Shattered Paradigms

The very notion of being Christian and gay seems like a paradox - two seemingly contradictory things that should not be together and most certainly cannot be true. But Jesus continues to shatter my paradigms, understandings, and interpretations. He reveals to me how confining my understanding of things has been. "You're missing the point," He tells me. It wasn't that I was putting God in a box. I'm the one who is in the box - that box of assumptions of what the world is like.

Jesus shattered the disciples' paradigms who were often 'missing the point'. He said that it's not just about the act of murder but rather the anger in one's heart that is subject to judgment. He said that it's not just about committing adultery but rather the lust harbored in the heart. He said that it's not about avenging 'Eye for an eye, and tooth for tooth' but rather turning the other cheek and giving to those who would ask/borrow/steal from you. He said that instead of accepting the commonly held notion of 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy', rather 'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you'. Jesus shattered the Samaritan woman's paradigm when He said that God's true worshippers will neither worship at Mount Gerizim nor Jerusalem but rather in spirit and truth. The Lord shattered Peter's paradigm when He led him to enter the house of the Gentile centurion Cornelius (who had already been worshipping the Lord without Peter's validation) saying, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.'

History tells us that some things that mankind so zealously believed were way off the mark. They were often 'missing the point'. And pride often prevented people from accepting a more accurate view of the world. The Earth revolves around the Sun and not the other way around. The world is actually round and not flat. Gentiles do have a place in the Kingdom of God with Israel. Women are not subservient to men and black people actually do have a soul. God does not live in houses made of stone and the Church is not the building.

Could conventional and traditional thought regarding being Christian and gay be wrong as well?