We are very excited to welcome Guest Contributor, Adam Woods!

Editor’s Note: While we recognize and value views such as Adam’s within the Eastern community, we would like to note that our mission is first and foremost to be a sanctuary to all–sides or not.

I’m tired.

I’m tired of watching the news to see what prominent people will say about my value as a person. I’m tired of reading blog posts and articles about what Christians should do about the gays. I’m especially tired of how each post engenders the same played-out debate among its commenters.

The time for debate is over. In a debate, both sides are vulnerable. This is not a debate. This is abuse. If you are straight, take a moment to think about what a luxury your ‘righteousness’ is. Think about how hurtful it is when you use words like ‘reconcile’ and ‘compromise.’

I’m tired of my bedroom activities being what Christians are thinking about. When Jesus said to “go and make disciples,” I can’t imagine the current preoccupation with homosexuality is what he had in mind. And yet here we are, still talking about this.

The time for preoccupation is over. If you have views on homosexuality, please keep them in the same junk drawer where you keep your views on the role of women, interracial dating, and circumcision. Bringing it up is irrelevant, impolite, and ultimately painful.

I’m tired of things being harder for my family and friends because of me. My family and friends, most of them Christians, support me completely and lovingly and unflinchingly. The fact that they have to use a little extra energy to support me makes me feel guilty.

The time for taking sides is over. There are no sides. We are all working this out together…and it is almost, almost worked out.

Speaking of ‘sides,’ I’m tired of living in a country where your view on gay rights is a magical litmus test that reveals whether you’re a Loosey-Goosey Postmodern Liberal or a Bible-Believing Fundamentalist Conservative. No longer should your view on gay rights be shorthand for what kind of person you are.

The time for ideological ‘package deals’ is over. Political and religious convictions are not all-or-nothing.

I’m also tired of hearing about the “Biblical Definition of Marriage,” which, incidentally, is not at all between one man and one woman. I know this because I’ve read the Bible.

The time for using ancient religious texts to make laws for a diverse modern nation is over.

Speaking of diverse modern nations, I’m tired of being the last six feet of the slippery slope down which America’s Moral Compass is careening.

The time of longing for the good ole days is over. By just about every way I know to measure it, America has become a more moral place with each passing decade.

But most of all I’m tired of looking at Christians with contempt because we can’t seem to follow our main rule: to love your neighbour as yourself. Choosing to follow other rules in lieu of the Golden Rule invalidates one’s faith, and I long for a time when I can see a revalidated Christian faith that is both ancient and enlightened.

The time for loving your neighbour is not over. It will never be over. Loving your neighbour without reservation, without caveats, without trying to ‘love them well,’ without expecting them to love you back, well, that’s the Kingdom of God.