It's About Damn Time

The original bad boy of the Reformation, Martin Luther, had a saying: “Sin Boldly.” Strange saying for one of the founders of the Protestant movement, but it’s a good one. Sin like you mean it and repent because your soul depends on it. Don’t do anything half-assed and don’t be safe.

This doesn’t just apply to sin–it applies to everything in life. Live large, take chances and don’t be afraid to stand up for what’s right. Being wrong is ok too, just be ready to change when you realize you’ve erred. Don’t confuse this with the John Wayne type of “Make my Day” macho christianity James Dobson and his ilk are trying to sell though–this is eyes open, fully conscious spirituality that’s not afraid to admit mistakes.

The Evangelical Lutheran church is doing this today, addressing the roles of homosexual christians in the church. They’re not traveling unexplored territory–the United Church of Christ has accepted homosexual christians for a long time and the Episcopalians have done so for years as well. What they are doing is bucking the increasing trend of hatred and bigotry within christianity. They’re finally welcoming people who were born different, want the same things out of life and want to worship God. That seems like a natural step, but sadly it isn’t one that the church has been brave enough to take until now.

I can’t tell you how many times the church has voted against accepting homosexual members as they are, in committed relationships. They were afraid of the outrage (cue pearl clutching) of their more “conservative” membership. They hurt a lot of people and alienated a lot of christians in their continuing decision to reject gays and lesbians from the clergy and from being “real” Lutherans. I can tell you that the ELCA’s continuing decision wounded my own family considerably and turned my own sister away from the church and from christianity. It also had a very large part in my boycott of organized religion.

I’ve thought for a long time that the ELCA has drifted far away from Luther’s original proclamation to sin boldly.
Luther was not one to shrink from adversity — he stood up to the Catholic Church, left a monastic life for brave new territory as a heretic, and married Katherine. Katherine was no wallflower either: she repeatedly ran away from convent life, once running away in a herring barrel with several other sister nuns, getting the hell out of a life she didn’t want. These were the founders of the church that would eventually play it safe? I wish I could have been there for the vote (which took place on my sister’s birthday, coincidentally), just to stand up and holler “What took you so long?” The ELCA played it safe for too long–at least they finally woke up.

Neither Martin nor Katherine lived safe lives. They took risks, and the risks weren’t always calculated. I look at both of them as true heroes, albeit deeply flawed ones, like every other human being. They believed that living, really living, is not always safe. Sometimes doing the right thing isn’t glamorous and the consequences ain’t always pretty, but at least you can take solace in knowing that what your beliefs aren’t being compromised.

The thing that I admire about Luther, in spite of his many flaws, is that he played David to the Catholic church’s Goliath. He nailed those proclamations to the cathedral door, knowing that he would be branded a heretic. That wasn’t a light weight charge in those days–it could have meant his death. Luther did it anyway, taking organized christianity and setting it on its side. The ELCA is doing that again, even in the face of a schism within the denomination. Just as Christ accepted people from all walks of life, so will the ELCA. If they keep going in this direction, the ELCA might persuade me to go back to a Lutheran church on Sundays. For now, I’ll just say it again: it’s about damn time.