LGBTQ group at fundie college

[Black Aliss]

It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out.

Underground gay group emerges, shaking evangelical Christian college

LA MIRADA, Calif. -- On the same day President Obama became the first U.S. president to come out in support of same-sex marriage, a group of students announced the presence of the "Biola Queer Underground" at this small evangelical university, touching off a highly-charged debate about Christianity and homosexuality.

The group launched a website and posted flyers around the Biola University campus May 9 with the following message: "We want to bring to light the presence of the LGBTQ community at Biola. Despite what some may assume, there are Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender, and Queers at Biola. We are Biola's students, alumni, employees, and fellow followers of Christ. We want to be treated with equality and respected as another facet of Biola's diversity."

The emergence of the group, whose members remain anonymous, has shaken this 104-year-old Christian college in Southern California. Like many schools rooted in evangelical Christianity, Biola has a code of standards that includes prohibitions on sex outside of marriage and same-sex relationships: Sex is "designed by God to be expressed solely within a marriage between a husband and wife," according to Biola's student handbook, which goes on to say that "sexual misconduct, depending on the facts and circumstances of each case will result in disciplinary action."

With debate raging over the group and its aims, Biola President Barry Corey told students that the school has no intention of changing its policy to "fit increasingly accepted ethical or moral norms. In particular, we don't need to modernize or bend our biblically based position on sexual ethics."

The school also issued a new statement on “human sexuality†which calls same-sex relationships "illegitimate moral options for the confessing Christian.†The statement was in the works before the gay group announced itself, but BQU said it showed the "one-sided" nature of the conversation, with no room for those who believe homosexuality isn't sinful.

Chris Grace, vice president for student development at Biola, said the school would like to engage in conversation with the underground group but has been stymied by the members' anonymity. “We really are at a disadvantage here because we don’t know who these people are,†Grace said, adding that the university would "love and welcome a conversation with them and that’s what we are hoping for."

But members of BQU, who would only comment for this story anonymously, fear that by "coming out" they would be punished and possibly expelled. They said they consider themselves Christians "first and foremost" and love Biola, and are not looking to create "a war" on campus, but they are looking to have an open discussion about what it means to be Christian and gay.

Eventually, Members of the group would like to "come out" and be open about their sexuality. "It’s important to our integrity to not have parts of us be hidden even among the Christian community,†a member said.

One of the members said there is a lot of guilt in the Christian community over homosexuality, but wonders if that guilt is coming from "God, the Holy Spirit or is that guilt coming from sections of the Christian society?"

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/ ... llege?lite

[gustava]

Mars Hill College in North Carolina apparently has quietly allowed a similar organization.

[Witsec7]

Biola? LoL I'll get back to you on this one as soon as I'm sober. That was my 'hood until long after my child was born.

[PennySycamore]

Mars Hill College in North Carolina apparently has quietly allowed a similar organization.

Well, Mars Hill is a stone's throw from the People's Republic of Asheville. Some of Asheville's ebil, librul ways must have rubbed off on Mars Hill.

[Coy Koi]

I bet most of them aren't going to be fundies for long. It sounds like they're in the process of coming to terms with who they are (which must be very difficult to do when you're raised constantly being told that who you are is wrong), and when they get further along in the process they'll probably realize that fundiedom is not for them.

I can see being a part of a group even if you don't agree with every single detail of it, but being part of a group that you like except for the part about how they're actively trying to oppress you is a pretty big "except".