Dear John, I have come out of the uber-conservative, evangelical world where many with whom I associate view homosexuality as the BIGGEST of sins. The fact that I have spent so much time praying, reading, researching, and educating myself means nothing more to them than that I am on a slippery slope, have ‘itching ears,’ am allowing my compassion to foolishly override God’s Word, etc. And, to be honest, with the majority of these folks, I’m not interested in getting into a lengthy explanation about how I arrived at the conclusion that homosexuality is inborn and therefore not sinful, unless they’ve got the time and the heart for it—as well as a firm commitment to our friendship. (And neither am I up for a debate about homosexuality with anyone who believes that Sarah Palin would make an awesome President.) So, is there a “short answer” that you have used with Christians who are convinced that homosexuality is a sin that you might share with me? You know, something short and sweet but with good theological ‘chops’? Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us! Signed, Rebel with a cause

Dear Rebel:

When dealing one-on-one with a virulent anti-gay Christian, I’ve always found it helpful to pee on their leg. It changes the subject right away and makes them leap around in a way that’s hilarious.

But that’s just me. You might have your own way of coping.

Har!

Okay no but seriously. One of the Great Advantages of being an anti-gay Christian (along with that, if you’re straight, you get to feel better about yourself for not succumbing to a temptation that you’re not ever tempted toward anyway) is that in order to make the entire case for homosexuality being a sin, all you have to do is say these four words: “It’s in the Bible.”

That’s it. You can be so incapable of rational thought that for you opening a package of Velveeta cheese constitutes a major challenge, but, as long as you can say those four words, you could be … well, a fundamentalist pastor with your very own church.

For years I asked myself the same question you’re asking here: What’s the pro-LGBT equivalent of the declarative, “It’s in the Bible”?

The fact is there isn’t one—because the trick is that there can’t be one. “It’s in the Bible” is a lie—but it’s a lie that’s been so institutionally and systematically ingrained in so many people over so many years that deconstructing and neutralizing that lie now demands a good deal more than anything that can be delivered by one short statement.

“The earth is 10,000 years old.” “Hell is a real place where God sends non-Christians to suffer forever.” “It’s wrong for women to be pastors.” Outside of “No, it’s not: what is the matter with you?” it’s impossible to quickly make the case for all that’s erroneous with these kinds of blanket idiocies. That’s the power and allure of such statements. Their organic imperviousness is why fundamentalists cling to such statements (and everything they represent) like it’s their only weapon in a fight they know they can’t win.

As to how I personaly handle confrontational anti-gay Christians. If it’s a person online I send them the link to my post Taking God at His Word: The Bible and Homosexuality. That post invites some reading and thinking, so 99.99% of the time I never hear back from that person. (I might also point them toward Betraying the Spirit: How the Christian Right Gets the Bible Wrong, or What today’s evangelicals are telling gay people.)

If for some reason I find it incumbent upon me (or I’m just in the mood) to boil down into one statement everything I know about why it’s no sin to be gay—into something, as you put it, short, sweet, and grounded in solid theology—I’m always pleased to say this:

Choosing to believe that being gay is a sin is choosing to renounce God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, as revealed to us in the entirety of the Bible.

And then at least I know I have spoken the truth. And in the end, what else can I—what else can any of us—do?

Speak the truth; speak it in love; act if action’s called for; move on.

What else is there?

[This is the latest in a series in which each Wednesday I answer a question or two asked to me by members of Serendipitydodah for Moms, a private Facebook group for Christian mothers of LGBT kids. (The first such post was Combatting the Downward Pull of Christian Negativity; the second Pastor tells mom her lesbian teen can’t be a Christian.; the third Challenging the evil empire of anti-gay Christians, and the resurfacing of old fundie fears.) If you are interested in joining Serendipitydodah for Moms, email lizdyer55@gmail.com. If you’d like me to answer any questions/concerns you might have, email me at john@johnshore.com]

I’m the author of UNFAIR: Christians and the LGBT Question:

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