Joe Moran: The faith fabric

In his profound June 3 column “The nuances of rights, religion,” J. Peder Zane asserted that opposition to homosexuality is “part of the warp and weft of the fabric of belief” and that “branding opponents as bigots ... is applying the vocabulary of politics to faith.”

At the heart of the matter is that the “fabric” of Christian belief is threadbare, at least in spots – one of the big spots being our almost obsessive preoccupation with sex in determining gravitas in matters moral.

Some Christians, “informed by our faith,” see Jesus in the Scriptures dismissing those who criticized his acceptance of those they considered to be sexual “outcasts.” We see him teaching instead that injustices against society’s vulnerable are the greatest moral evils.

We believe that if Jesus were walking our streets today, he’d be focusing on the state’s 1 in 4 children living in poverty, the 500,000 who’ve been denied Medicaid, the disproportionate incarceration of black males, our love affair with guns and our callousness toward immigrant families.

Zane has done a favor by inviting us to think deeply on same-gender unions. We are obliged, as people of good will, to bring all our best powers of discernment to bear. And what part of our faith’s “fabric” we use will be critical in determining a just outcome.

This story was originally published June 9, 2015 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Joe Moran: The faith fabric."