I watched the movie Rock Haven last night. As with a lot of movies, it provoked many thoughts that I wanted to share. So first, a plot summary.
Brady is a devout Christian who has moved with his mother from Kansas to Rock Haven, California. Soon after arriving, he sees a boy and is instantly attracted to him. He later discovers that the boy is Clifford, the son of his next door neighbor. Clifford and Brady quickly become friends and hang out together. Brady is obviously uncomfortable around girls, so Clifford teaches him some moves that may help him out. During one such session, Clifford feels Brady's crotch and Brady jumps away and Clifford tease him that he is aroused. Brady avoids Clifford for a while, but then starts hanging out with him again. A little while later, Clifford kisses him and Brady flees. He later confronts Clifford about the fact that he is gay and the two of them avoid each other.
In the meantime, Brady is being set up by his mother with Peggy, a Christian girl who realizes that Brady is gay. When Brady and Clifford are on the outs, Peggy asks him if he has boy troubles which Brady angrily denies. Eventually, Brady goes back to see Clifford and the two of them start kissing. Brady flees, confused by what is happening to him and torn between his religious beliefs and his strong feelings. He decides to go with his feelings and eventually sleeps with Clifford.
Brady's mom know something is wrong, but can't figure out what it is. The night that Clifford and Brady sleep together, Brady had told her that he was being driven to a church sleepover by Peggy. When he gets back the next day, she tells him that Peggy was in a car accident and confront him about what is happening. He tells her that he is gay and she flips out and pressures him into breaking up with Clifford. She also gets Brady to go to a camp to "fix" him. Clifford is heartbroken and goes to join his dad in Barcelona, but not before before asking Brady to reconsider. Brady says he can't, but then goes home to his mother and tells her that he won't go to the camp. She insists that he is making the biggest mistake of his life and he says that he already did. He tells her that he knows she won't agree with him, but asks for her love to which she responds that he is always her son. He forgives her for what has happened that then hugs her as she weeps in her arms. The movie ends with him saying that the pain never ended, but he has never been closer to God.
Ok, so now for my thoughts. As a faithful reader of my blogs, you should know that this is a struggle I have lived with for a long time. Even though I have more or less come to terms with everything, it is not a struggle that goes away. But, eventually, it becomes much the same as losing a parent, something that is always there, but not as much of an issue.
What I mainly want to talk about are Christians and how they treat others. In the movie, Brady quotes the normal verse from Leviticus about not lying with men as you lie with women, which is pretty much the standard Bible verse any conservative Christian is going to bring up when the topic of homosexuality comes up. What I always find amazing is how few conservative Christians seem to look at the rest of the Bible.
For a long time now (since I was in college), whenever I read the Bible, I am struck at how it is infused with the notion of God's Love. Read I Corinthians Chapter 13 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians+13&version=NIV) and see what St. Paul says about love. Read the various parables that Jesus tells about loving neighbors (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010:25-37&version=NIV as one example). Look at the Gospel of John Chapter 3 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203:1-21&version=NIV). Read what Jesus said about the Greatest Commandments (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2022:36-40&version=NIV). Or look up one of the many other examples of the Bible talking about God's overwhelming love for us. The Bible is a love story between us and God. It is about His Love for us and how we should love one another.
What I find sad is that so many people who call themselves Christians ignore this basic duty. Now, I do want to say that loving someone does not mean that you agree with everything they do and/or say. I can disagree with you and still love you. Many people confuse the two and think that disagreeing with something means you do not love them, therefore equating love with support of particular issues. Sometimes, love is disagreeing when someone is doing something wrong. However, how you express yourself shows your love (or lack thereof). Talking about how "God hates fags!" or about how all homosexuals are condemned to Hell because they are homosexual is not love.
Which leads me to another point that Rock Haven illustrated beautifully. Being homosexual is not a choice. God created each and every one of us. Being homosexual or heterosexual is a part of who each one of us is. Therefore, your orientation is not sinful and is also beautiful. God does not create mistakes. He loves each of us and would not condemn us to Hell for something that is a part of how He made us. Now, there is the issue of acting on those feelings, which is entirely different and within our control. Everyone must choose how to live their own lives and then answer for those choices, one way or another.
As Christians, we are called to be love and to show that love to the world. In doing so, we help others to see God as He is, Love incarnate. So, go out and show love. Be love. Radiate love.
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