In response to Aaron Thomas’ June 8 opinion letter, I would like to begin by saying I have heard all the arguments against Pride and the LGBTQA+ community repeatedly in my 60 years on this Earth. The verbiage can change, the delivery tone can change, and you can even attempt to sound as if you’re caring and loving, but no matter how hard you try to disguise your disdain it comes through loud and clear. The old “Hate the sin but love the sinner” and all its many renditions are just code for “I hate you and everything you stand for but I’m too much of a coward to say it out loud, and I’m pretending to be a Christian by saying I love you, which I don’t!”
The whole point of Pride is to focus on oneself and acknowledge how far you have come from the hatred and vitriol everyone in the LGBTQ+ community has dealt with and continues to deal with. Some so-called “Christians” like to believe that they are being persecuted but have absolutely no idea what that word actually means. When you continually have your life threatened, your car vandalized, and/or face the prospect of having your home burned to the ground, then you might have an inkling of what being persecuted is. When everyone around you hates you and threatens harm, or focuses on deeply humiliating you at every turn, then you might have an inkling of what being persecuted is. When, as a child of 13, 14, or 15, your parents throw you out of the house because they want to make a statement to the neighbors, extended family, and church that they are good, God-fearing Christians and chose everyone else over their own child, then you might have an inkling of what being persecuted is.
Pride is about love. It’s about kindness. It’s about expressing yourself. It’s about celebrating life and grasping for all life has to offer. It’s about meeting new friends, and YES, it is absolutely about fellowship. For many it’s also a time to give thanks to God from whom all blessings flow and, trust me, there are wonderful souls who are LGBTQA+ right here in the tri-state that are definitely a blessing to anyone who knows them.
Mr. Thomas, your opinion letter reeks of someone who believes he speaks for God, a very dangerous place to be for no man speaks for God, whether it is you, people of your ilk, or a man in a suit standing in front of a pulpit on Sunday morning. Your relationship with the Father is your business, just as my relationship to the Father is mine. And, for you to question or judge my relationship or anyone else’s relationship to the Father is also very dangerous territory in which to find yourself.
Simply put, if you don’t care for Pride then don’t celebrate, but one thing that you and those of your ilk always seem to forget is each of us, even those who celebrate Pride, is a child of the King. It would serve you and yours well to always remember that. No one holds sway on God’s love.
Written by
Ethan Hostettler
