NH Baritone wrote:(This post is perhaps one of the most presumptive I have ever placed here. If it crosses boundaries that I should not have crossed, please accept my humblest apologies.)
I was reminded today of the movie, Sophie's Choice, and it brought to mind Scott's responses to my questions and the subsequent dialogue. I began to wonder to myself if Scott is in the midst of a "Sophie's choice"-style moral dilemma.
Just a summary of the movie: A Nazi concentration camp guard told Sophie Zawistowski that she would have to choose which of her two children would be sent to the gas chamber. If she didn't choose, they would both die. It was a horrible position to be put in, and it turned her love of both of them into torture for her. The choosing altered her perception of herself and of her life for its duration.
Perhaps Scott feels a similar tug here. Sophie loved both of her children. Scott cherishes the messages within the Bible and yet strongly values interpersonal love and building relationships. And in a way that strongly suggests doubts, I keep asking him, how does he imagine a way that he can have both his beloved relationships and his beloved bible? How is it possible for him to genuinely love gay couples when he cannot accept them as equally Christian alongside him?
Perhaps if this metaphor has any validity, in Scott's mind I may have acted like the concentration camp guard, forcing him to choose between two cherished elements of his faith. But I don’t think so. All I have done is ask the question. Since other Christians who cherish their Bible just as much as he does have reached different conclusions, I think it is his church, its traditions, and his Bible interpretation that has placed him in this difficult position. It is up to Scott to decide if he can still cling to his Bible interpretations while simultaneously loving those who practice the "love that dare not speak its name." And whatever choice he makes, I dare say it might change the way he sees himself and his life ... perhaps for its duration.
whilst i am a bit inebriated, and won't be responding to the other posts tonight, i will say this to NH: GO SEE THE DARK KNIGHT. having just walked out of my second viewing, this post touches on many themes expressed in said film. seriously, if you have any love of film whatsoever, you owe it to yourself to see this movie. we are living in the summer of the first oscar-caliber superhero film in history, and all of you have a chance to experience it before some dumbass decides to spoil any of this masterpiece for you. GO, NOW!
