In a recent opinion piece in USA Today, Bishop Gene Robinson wrote "Sometimes, even for a bishop, it's embarrassing to be a Christian. Not that I'm embarrassed by Jesus, whose life was spent caring and advocating for the marginalized, and whom I believe to be the perfect revelation of God. I'm just sometimes embarrassed to be associated with others who claim to follow him."
And that was before Franklin Graham gave his interview with the Charlotte Observer.
It was before Graham categorized adoption by gay or lesbian parents as "recruitment." It was before he reiterated that he "agreed with Putin" about his draconian LGBT policies designed to "protect children from being exploited" by the gay agenda. It was before he protested that he is "not homophobic." He isn't "afraid of 'em" and he's "not intolerant" -- he "just has a different view." And - just for the record -- he's tired of being demonized by "the gay lesbian movement."
Well, here's what I'm tired of.
I'm tired of having to explain that I'm "not that kind of Christian" to people who assume that Franklin Graham speaks for all of us. Because he does not.
I'm tired of hearing stories about LGBT kids who think their lives aren't worth living because the message they've gotten from preachers like Graham is that there's something wrong with them that needs to be fixed. Because there is not.
And I'm tired of having the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ -- the one who loved us enough to become one of us in order to show us how to love one another -- hijacked and used as a weapon of mass discrimination against LGBT people. Because it is not.
So here's my suggestion. Before Franklin Graham goes giving any more interviews making Jesus look bad, I'm going to suggest he try taking a little time out and reading an interview instead. This interview. The one where Larry King asks his dad, Billy Graham, if he thinks homosexuality is a choice:
GRAHAM: Well, that's a big debate.
KING: But if it's not a choice, it can't be a sin. Right?
GRAHAM: Well, maybe. God will make that judgment, not me. I'm not deciding who's a sinner and who is not.
If Franklin Graham wants to agree with someone about gay folks he'd be much better off agreeing with Billy Graham than with Vladimir Putin. And so would Jesus.