Being Called, Being Gay by Millikin Gregory L

Author:Millikin, Gregory L. [Millikin, Gregory L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Church Publishing Inc.
Published: 2018-10-16T16:00:00+00:00

4

Living with

Authenticity

So God created humankind in his image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them. (Gen. 1:27)

The notion of being created in the image of God is essential to validation of the existence of the queer believer. From the very beginning of scripture, there is a poetic extrapolation of the created being as coming from the likeness of God. This is the heart of a macro-theological discussion surrounding the imago dei —the Latin term describing the relationship of humans to God. It is born out of a reading of the text of Genesis 1, which describes God saying amidst the act of creation, “Let us make humankind in our image.” In this framing of theology, God still remains “perfect,” and has borne this out by the creation of humans that reflect all of God’s aspects. So the human has arms and legs, perhaps as God does, or sometimes does. The human smiles, displays emotions, feels love and pain. The imago dei underscores the idea that every detail reflects God in some way.

Now, assume you grow to maturity as a queer child. Your family, your friends, your peers, your society, your politicians all imply directly or indirectly that there is something wrong with you. As you grow into a sexually mature being, and indeed an emotionally mature being, you are conflicted to your core. Alan Downs paints the picture strikingly in The Velvet Rage : “How could we love ourselves when everything around us told us that we were unlovable?” 1

The theological concept of imago dei is a glorious defense of existence for the LGBT+ minority. It creates an understanding of each individual’s purposeful creation as God intended. As Lady Gaga famously said, “Baby, I was born this way.” There is a real empowering truth to being able to claim this. The imago dei supports this notion, and it may be the fundamental lens of scripture that the LGBT+ can use in defense of our being. Chris Glaser explains in his book Uncommon Calling :

I could affirm, with other human beings, that I was created in God’s image. With other Christians, I could affirm reconciliation in Jesus Christ. The Spirit now led me into a future in which the only assurance would be God’s presence in my joy and suffering. All this without renouncing the sexual orientation God gave me. All this without rejecting God’s acceptance of me in Jesus Christ and the Body of Christ, the church. All this without refusing to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in fulfilling the ministry to which she called me. I had previously accepted my ability to love another man intimately as a gift from God. Having integrated my Christian faith and my homosexuality, I now believed myself called to enable others to bring a similar integrity to their own lives and ministry. My ministry became one of reconciliation: to be instrumental in the Spirit’s reconciling externally what she had reconciled internally within me, bringing the gay, lesbian and Christian communities together.

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