Grace and Gay Men
Randy Thomas in Boundless:
AIDS as a social issue has been used to scare people. And it should. Over the past 20-plus years there have been valiant efforts to humanize the AIDS issue with regard to African American community, drug abusers and orphans in Uganda. The thing is, when it comes to gay identified males ... the corporate Church has been estranged and reluctant.
As the AIDS pandemic first hit, we in the Body of Christ missed an opportunity to express God's servant heart and grace. In this redemptive void, a few stepped forward to stigmatize homosexual men. Even today, the overarching consistent message coming from the Christian community has been one of stigmatization and warning.
Certainly, it's very appropriate to educate and "warn" about the dangers of sexual relationships outside of a biblical sexual ethic. But I did not and do not think it is appropriate to stigmatize a large group of men whom the Lord loves, dismissing them as unworthy of our love.
