with a little help from our friends...

There’s a view of history that things can only get better. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, this was the predominant view for many, but the horrors of the Great War blew serious holes in it as a theory. Still, it has often tried to reassert itself since then in different guises. 

People just need educating. Technology will help us. Global allegiances will end wars and famine. 

I’d love this to be true. As a member of a minority within society it would be a great comfort. Looking back 50 years the world certainly seems a far friendlier place to LGBT+ people than when I was born. But…

People are people. And minorities are minorities. And the times we live in are, frankly, scary. In New York and in London this Christmas, Jewish communities found the end of their Hanukkah celebrations marred by violence. In Britain, this comes after an election where the Labour Party lost decisively. In part this was because they were seen to be be antisemitic, a bad thing. The Tories gained from the huge pro-Brexit vote - in part, an anti-immigration issue, a good thing. Go figure. Apparently it’s OK to not like some people who are different.

And that’s the issue that’s scary. 

Because the press pass by the Jewish story quickly enough, but don’t even get round to Islamophobia most of the time. Some people aren’t worth the ink.

I’ve written before on this site of my appreciation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The more I see in these days the more important I find it to be. And the more I wish that the Church would produce a theological equivalent.

We live in scary times, where one group is OK for the moment, but being a minority is never easy, and until we understand that all people are equally human and equally made in the image of God and loved by God, then the Church is as active a participant in discrimination as any other part of society.

During my time on Living in Love and Faith, the House of Bishops commission on Human Identity, Sexuality and Marriage, I have repeatedly asked that we take this question seriously. It looks (at first sight) as though I am pleading a special case for gay people. Please treat us gay people as equally human! But in fact I am asking for something much more radical - please treat everyone as equally human.

When I raise the question on LLF that all people might be seen as being equally human and equally made in the image of God and loved by God, I have had basically four types of responses.

1. "But it’s obvious that we are all equal, so why do we need to say anything?" This answer, without fail, comes from straight white men.
2. "Yes, I understand the issue, but there are boundaries on what ‘equally human’ might mean." This comes from people who, I think, confuse the church with humanity. Of course simply being human doesn’t mean we are saved theologically; but it does mean we are (in terms of the UDHR) equal in dignity and rights, equal before the law, equal in status without distinction. We have to be careful about ‘boundaries’ language, because although I agree that it also means we are equally in need of redemption, we can be heard to be saying that people who live within the boundaries of rules that certain churches may impose are ‘more human’, and that must never be.
3. Blank incomprehension as to why I should be raising the question. This is, depressingly, the standard response.
4. "But that’s the whole nine yards; say that and you have said everything." This normally comes from LGBT+ people or LGBT+ allies, who understand that a theology of equal humanity inevitably will work out into a practice of equal humanity.  

But it’s not just about LGBT+ people.

When the world lives in fear and elects thugs and strongmen to get rid of ‘others’ who may be blamed for the things that are going wrong around us - and any and every minority everywhere risks being those ‘others’ - then the Church has a moral imperative to stand up and proclaim what is right and not what is popular. 

And what is right is this: people are people. 

We may not like everyone. We may not agree with everyone. We may find others to be despicable and unholy and the kind of person who thinks that Fox News or Man City or Cats is great, but (amazingly) they are still created by God in his image and loved by God beyond all measure. They may even be Methodist and have this apply. They may even be from Australia and it remain true. 

As Christians we have to develop our understanding of what a precious thing it is to be human. We have to learn how glorious a thing it is to be made a human being by almighty God and then go out and protect each and every other human being out there. We have to love our neighbour as ourselves. Every neighbour. All the time.

There is the inevitable worry from more conservative corners of the Church that accepting all people as equally human means that moments of biblical truth are put to one side, and we have to accept moralities that appear to be less than Scriptural. This is a fairly common response to the 'whole nine yards' answer of point 4 above. The problem with it is that choices are always being made, and not good ones, about biblical standards. In the US, a president who separates children from their parents and puts them in cages is seen as a good choice for evangelical voters because of his stance on abortion and his promotion of abortion-opposing judges. Choices, choices. 

So what is a biblical ethical standard? Gay bad, anything straight good?

White people good, black people suspect?

Evangelicals good, other Christians not, and forget about people from other religions entirely?

Because that's what it feels like is being said a lot of the time, and it is a million miles away from 'God so loved the world...' It is a million miles away from anything Jesus would recognise. It's easy and simple and a million miles away from anything that could reasonably be called 'biblical'. 'Selfish', yes. 

And, of course, given that Christians are just one more minority in an ever-changing world, it's really, really dangerous.

Or we can shoot for the big picture. The difficult stuff. The kind of thing that Jesus genuinely gives - loving neighbours and enemies, treating others as we would be treated, forgiving, walking the extra mile, serving not dominating, seeing Jesus as the light in every person. Talking to outsiders, touching untouchables, breaking taboos and challenging the religious and cultural rulers of our times with a love that makes every person fully human.

A view of history that says everything is going to get better can only really be held by people who haven’t read much history. And a view of humanity where we get to pick and choose who we love and who we see as fully our equals can only be held by those who take a pickaxe to their Bibles. LGBT+ people are in a better place now than we have been before, but we are a minority and that means we know that the good times hold only as long as our allies and friends stand by us. Unless - 

Unless we all become allies and friends. Unless we all become equally human. Now I don’t think that’s coming from the growing thugocracies of the world - but maybe, just maybe, the Church might find its way to granting us - and everyone else - such a gift?