The Beth Stroud Case: What Would Jesus Do?

On December 2, 2004, Rev. Beth Stroud, a Philadelphia area minister, was defrocked by the United Methodist Church on the grounds that she is a practicing lesbian. Rev. Stroud has since decided to appeal the defrocking, and I applaud her bravery.

After all, isn't Christianity supposed to be about Jesus' message of tolerance, acceptance, loving thy neighbor and forgiving one's sins?

Some so-called Christians have defended Stroud's removal by quoting passages from the Bible that condemn homosexuality. Following that logic, however, we should still be keeping slaves, as endorsed in Leviticus 25:44, and executing anyone who works on the Sabbath, as dictated in Exodus 35:2.

As times change, our social and cultural institutions evolve as well. These include our established religious rules and practices. Prior to changes that took place in the 1960s and thereafter, many of our churches were racially segregated, rules regarding divorce and remarriage within many denominations were strict and impractical, and the Catholic Church and some other Christian sects required women to cover their heads in church.

Today, women serve as pastors at many churches, worshippers can attend services dressed in casual attire, and most clergy will not think twice about officiating at a biracial wedding ceremony. Only the most narrow-minded of conservatives would deny that these changes have made the world a nicer place and made church life more inviting.

Consider, too, what it means to be a Christian. At least in theory, people identify themselves as Christians because they subscribe to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

This is the same Jesus who taught us to love our neighbors (not only the white, male, heterosexual, flag-waving, Christian ones), and that we should not judge others lest we be judged.

This is the same Jesus who made an example of himself by dining with sinners, befriending a prostitute, and identifying with "the least of these."

Who, therefore, can accept a policy of bigotry, intolerance, and double standards, and still call himself a Christian?