I haven’t had the pleasure of reading this yet, but @giffontheway is an absolutely phenome
I haven’t had the pleasure of reading this yet, but @giffontheway is an absolutely phenomenal human being – and the man who convinced me that you could be an extremely devout Christian, in this day and age, without being regressive or closed-minded – without, plainly, hating gay people. He’s thoughtful and a compelling speaker, and I can only imagine this comes through in his writing as well. But to make it more personal – here’s why I adore him the way I do. I haven’t considered myself Christian for twenty years or more (Sorry, David) but this man made me *genuinely* enjoy listening to a church sermon every Sunday for the years I was a cantor. He can take any topic and make it interesting and thought-provoking – and he wasn’t ever afraid to speak out against bigotry when he saw it. But it’s more than that. I haven’t spoken to my parents in years, due to their homophobia – which they blame on their religion. When I made the decision to cut my mother out of my life, Dave could tell that something was bothering me, and – despite the fact that I was arguably his employee and not a congregant – brought me into his office, sat on the couch with me, and talked through it all with me – I’m pretty sure we were there for at least an hour. He never once made it preachy (I’m honestly not sure he ever tied what he was saying to Christianity at all), and that was because he wasn’t doing it as a priest – he was doing it as a friend. And he told me, in no uncertain words, that there’s no justification for their hatred in their religion; that I was right to cut them out of my life; that they were just using their religion as an excuse to show what they had always felt. I was, honestly, floored. I had tons of respect for him already – it’s hard not to – but I was honestly expecting to come out of that heart-to-heart wondering if I should repair the bridge, not more certain than ever that burning it down was the correct response. Cutting my parents out of my life was one of the single best things for my mental health I’ve ever done, and I can honestly say that I credit him with me being sure enough about that to push through the first little bit. (+ Comment) https://www.instagram.com/p/CG_z2QKnlQy/?igshid=14l53n3ae1iv1 -- source link