At first, I was really disappointed that Bishop Gene
Robinson was retiring, which is selfish of me. He’s been in documentaries like “For
the Bible Tells Me So,” authored successful books about faith and
homosexuality, and paved the way for gay men of faith, especially in leadership
positions. I had thought he was the only one, but according to an NPR article
from last year, “Mary Glasspool, who is also openly gay, was elected bishop
suffragan in the Diocese of Los Angeles.” Admittedly, I have no idea what that
means. But knowing that Robinson only considered retirement after finding a
successor of sorts made me admire him even more. And “Robinson will be working
with the Center for American Progress, a progressive research and policy
organization, on issues of faith and gay rights.” So, his retirement was not
the gone-forever event it sounded like. His work never ends.
The only time I’ve met Bishop Robinson was at the Creating Change conference of 2013. I had been volunteering with Sean’s Last Wish, an educational anti-violence and LGBT rights outreach organization. His session was popular, and I don’t think I was the only atheist in the room. I had the odd sensation that the Episcopal bishop, a title I wouldn’t know from Catholic priest, was making up for all the damages my experience in a Southern Baptist church as a child had caused. Every atheist and most LGBT people, I think, enter into a phase where religion is to blame for everything. Not literalism or fundamentalism or pure bigotry, but religion itself. Bishop Robinson, in working so hard for the LGBT community of which he is part, could be the answer to bring people of faith and the nonreligious together to fight bigotry. Attacking religion will never achieve what interfaith dialogue (and innerfaith dialogue, as in “For the Bible Tells Me So”) can do. I am so grateful for his contribution to the LGBT community.
---
For the Bible Tells Me So. Dir. Daniel G. Karslake. Atticus Group, 2007. Film.The only time I’ve met Bishop Robinson was at the Creating Change conference of 2013. I had been volunteering with Sean’s Last Wish, an educational anti-violence and LGBT rights outreach organization. His session was popular, and I don’t think I was the only atheist in the room. I had the odd sensation that the Episcopal bishop, a title I wouldn’t know from Catholic priest, was making up for all the damages my experience in a Southern Baptist church as a child had caused. Every atheist and most LGBT people, I think, enter into a phase where religion is to blame for everything. Not literalism or fundamentalism or pure bigotry, but religion itself. Bishop Robinson, in working so hard for the LGBT community of which he is part, could be the answer to bring people of faith and the nonreligious together to fight bigotry. Attacking religion will never achieve what interfaith dialogue (and innerfaith dialogue, as in “For the Bible Tells Me So”) can do. I am so grateful for his contribution to the LGBT community.
---
Gross, Terry. "Retired Bishop Gene Robinson On Being Gay And Loving God." National Public Radio.
N.p., 10 Jan. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment