed the basic point of being kind to each other.”
There was a protracted pause. Then he swallowed deeply. He said there was something else that he would be sorry not to have said.
He blushed, “I’m a bit of a Residents fan.” Then I blushed too. I felt awkward.
I said, “Thank you, that is very kind.” I sounded totally insincere, even a bit demeaning, though that was not my intent. I didn’t have a good response for people saying something intended as flattering. Somehow complimenting a musician who writes music is as weird as complimenting a priest on listening to confessions. It’s just the job. As a way of promoting sounding nice, I asked if I could buy him a beer. He said, “I’d rather have a joint.”
Oh dear lord, he thought I was a stoner because of The Residents music. It got awkward again. I told him I didn’t smoke. Not since the ’70s. He winked at me and I wasn’t certain if that meant he was only playing with me, trying to be shocking. Maybe he was serious. The room did smell like skunks in heat.