By Cora MacAdam, staff writer
Most people know the Golden Rule, “treat others as you want to be treated.” This has been an esteemed idea for centuries; it is something that almost everyone can agree on. However, something many people do not know about this rule is that it comes from the Bible; more specifically, from Jesus himself. In Matthew 7:12 Jesus says, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Treating people how you want to be treated is still very relevant today; therefore, we know that the Bible is not as irrelevant as many people think it is. This is why Christian students who value the Bible will behave differently from the norm, but not in a bad way.
It is fully true that every student should be able to feel safe at school and not have to worry about being physically hurt or verbally accosted. It is never ok for bullying to occur, whether it is a matter of gender, race, religion, or anything else about a person. Religious students who truly value the whole Bible would desire and hope for all students, queer or not, to feel safe at school.
As a Christian who values the Bible as God’s Word, I truly want school to be safe for everyone. But although I want this, I don’t expect it. This is because all humans are sinful, and everyone will do hurtful things, whether intentional or not. This is a way that Bible-believing people will view the world, but that does not mean that we support sinful actions that harm others. The Bible calls us to love everyone; our friends, our neighbors, even our enemies. Matthew 5:44 says, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” So the ultimate goal of Christian students is to love all those around them, even if they disagree with their actions.
Admittedly, many people, Christians or not, are guilty of cherry-picking the Bible. Many people have twisted the Scriptures’ words to fit their own liking. This kind of “Christianity” is not genuine at all. Genuine Christians should seek to understand the entire Bible in its context and to follow it. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” This shows us that we should be following all of the Bible, not just the parts that we like. We know that God is, “full of grace and truth,” (John 1:14), so we should be extending grace to others, while also holding onto and supporting the truth about what is right and wrong.
Although some people have offered alternative interpretations, God’s word speaks clearly to the issues of gender and sexuality. Genesis 1 states that God created male and female and that this is very good. Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9, and 1 Timothy 1:10 all clearly state that homosexuality is one form of sexual sin that falls under the broad category of sexual immorality. In God’s wisdom, marriage between one man and one woman serves as a loving and powerful picture of the relationship between Jesus and His Church (Ephesians 5:22-33). For anyone who would be interested in exploring further the stories of some same-sex attracted people who have found great joy and freedom in submitting to God’s loving standards on gender, sexuality, and marriage, many possibilities exist. A good place to start would be Becket Cook, Rachel Gilson, Rosaria Butterfield, or Christopher Yuan.
The Christian student who values the Bible will have a very distinct approach to those who differ from them in their views of identity, gender, and sexuality. Our understanding of the Bible will call us to lovingly disagree with some people on these issues. But even while disagreeing on how we understand these issues we will, without hesitation, stand up for and support the need for every single LGBTQIA+ student to feel safe at school.
