From Homophobe to Activist
Pilgrimage of repentance … 'My opposition to homophobia is motivated by a belief in the radical nature of Jesus's message.' Photograph: Dan Chung/The Guardian
In 1997, I described opposition to same-sex relationships as being a matter of "God's opinion", rather than my own. I made the remark to my colleagues in the Christian youth centre where I worked. One of them was gay. That same year, I nearly told a teenager to reject her lesbian feelings. And I voted against the ordination of "practising homosexuals". I also harmed my integrity by denying my own orientation. The majority of people I find attractive are women, but some are men.
This month, I am walking 160 miles from Birmingham to London as apilgrimage of repentance for my former homophobia. I left Birmingham on 16 June and will arrive in London on Friday 1 July. After speaking in central London that evening, I will join the capital's Pride march the next day. I am not claiming my walk will undo the hurt I have caused. Nor is it an attempt to earn God's favour. It is part of an attempt to live out my repentance by encouraging the church as a whole to support equality.
The fundamentalist campaigner Stephen Green, director of Christian Voice, has accused me of encouraging homosexuals "on their walk to hell". At the same time, I have been overwhelmed by the support I've been offered and by the hospitality enthusiastically provided along the route. I feel rather undeserving of the supportive emails I've received. The journey from homophobe to equality activist is not such an unusual one.
My opposition to homophobia is not motivated by a desire to conform to society's norms but by a belief in the radical nature of Jesus's message. Jesus's teachings have little, if anything, in common with the "family values" lobby. Jesus redefined family, insisting that "whoever does the will of God is my brother, my sister, my mother". He challenged the sexual values of his time, allowing women to make physical contact with him in a society that found it shocking. He criticised divorce in a context in which only a man could initiate a divorce, throwing his wife into social disgrace or poverty. He socialised with prostitutes. This is not to say that he condoned prostitution, but he saved his harshest words for the rich, the powerful and religious hypocrites who promoted legalism over love.
No wonder Jesus has been such a profound embarrassment to Christianity. Or at least an embarrassment to Christendom. The term "Christendom" describes a situation in which official forms of Christianity are politically and culturally privileged. Christendom is fading in multicultural Britain. For some Christians, this is an exciting opportunity to reject churches' collusion with wealth and power and turn to Jesus's revolutionary teachings.
For others, post-Christendom is frightening. They cling on to privileges, such as bishops in the House of Lords and opt-outs for faith schools. Some have latched on to same-sex relationships as the issue to fight over. Last year, a campaign by Christian Concern prompted the House of Lords to water down a provision in the Equality Act that would have protected workers in religious organisations from discrimination.
Trevor Phillips was right to say that some Christians have become extreme in opposing homosexuality. But he was wrong to generalise. There are many other Christians campaigning against the arms trade,militarism and the government's vicious cuts agenda. Many areopposing homophobia. These struggles go hand in hand. Christ calls his followers to radical lifestyles rooted in love. Jesus encouraged people to relate to each other through love rather than power. This seems relevant to both sexual relationships and political ones. Jesus's ethics stand in sharp contrast to the values of corporate power and military might that dominate our world.
When speaking in Oxford yesterday, I was asked why the media report on Christians who are homophobic but rarely mention those who are not. The media cannot take all the blame for this. Pro-equality Christians have often failed to speak up out of a misplaced desire for unity. We have been too ready to accept crumbs from the anti-equality table, such as the Church of England's feeble decision to allow gay people to become bishops – as long as they never have sex. I believe passionately that it is important to approach our opponents with love and to accept that we can learn from each other however much we disagree. But love involves a commitment to justice. There are times when we must choose between the idol of unity and the God of love.
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