Gay Spirituality: The Role of Gay Identity In the Transformation of Religious Thought

Perspective: Queer Victory

On a walking journey, when you come to a rise in the road, the horizon opens up. The world gets bigger and patterns in the lay of the land become apparent. From the summit of even a small hill, you can see more of the world than you could on the plain.

If there happens to be a wall alongside the road, especially if it is high and blocks the view, you might be able to climb to the top of it and then see both sides of the wall. Though you must be careful to keep your balance, if you are daring, you can see what other people cannot see. You can see where you have come from and where you are going. You can see things in relation to one another. From this higher perspective, your journey makes more sense.

A Higher Perspective

As a consequence of technology and science and the acceleration of the evolution of consciousness on Earth, human beings today are forced to look at the world from a higher perspective than ever before. People are asked to think outside the immediate confines of their own placement in the historical process of the universe, to see "the big picture." Whether they want to or not, they are expected to analyze the forces that construct the popular perception of the world and to understand from over and above the various explanations of reality that have come down to us.

This is especially true and world-shaking in religion. Looking at religions from over and above changes the way their truth is perceived. We see that the wise advice of the ages comes to us through a complex tangle of myths, stories, old wives' tales, legends, and religious doctrines. We recognize the metaphorical nature of religious ideas. We see that out of these metaphors we put together explanations for ourselves of what our lives are about. Such visions are the meat of both religion and spirituality. That is all the mystics and seers who spun the myths were talking about.

All too often, though, driven by practical organizational concerns, the bureaucrats and functionaries of the churches focus on the smaller picture. They inadvertently end up trying to keep people obedient and submissive in order to maintain the status quo.

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