Why Does God Hate Me? is a video of the experience of a boy growing up gay in a very conservative evangelical family.
I share it for a very specific 1 1/2 minute long segment: the part where Matt's parents take him along to protest at a gay pride parade and he wanders off for a few minutes. Watch the expression on his face, both when he talks with a man named Isaac and then when he is back at the edge of the parade a few minutes later.
Click here to see video on YouTube, starting directly at the 8:37 mark.
The section of particular interest goes from 8:37 to 10:06. That having been said, it's a pretty good video overall.
Watch the whole video on YouTube
What are your first impression? What does his expression communicate? How was this an important moment for him?
It reminds me a bit of the movie "Saved" that came out a few years ago. I don't doubt that this is a real experience some have, but it seems to be a bit of a caricature. I mean, I don't seem myself anywhere in this. Nor do I see any of the churches I have been involved in. I find it painful that people can experience "Christianity" in such a way.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the movie "Saved", but from our Anglican perspective and experience, the idea of a church and church school that is so openly anti-gay is very much a caricature. And I don't see you in this either.
DeleteUnfortunately for some, it is their reality, other than perhaps the extreme of a friend breaking your leg with a concrete block to get you out of gym class. However, when you consider that some parents send their teens to reorientation camps, who knows if parallels to the concrete block might happen at times.
What is more widespread for lgbt people in the church are things like:
- churches are negative about lgbt or say nothing
- the idea that you are either gay or you are Christian; you cannot be both
- lack of positive lgbt Christian role models
- underlying ideas like God hates gay people
- cultures that are not embracing of those who do not fit the mold
- etc.
So I shared the video, not for the caricature that it is, but for the key moments where Matt meets Isaac and realizes that there is a place for him, that he can be gay and Christian, that there is life outside of his current circle.