We Are Biola Queers

The BQU was recently mentioned in article about an LGBTQ group (OneTable) developing at Fuller Seminary and other groups forming Christian campuses across the nation. It is our hope that, one day soon, our faith will not be attacked because of our sexual orientation and gender identities, but instead we will be able to eat at one table, united in our love for God and Christ our Savior. 

The members of the BQU grieve with the family and friends of Trayvon Martin for yesterday's court decision. Witnessing the prevailing fear and hatred for black men hits close to home; Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." We're asking that you join us in signing this petition urging the Dept. of Justice to press civil rights charges against George Zimmerman.

The shocking true stories of several American teenagers who were shipped to an Evangelical reform school in the Caribbean, one after he came out to his parents.

What follows is an open letter to Dr. Erik Thoennes, President Dr. Barry Corey, and Biola Administration. I, Jos Charles, am writing to you as a queer graduate of Biola, affiliate of the Biola Queer Underground, and continued supporter of our University.

Dear Dr. Thoennes, Dr. Barry Corey, and Biola Administration,

I recently started a petition asking Dr. Erik Thoennes to apologize for his homophobic, transphobic, and racist remarks at last fall’s Sexuality Matters discussion. During the discussion, Dr. Thoennes repeatedly compared queer sexuality to racism. Reading from the Biola Queer Underground’s mission statement, he publicly ridiculed the group’s experiences by substituting the word “racist” for “queer.” Thoennes went on to describe his perspective as “kind” and “loving.”

My petition has drawn some attention from GLAAD and other media outlets. However, it has yet to be acknowledged by Dr. Thoennes or the administration. I have since grown convinced that an apology is not enough to address the reality LGBTQ Biola students face. An apology might help alumni like me feel better about our alma mater, but would not stop the daily abuse of LGBTQ Biola students. Rather than change Thoennes’ beliefs, I want the conditions that allow Dr. Thonnes to bully students to be eliminated. I am writing to call for something much more than an apology: concerted structural change. We cannot have a safe Biola until we have a Biola that is open to dialogue with its students, queer or otherwise. That’s why I am asking Dr. Thoennes to meet openly with Biola Queer Underground members, other queer alumni, and me in an open panel on campus to discuss LGBTQ identities and their relation to Christianity. I want to make clear I am not asking to “debate” Dr. Thonnes on his positions. A debate would imply we, as LBGTQ Biolans, are external to Biola, coming to provide a contrasting perspective. Rather, we are Biola, and as Biola we demand that you listen and give our voices representation.

As it stands, Biola’s queer students are ostracized. Professors shame queer students with slurs and tolerate bullying in the classroom. Campus security polices whether same-gender couples can hold hands or publicly express their gender identities. The Biola Queer Underground frequently has their event posters removed by administration. At Biola, queer oppression is institutionalized.

Perhaps I take this for granted, but I assume faith communities agree LGBTQ people should not live under fear of violence. Dr. Thoennes’ comments however contribute to, enable, and even encourage these sorts of violence. In the sexuality forum, queer students heard their desires and struggles publically likened to racism and mocked as a joke. Because of such bullying, LGBTQ Christians face some of the highest rates of suicide and homelessness in the country. Dr. Thoennes’ comments institutionally encourage attacks—whether it’s through a half-joking slur or physical assault. Dr. Thoennes cheered on our oppression. He took the bully’s side.

Furthermore, by using the terms “LGBT” and “homosexuality” interchangeably, Dr. Thoennes also silenced the voices of Biola’s trans* students. His comments betray an ignorance and fear of even talking about trans* issues. The only “T” in the discussion was Thoennes’ response to a question about “transvestites” [sic]. He quickly dismissed it as “dysfunction” and “perversion.” Treating any student’s identity as an unworthy topic for discussion serves to shame and silence that student. If Biola is going to talk about LGBTQ identity and its relation to Christianity, it must include trans* issues.

When Thoennes compared struggles against racism with his struggle against queer students, he erased the identities of queer students of color. Thoennes implied that cisgender, heterosexual students and faculty are “victims” of the BQU. His attempt to shift himself to “victim-status” is clear in phrases such as “feel[ing] far less freedom” to call queerness sinful than racism and his considering LGBTQ people “a tidal wave of opposition.” The analogy drew on a racist trope of queer people as

white and people of color as straight. Queer students of color were doubly ostracized by the comparison.

That such statements were made just as Biola opened the Mosaic Cultural Center is telling. The new Center is supposed to represent Biola’s commitment to “engaging in critical thought and dialogue” in issues of diversity. In practice, however, we have seen students stripped of representation in public discussion. The panelists didn’t even trust Biola students’ “critical thought” enough to include one LGBTQ-affirming perspective. Thoennes laughed at the thought of letting a queer ally speak on campus. Yet even among evangelical Christians, 30% of churchgoers identify as LGBTQ-inclusive. Biola is simply not working towards making campus a safe space for queer students.

Dr. Thoennes’ comments are not unique, but part of a larger, structural problem. Biola needs to discuss LGBTQ issues, yes, but also race. Dr. Thonnes’ comments betrayed a disturbing misunderstanding of racism. He spoke of homosexuality and racism as both active, conscious choices; however, not only is homosexuality not a conscious choice, neither is racism. To treat racism without discussing privilege, material exploitation, and power, is a distortion. It removes racism from its historical context, a context that has largely benefitted white Christians like Dr. Thoennes. By painting a picture of racism that denies his privileged position as a Christian white man, Dr. Thoennes presents a revisionist view of Christianity’s problematic relationship to race.

If Christians are going to discuss topics like race and sexuality we have to start from acknowledging Christianity’s historically held center of power, which has been key in the spreading of racism, homophobia, transphobia, and patriarchy. A more fitting analogy between racism and queerness is that white people still benefit from past and continued race oppression; cisgender, heterosexual people still benefit from past and continued sexuality and gender oppression.

Until Dr. Thoennes and the Biola administration are willing to face, discuss, and listen to students, Biola will continue to propagate abuse, particularly for students of color and queer students. If administration continues to not address this issue, they continue to erase the voices of the student body.

Dr. Thoennes, Dr. Barry Corey, and Biola Administration: you do not solely represent the Biola community. The student body, in all its diversity, is Biola. It is administration and faculty’s responsibility to listen to and benefit our experience—and we will not be silenced.

Thank you for your time,

I remember sitting in my Bible class at Biola and listening as the professor gave us scientific and social proof for why acting on gay desires was a sin. I nodded along with his statements and eagerly took notes. Here was the evidence I had been looking for! Ever since Prop 8, the issue of being gay (and, more so, acting on gay desires) was brought to my attention. I remembered hearing my parents speak of gay marriage with disgust, and I remembered hearing them say that according to the Bible, that type of relationship choice was wrong. I fully agreed and was just as disgusted as they were.

The only problem?

I remember thinking, as I was reading more about Prop 8, “Whew! It’s good the Bible says clearly that this is a sin. Otherwise, I can’t think of any reason to think it’s bad.”

But now here was my professor, ready to rescue me from that slight hiccup. He was giving me all the added proof I needed.

But doubts still nagged at me. I felt something was wrong. This thought pattern I was dealing with and the emotions involved didn’t feel like what God would want from me. It was hard to love those who were gay, when I was so busy judging them. Sure, I sympathized with them. It wasn’t their fault they had been born with their struggles. But they still needed to do what was right. There were no excuses.

But I was prejudiced. I only listened to half the argument, and it was only when I decided to take a risk and listen to the other side that I realized how wrong I had been. I read a book by Eric Marcus, titled “Is It A Choice?”, and this book was the first turning point for me. I realized that there was nothing wrong with being gay. I had assumed to understand another person’s point of view, instead of stepping in that person’s shoes and letting them speak for themselves. I had assumed I understood the Bible, instead of looking deeper. I had assumed I understood God, instead of checking to make sure my reasoning and response was in line with the Bible.

I began to understand those who were gay and lesbian in ways that I never had before. I understood that it wasn’t a choice, and that it wasn’t bad. All the “proof” my professor had thrown at me, I know looked over again, and I saw it full of flaws that had never been sufficiently addressed. I couldn’t find a single thing wrong with being gay. They had loving relationships, led Godly lives, served others with all their hearts—no different than straight people. Sure, some were horrible—but again, just like some straight people.

The persecution I saw in the Church aimed toward those who are gay and lesbian reminded me of the Pharisees’ persecution of Jesus and the apostles. It’s said you can judge a tree by its fruit. I could find no fault with the fruit of those who were gay and lesbian. However, when I looked at the fruit many Christians were giving off—even many professors and preachers at Biola—I felt sick. This clearly was not what God wanted.

I changed my heart, my mind, and my direction from that point on, and I began to fight for justice, equality, and love. I began to fight for truth. Because I believe that’s what God would want me to do. And even more than that, being fought for, loved, and understood is what these people deserve. Interpreting the Bible accurately and consistently is what the Bible deserves. And I will never doubt I made the right choice.

I don’t mean to look down on you if you believe differently—I just want you to explore. To reach outside your Bible classes and church meetings and look deeper into the issue. Because sometimes, as happened way back in the Bible years, the church can be wrong. And I shudder at the destruction that will happen to many, many beloved people if we follow their guidance without testing it to make sure we’re on the right track.

I find myself gripping onto the edges of these pages

My hands have grown accustom to

The pages of this book that many have claimed to condemn me

Falling into each syllable and structure

That “speaks” of my state of being

As an unnatural disgusting anomaly

Yet….

Conforming to this interpretation seems to be quite faulty

They claim that feelings and emotions are unreliable

That we cannot trust what lies inside

But how can we trust that your version of “objective truth”

Has not been tainted by your subjective trains of thought

  The church has been wrong on various occasions

We have thought that the earth was flat,

Women were not made in the image of God

And that we had the right to chain up the black man

That we were justified as we read scripture

While tying them up

Blood sweating off their backs as we

Whipped the word “animal” onto their shoulders

It was their name tag

We told women that they were property

That the Bible gave beautiful guidelines

Of what it means to be a dresser drawer or a coffee table

Exquisite in its craftsmanship and useful in its function

But oh do not speak

You cannot speak

  But oh we are not wrong on this!

The Bible is perfectly clear!

Homosexuals are sensual perverts

Deviants

Unrepentant

Not a part of God’s design

You cannot BE gay

You CHOOSE to live a lifestyle

It’s not like it was etched into cracks of my bones

  How can the church be so foolish!

So arrogant as to say that they are not without error

That they cannot possibly make the same mistake as our church fathers

  And the price of the church’s mistakes

Another teenager is found on the carpet

With a rope around his neck

“Animal” is carved into his forearm

We gave him that name tag

  The church claims to not condone slavery

Yet thousands of LGBTQ people walk with chains on their ankles

A strip of metal welded to their lips

We have whipped them into submission

And crafted them into nice coffee tables

  Our humanity has been stolen from us

We have been depicted as ravenous creatures

Out to steal your children and break up your families

Like the sexy neighbor next door who walks by your

Husband in a slinky black dress

But in reality

We are your children!!

  We sit there at your dinner tables while you rant

About “those hell-bound homosexuals”

We sit in the bathroom stalls and eat our lunches

Because the other school kids wont eat with us

We hear you even though you don’t realize that you are talking to us

That you are talking to me

  Everyday that I sit in classrooms

And listen to my bible professors

I become more hardened

More like the women of my grandmother’s generation

Who were not seen or heard

Who were told to get back into the kitchen

Get back into the bed

Get into something “more comfortable”

An object of a man’s desire I am told to be quiet

To be manufactured into something nice and pretty and functional

But people cannot be made into kitchen sinks

Or bed frames or nightstands

I will not be silenced

WE will not be silenced

  For there is a God who speaks of our worth

Who you have used against us

He tells us that man-made interpretations

Of a book with rich cultural context

Cannot define our identities

HE defines our identities

  So I stand here as a gay woman

Standing for all who are poor and oppressed

Following after the one

Whose soles I am unworthy to untie

For HE is my LORD

NOT YOU