A Gay-Christian and his Biblical hermeneutics

Have you ever heard of Azariah Southworth or The Remix? Me neither. But according to this brief description I found, apparently he hosts a weekly half-hour music show where he hangs out with Christians artist "reality style". The only website I could find for them is a Myspace page.

According to a new article on The Christian Post, Azariah can no longer live a lie and has announced that he is a gay Christian. To quote Southworth from the article, "I know I will be cut off from many within the Christian community, and if so, then they didn't get the point of the life of Christ," and later "I hope that they (Christians) don't do that, because that is not who Jesus was at all." He also said, "His closest friends were the prostitutes and the tax collectors and the sinners. They were the low-life people of that time. So I hope they(current Christians being judgemental) don't do that." While I encourage you to click-through and read the entire article in The Christian Post, realize that Southworth "came out" in an interview with Out and About, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender magazine based in Nashville. He says that he was inspired to "come out" by Ellen DeGeneres, a popular talk-show host who also announced she was gay many years ago.

A couple of observations that I would like to make:

1) I hate it when people try to create all these little sub-classes of larger groups to differentiate themselves. Gay-Christian? Is that supposed to be like Italian-American or neo-conservation Republican? Do we really need more labels to create divisions? Is it any wonder that no one can get along when everyone is out there joining sides?

2) When trying to justify your position that you can be gay and a Christian at the same time are you really doing your cause any justice by comparing "gays" to prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners as friends of Jesus like Southworth is trying to do? I am no true Bible scholar, though I play one on AM Static, but I think Jesus clearly defined his relationship with prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners in Matthew 9:11-13:

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

So- rather than Jesus' closest friends being prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners like Southworth stated he seems that Jesus actually had a burden for SINNERS to come to REPENTANCE. Rather than reading a Scripture and adding your own commentary to make it fit your lifestyle, use Scripture to understand Scripture! I see this as a huge problem today where people want to be "spiritual" rather than Godly and twist Scripture to fit there own sinful
lifestyle. FYI- Southworth does claim to be a follower of Jesus and attends three churches in the Nashville, TN area one of which is led by a gay-partnered pastor.

3) Homosexuality is a sin no greater or worse than prostitution, heterosexual sex outside of marriage, or martial infidelity, period. We need to stop letting politicians make gay issues (marriage) a wedge issue, when they themselves have no problem running around behind their husbands or wives and visiting prostitutes. Just like Southworth, I suspect that many people attend different churches and read different books until they find one that allows them to live their life, as is, without the call to repentance that Jesus mentions.


CC