Alright. Here goes. This, officially, is a rant.

I’m afraid of nothing so much as Christians. Nothing terrifies me, nothing chills me or maddens me or causes a shudder to rise so much or, lately, so often as Christians, particularly of the organized, motivated, and well-funded variety.

And there’s a lot. More than you might think. When it comes to motivated Christians I use the cockroach principle: where there’s one in sight, there’s thousands out of sight. They’re scratching in the walls.

Up until the 18th Century, many native tribes of North America had a social phenomenon called the berdache. A berdache was a two-spirited person considered a third gender. A berdache could adopt the clothing of women, associate and be involved with women, do the work normally associated with women, marry a man and take part in many spiritual ceremonies of the tribe. Female versions of the role also occurred, but are less well documented.

Most fascinating, berdache persons were often figures of great respect and spiritual power in these native tribes. They were considered not aberrations to be shunned and feared, but highly valued two-spirited people who served a spiritual role in the tribe.

This phenomenon and social practice, for the most part, was all but decimated after European missionaries brought the love of Christ to North America.

Now, the Christians are worried those loud and dirty homosexuals are attempting to destroy the god-given institution of marriage. That’s just stupid and really maddening. These native tribes had marriage, both heterosexual and homosexual, before they had any knowledge of the Christian God. And from what I can see, they had it better. One keen-on-Christ TV minister recently said, “we are walking into the city of Sodom with smiles on our faces.” Frightening.

I’m not yet convinced that the Bible has much to say about the sanctity of heterosexual marriage. I know that Leviticus has something to say about man lying with man (but not woman lying with woman) but it has considerably more to say about eating peace offerings on the third day and marring the corners of your beard which, as with man lying with man, is “abominable”. If there are more or better arguments courtesy of the good book, I don’t want to hear them.

Marriage is not a god-given right. Knock it off. It’s a social institution foremost, and a human right. Someone should really tell all those god-loving, god-fearing, keen-on-Christ heterosexuals, who fret that defiling the sanctity of marriage will make them second-class citizens, that they need not worry. They will not be compelled to marry persons of the same sex if they don’t want to.

“Live and let live”, from what I remember, is not in the Bible, but it really ought to be. It seemed to work well for the native tribes and their respected berdache.

I know I feel better for having said so.

SS

A paper on the berdache

Some Scary Christians
Crossroads Christian Communications Inc.
Focus on the Family