Response to Celia Riley's Article on the Election of Trump - Part 1

Warning: this is a long one.

I just read this article by Celia Riley, and I strongly recommend that everyone read it because it's a fantastic response to the election of Trump as POTUS. As someone who's survived abuse repeatedly, I found myself agreeing with every word that Ms. Riley has written.

But ...

(Those who know me just knew there had to be a but in here somewhere!)

… there was a notable and significant absence from the roll-call of groups the author named. That isn't to say the ones she did name don't deserve to be there. Every single one does, and for very good reasons described at some length in her piece. But it does highlight a certain myopia which I think needs to be challenged.

And given her background (conservative Christian) and mine (LGBT, raised by evangelical parents) it shouldn't take too many guesses to guess why I noticed it, and why I was disappointed, but not surprised, to find it was missing. So I guess I have some thoughts about this.

Since they divide nicely in two, I'll put the second set in another blog post (I'll post it first, so scroll down on the front page of my blog) but firstly here's my response to Celia herself. And Celia (and any other conservatives reading this) I hope you recognise that I am trying to be respectful, and ask that you read this with an open mind and prayerful heart, and let God instruct you as to whether I am right or wrong.

Response to Celia Riley's Article on the Election of Trump - Part 2

Firstly, if you haven't read my other related post, I recommend you do so first. It's important to understand where I'm coming from, as otherwise some of what I have to say here won't entirely make sense.

So how should conservative Christians opposed to Trump act towards the LGBT community?

(Actually, you could easily remove the “opposed to Trump” part, because so most of this applies more generally.)

Celia's article, which inspired my two, has at its core a simple but powerful and important message: we do not have to reconcile with our abuser. This doesn't mean we shouldn't forgive them, as she pointed out; it means that those who have harmed us should not expect reconciliation, and we should never be under obligation to provide it. As someone who has been abused repeatedly, more often because I have a disability than because I am queer, it is something I agree with entirely.

However the election of Trump has altered the situation. It places two groups which have historically been at odds on the same side. Those two groups are the LGBT community, and those conservative Christians who, like Celia, recognise Trump for what he is and the threat he represents. I believe that, in this case, some form of reconciliation between these groups is necessary if we are to limit the damage Trump is capable of doing, and this means some understanding of the other side's perspective is required.

Specifically, I think that Christians need an opportunity to learn about and understand the perspective of the LGBT community, and why we view Christians as our abusers, because my experience has been that very few Christians have any real understanding of why we have spent the last several decades (longer than I've been alive) campaigning for the rights we are demanding.

This need to change.