Not all Christians homophobic sign-wavers

Friday, Oct. 22, outside the William Pitt Union, a man holds up a sign: “AIDS Judgment or… Friday, Oct. 22, outside the William Pitt Union, a man holds up a sign: “AIDS Judgment or Cure.” The sign is paraded over the heads of students as they walk to class or stand around conversing. A partially bald-headed man makes threats of eternal damnation while his counterparts sport equally controversial posters.

Minutes later, Rainbow Alliance members, Kerry-Edwards supporters and random students with nothing better to do crowd the sidewalk and begin to protest. The result: a chaotic mob of more than 100 people simultaneously screaming their opinions.

And now, several days after this whole affair began, I’d like to offer mine; it’s not so much an opinion as it is an apology. It’s an apology to all 32,000 of us Pitt Panthers who were given a misrepresentation of what it is to be a Christian in the 21st century. I walked by the gathering that Friday and the following Monday, wondering how I could let people know that what was there was not a Christian effort to address same-sex unions, but really an attempt to make same-sex partners feel like the worst of all sinners.

As a Christian, I felt it was necessary to address any misconceptions that some may have recently formed as a result of the protest. Christianity is not about flaunting a holier-than-thou attitude to those who are not of the same faith.

To those of you who walked by the Union, I don’t blame you for writing off Brother Matt Bourgalt or his fellow Free Gospel Church evangelists. It is a known fact that the church does not necessarily accept the homosexual lifestyle. And it is also understood that the gay and lesbian community does not appreciate the church’s stance.

But neither of those understandings is the present issue. The truth is, several members of the student body probably agree with Bourgalt — that homosexuality is unjustifiable — while a large chunk adamantly disagrees and says that there’s nothing wrong with it. But what’s problematic is when one group singles out another and rudely declares that it is damned, hell-bound and deserving of any misfortune that comes its way. Ultimately, what put Bourgalt in the wrong was his method.

At the Oct. 25 protest, one student yelled out, “I’d rather go to my hell than your heaven.” I completely understand why she said that. After all, why would anyone want to go to a place that is represented by its followers as hostile and unloving?

Brother Bourgalt, here are two things to remember: First and foremost, no sin is greater than another. And when you make it seem like that’s not the case, adding that you’re doing it in the name of God, you can make unnecessary enemies very quickly. Second, and even more importantly, scaring people into heaven never worked and never will work. If you want people to understand where you’re coming from, you must be approachable and equally willing to see why they believe what they believe.

So to all of you students out there, Christians and non-Christians, please realize that you were fooled — fooled into believing a lie: that we’re hateful, un-accepting and condemning. Please know that genuine Christians are not self-righteous, pompous or critical. In the meantime, make your own sign and parade it all around: “You tell me your view. I’ll tell you mine. And if we can’t agree, then we’ll agree to disagree.”

Agree to disagree with Joy Ike at joysep21@yahoo.com.