Paper: Re-Revised Outline

I. The Christian & The Homosexual: Can These Communities Co-Exist?

1. Introduction focusing on the "issue" of homosexuality within the Church community. The Christian community must rethink its views towards homosexuality. Thesis: Within this paper, I will demonstrate that the Christian community has used rhetoric & social stigma to ignore, marginalize and ostracize the homosexual community. Furthermore, I will attempt to use the countercultural model of contextual theology to bridge the communication gap and express the Gospel message between the Christian and homosexual communities.


2. My experience with the gay community. How personal relationships change ones understanding of homosexuality.


3. Public discussion of the subject of homosexuality has been controlled mostly by ideological extremes: the extreme gay left and the extreme antigay right.

II. Models of Contextual Theology by Stephen B. Bevans: Countercultural Model

1. Define countercultural model.


2. A place of centrality is given to the Gospel within this model.


3. The core of the Gospel, according to Jesus, is “love”.

III. What are some ways the Christians community can address the issue in a progressive and practical ways?

1. Jay Bakker & Sundance Channel’s One Punk Under God documentary series.


2. Communities like these are a practical embodiment of the countercultural model of contextual theology discussed earlier.


3. Conclusion: “Brokenness” is indeed a hidden virtue. The Church needs to embrace and support this group of people, not despite scripture and tradition, but in light of scripture and tradition. Is the church welcoming the uninvited?

Paper: Revised Outline

1. The topic that I will write about is on homosexuality and how this subculture is ignored marginalized, or ostracized by the Church as a whole.

• Discuss the gay, lesbian, and transgender community
• The gay community as a culture
• The gay community in culture
• The gay community spiritually

• Discuss the church community
• The church views historically towards other marginalized subcultures
• The church views historically towards the gay community
• Discuss homosexuality as it relates currently to the church community
• Questions of inclusion and exclusion
• Issues of the power
• Separation in the church
  

2. Discuss the few diverse church communities that are including the gay community through the “Countercultural Model” as presented by Bevans would be the best model to present the Gospel.

• The Bible needs to be looked at in context
• Church should cross all cultures not condemning a culture of a certain sexual orientation
• Stress the insufficiency of all humanity
• Gospel is to for all people
  

• Church would be accepting of all sexual orientations and promote community awareness and integration
• Church would promote diversity in the leadership including age diversity
• Encourage participation in cross cultural events

Paper: Outline

The topic that I will write about is on homosexuality and how this subculture is ignored marginalized, or ostracized by the Church as a whole. I will discuss the gay, lesbian, and transgender community and how the church community has viewed the gay community historically, discussing questions of inclusion and exclusion. A few diverse church communities that are including the gay community will be mentioned. I think I'll use the “Countercultural Model” as presented by Bevans as it seems to be the best model to bridge the message of JC between the Church and the gay community. I will outline how the Bible needs to be looked at in context, the Church should cross all cultures not condemning a culture of a certain sexual orientation<, further stressing the insufficiency of all humanity, Jesus' message is for all people, the Church should be accepting of all sexual orientations and promote community awareness and integration, and the Church should promote diversity in the leadership including age diversity, encouraging participation in cross cultural events.

Reflection: Week 8 [Wednesday]

The theme of justice has been on my mind for most of the quarter. Each new contextual theological theory reminds me of social injustice within the world we live. Christian faith and the gay community are seemingly incompatible concepts, with the religious right fomenting bigotry and spreading fear, using the Bible and the pulpit as weapons to marginalize gays and lesbians. In For the Bible Tells Me So, filmmaker Daniel Karslake examines this faith-based issue both though the personal stories of five Christian families, all of whom struggled to reconcile their faith with loving their gay children, and the observations of well-respected religious figures about how biblical scripture is interpreted and misinterpreted.


Justice within the context of today lecture on deconstruction, the principle of hospitality moves to the forefront. Is the church welcoming the uninvited? Most people believe what many other gay people believe — that conservative Christians are hating, bigoted people. But in reality, they have very simply been misled by their own leaders — their ministers and their priests. When push came to shove, you need to open up the Bible to read it for yourself, then transformation can occur and you can realize that what it all comes down to is love. Gay, Lesbian and Transgender individuals are people too, created as beautiful loving creatures.