<html><body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div><img src="cid:1D6A9457-BC10-48CE-84FC-A34470518C24" alt="image.jpeg" id="1D6A9457-BC10-48CE-84FC-A34470518C24" width="400" height="300" apple-original-width="400" apple-original-height="300"><br><br><div>Seeya round town, Moscow.</div><div><br></div><div>Tom Hansen</div><div>Moscow, Idaho</div><div><br></div><div>"If not us, who?</div><div>If not now, when?"</div><div><br></div><div>- Unknown</div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div><div><br>On May 20, 2012, at 11:19, Art Deco <<a href="mailto:art.deco.studios@gmail.com">art.deco.studios@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><h1 class="cnnBlogContentTitle"><a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/19/my-take-the-christian-case-for-gay-marriage/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link:My Take: The Christian case for gay marriage">My Take: The Christian case for gay marriage</a></h1>
<p class="cnn_first"><img class="alignright" style="margin-left:10px;margin-right:10px;" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120416042157-mark-osler-search-tease.jpg" alt="" height="122" width="214"><em><strong>Editor's Note</strong>: <a href="http://www.stthomas.edu/law/facultystaff/faculty/oslermark/" target="_blank">Mark Osler</a> is a Professor of Law at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota.</em></p>
<p>By <strong>Mark Osler</strong>, Special to CNN</p>
<p>I am a Christian, and I am in favor of gay marriage. The reason I am for gay marriage is because of my faith.</p>
<p>What I see in the Bible’s accounts of Jesus and his followers is an
insistence that we don’t have the moral authority to deny others the
blessing of holy institutions like baptism, communion, and marriage.
God, through the Holy Spirit, infuses those moments with life, and it is
not ours to either give or deny to others.</p>
<p>A clear instruction on this comes from Simon Peter, the “rock” on
whom the church is built. Peter is a captivating figure in the Christian
story. Jesus plucks him out of a fishing boat to become a disciple, and
time and again he represents us all in learning at the feet of Christ.</p>
<p><span id="more-29477"></span>During their time together, Peter is often naïve and clueless – he is a follower, constantly learning.</p>
<p>After Jesus is crucified, though, a different Peter emerges, one who
is forceful and bold. This is the Peter we see in the Acts of the
Apostles, during a fevered debate over whether or not Gentiles should be
baptized. Peter was harshly criticized for even eating a meal with
those who were uncircumcised; that is, those who did not follow the
commands of the Old Testament.</p>
<p><a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/">CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories</a></p>
<p>Peter, though, is strong in confronting those who would deny the
sacrament of baptism to the Gentiles, and argues for an acceptance of
believers who do not follow the circumcision rules of Leviticus (which
is also where we find a condemnation of homosexuality).</p>
<p>His challenge is stark and stunning: Before ordering that the
Gentiles be baptized Peter asks “Can anyone withhold the water for
baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we
have?”</p>
<p>None of us, Peter says, has the moral authority to deny baptism to
those who seek it, even if they do not follow the ancient laws. It is
the flooding love of the Holy Spirit, which fell over that entire crowd,
sinners and saints alike, that directs otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/15/my-take-what-the-bible-really-says-about-homosexuality/">My Take: Bible doesn’t condemn homosexuality</a></p>
<p>It is not our place, it seems, to sort out who should be denied a
bond with God and the Holy Spirit of the kind that we find through
baptism, communion, and marriage. The water will flow where it will.</p>
<p>Intriguingly, this rule will apply whether we see homosexuality as a
sin or not. The water is for all of us. We see the same thing at the
Last Supper, as Jesus gives the bread and wine to all who are there—even
to Peter, who Jesus said would deny him, and to Judas, who would betray
him.</p>
<p>The question before us now is not whether homosexuality is a sin, but
whether being gay should be a bar to baptism or communion or marriage.</p>
<p><a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/17/your-take-rebuttals-to-rethinking-the-bible-on-homosexuality/">Your Take: Rethinking the Bible on homosexuality</a></p>
<p>The answer is in the Bible. Peter and Jesus offer a strikingly
inclusive form of love and engagement. They hold out the symbols of
Gods’ love to all. How arrogant that we think it is ours to parse out
stingily!</p>
<p>I worship at St. Stephens, an Episcopal church in Edina, Minnesota.
There is a river that flows around the back and side of that church with
a delightful name: Minnehaha Creek. That is where we do baptisms.</p>
<p>The Rector stands in the creek in his robes, the cool water coursing
by his feet, and takes an infant into his arms and baptizes her with
that same cool water. The congregation sits on the grassy bank and
watches, a gentle army.</p>
<p><a href="http://twitter.com/cnnbelief">Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter</a></p>
<p>At the bottom of the creek, in exactly that spot, is a floor of
smooth pebbles. The water rushing by has rubbed off the rough edges, bit
by bit, day by day. The pebbles have been transformed by that water
into something new.</p>
<p>I suppose that, as Peter put it, someone could try to withhold the
waters of baptism there. They could try to stop the river, to keep the
water from some of the stones, like a child in the gutter building a
barrier against the stream.</p>
<p>It won’t last, though. I would say this to those who would withhold
the water of baptism, the joy of worship, or the bonds of marriage: You
are less strong than the water, which will flow around you, find its
path, and gently erode each wall you try to erect.</p>
<p>The redeeming power of that creek, and of the Holy Spirit, is relentless, making us all into something better and new.</p>
<p><em>The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Mark Osler.</em></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)<br><a href="mailto:art.deco.studios@gmail.com" target="_blank"><a href="mailto:art.deco.studios@gmail.com">art.deco.studios@gmail.com</a></a><br>
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