I have two quibbles with the new NALT (Not All Like That) project, which is trying to make it clear that Christians are not all anti-gay:
(1) It reinforces the idea that the mainstream of Christianity is anti-gay, and the gay-affirming Christians are the exception. But that’s increasingly not true. A majority of Christians in a growing number of denominations support gay rights. We are, or soon will be, the mainstream; let’s leave it to the anti-gay Christians to explain that not all Christians are like us (gay-affirming).
(2) It’s one more example of Christians defining themselves by what they’re against — “Oh, we’re not the Christians who are opposed to gays; we’re the Christians who are opposed to the Christians who are opposed to gays!”
Instead of telling me who you aren’t, why don’t you tell me who you are. Tell me how the love of God breaks down the barriers that society uses to divide people. Tell me about Jesus’ heart for the oppressed and the marginalized. Tell me how God knows me by name and loved me even before I was born.Tell me about the power of the gospel to transform the heart of even the biggest bigot. Don’t just tell me what you’re against — tell me what you’re for.