April 20, 2005
Christian vs. Gay T-Shirt Showdown
(Filed under: Society)
A T-shirt campaign is being waged at a suburban high school between pro-homosexual students and Christians who oppose them. It started with a day of awareness at Homewood-Flossmoor High School in suburban Chicago when as many 225 students would wear T-shirts that said "Gay? Fine by me." Christian students who opposed the pro-homosexual message planned to wear shirts declaring their values that said "Crimes committed against God" and highlighted discrimination Christians face.
The Christian T-shirts were printed by Family Harvest Church, though youth minister Jacques Jacobs notes that his church is "not fighting anybody, we are only standing up for the rights of the Christian student."
"I do know that Christian students, their right to pray has been taken from them," Jacobs said "Their right to believe in their values has become an offense to many people. The Bible has become an offense."
I know these are serious issues, but can we step back for a second and breathe? Seriously.
Christian students have not lost their right to pray—what country do you live in? Sure, there's no school sponsored prayer every morning before Algebra, but there's nothing to stop you from praying as you walk the halls, before a test, for your lunch, or with your friends at appropriate times.
And why is it surprising that Christian values are offensive? Didn't Jesus tell us that would happen (Matt. 10:22)?
Secondly, what is a T-shirt battle royale going to accomplish? You've heard my rant on Christian T-shirts before, and I think it applies here. Is wearing a T-shirt really going to change the mind of a gay student? I think it takes more than a slogan.
Homosexuality is a huge (and controversial) issue. Talk to your parents and your youth workers about what you think, but while I have a hard time justifying the homosexual lifestyle Biblically, I have an even harder time justifying hatred, intolerance, discrimination, or just plain being a jerk towards homosexuals. You can disagree with their lifestyle, but that doesn't mean you have to picket them. Jesus hung out with all kinds of sinners, and I think we should do the same.
There's a difference between love and approval. Your parents love you, but that love doesn't mean they approve of your every action. The same can be said for how we should relate to homosexuals, or any other sinner for that matter (which pretty much includes all of us). Being a loving friend will have a much greater impact than an impersonal or downright offensive T-shirt.
It's a hard line to walk—nobody said it would be easy, but that's exactly what Christianity is about.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at April 20, 2005 12:29 PM
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Comments
Dear Kevin Hendricks...
First of all, I want to commend you for your kind words in this article. It was very well put. I am a senior at Homewood Flossmoor High School, and I have many gay friends. I also wore the T-shirt that said, "Gay? Fine by me." I wore it because I have many gay friends and I am not going to think differently about them as a person for what they do in their own life. This also doesn't mean that I am any less Christian. God is a huge part of my life, and so are my friends. A lot of people who wore the "Crimes Against God" shirts are friends with gay people and say that the shirts had nothing to do with the "fine by me" project. The people who designed the shirts and started the project said that they wore the "crimes against God" shirts on the same day simply because they would get the most attention on that day. That day was meant as a day of tolerance and understanding of a lifestyle that is different from your own, and it turned into something very ugly. A few people were wearing shirts that said, "Silly Faggot, Dicks are for Chicks" and yelling "All you faggots are going to hell" down the hall. This is simply unacceptable and it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. I think that it's great that the people at Real Magazine keep their faith while not discriminating or promoting hatered. These are the true Christian Values that I have been waiting to see. I hold both my homosexual friends AND God close to me in my heart, and I applaud your effort to promote understanding while keeping God in the picture!
Thanks! I'll be coming back often and look forward to reading what else you have written!
sincerely,
Andrea Groner
AKGroner@aol.com
Posted by: Andrea Groner at May 2, 2005 04:16 PM
Kevin Hendricks and Andrea Groner,
I want to thank you for showing me that you can be religious and tolerant at the same time. It is very easy for someone from one side of an issue to totally condemn the other for being prejudiced and discriminatory. In this case, pro or anti homosexuality. I am not Christan and I am queer and I am here because I feel that it is so important to not be blindly self-righteous. I see it on both sides, "homosexuality is disgusting and they should all die" to "the Religious Right or any religious people are the most bigoted people in America". What I want to do is to understand beyond what activists on each side is presenting to us, ie: the "religious zealots" or the "homosexual hedonious" and confront my own prejudices. I think it is a worthy quest for anyone faced with such an issue to decide for themselves what they should believe in. Thank you. Jesaca.
Posted by: Jesaca Lin at November 17, 2005 02:37 PM
Dear Kevin,
A friend just sent me this write-up of yours...thus the reason for me only responding to it now.
I must say that I am pretty surprised at how willing you are to accuse others of being "intollerant"...those shirts we printed had nothing on it that was intollerant toward anybody. It wasn't anti anybody, however, it was pro Christian...funny that you would give it a bad wrap...?
Let's say the shirts did say something against a particular social issue that was not Biblical.
I still wouldn't call it "intollerant", simply because I am not going to accuse the Author of the Bible of being intollerant...
God has been pretty articulate on His stand concerning many social issues...why would He suddenly become mute about His own Word just becuase somebody else sees what He said as "intollerant".
I refuse to accuse Him of being intollerant...I'd rather call everybody else intollerant of Him and His Word than accusing Him.
Rather you than me...
Wishing you well,
Jacques
Posted by: Jacques Jacobs at November 17, 2005 10:49 PM
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