Homophobia and the Dopeler Effect.

June 1, 2009 by Pastor Dan.

A conversation with a visitor led him to tell me that he has been advised he needs to work on his internalized homophobia.

That concept has come a long way in recent years, and now even has its own diagnostic scale and studies to substantiate it. But has it ever been examined theologically? Sitting in the Dr.’s waiting room today, I quickly made a list of issues I would want to look at which contribute to internalized homophobia for a Christian. I’ve lived through it, and it has taken half a lifetime to process how much the internalization of theologically-shaped hatred has affected me.

1. I see myself as a sinful and worthless person. I am unworthy of love, especially of God’s love.
2. I hate my life (which runs much deeper than self-denial for the sake of the Gospel).
3. I hide in shame from the judgment of others.
4. I worry that I am already condemned by God—damned to hell for being lesbian/gay or for my same-sex behavior.
5. I feel powerless to repent of homosexuality or to change to heterosexuality in order to avoid judgment and condemnation.

In addition, another trait has been talked about by Wayne Besen in his book Anything But Straight.

   6.   I have tried very hard to change, and failed, so even God must have given up on me.

The core problem here is that what I have internalized, as a Christian, is the wording of Scripture itself, which has been used even indirectly to make me feel worthless, unworthy of love, powerless and damned. Each one of these numbered points probably has well-known Bible passages which can be associated with it. So if I am more than a nominal Christian, all I can do is squirm, and go on hating myself and my life and my failure to conform to what the Scripture apparently is saying.

But the true problem is that so much of Scripture has been misused, misinterpreted and misapplied to fit things for which it was not originally written. Particular words of warning and judgment which have anything to do with sex have been maliciously universalized as if they pertain to all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in all circumstances. And universal lessons about human nature and our penchant for self-serving ways have been particularized to point a finger at lesbian and gay people, etc.

In short, fundamentalists have played fast and loose with the Bible itself, with their “flip-and-point” methodology, to try to prove the homosexuality or any sexual variation is the ultimate evil. If you’ve seen the internet humor about the “Dopeler effect” (the tendency for stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly), you can figure out that fundamentalism has its own Theological Dopeler Effect. The voices which have tried to condemn me and consign me directly to hell are rapid-fire, loud and non-negotiable. the only way to deal with them is to stop listening, and to turn your God-given ears to the voice of the true God who reminds us that we are loved, and that in Christ we are worthy of his love, and that we are saved by grace not by conformity, sexuality, or self-inflicted misery.

—Pastor Dan Hooper, Los Angeles

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