Today I was approached by a man and a woman downtown as I was out and about enjoying my Saturday afternoon. They were super friendly and pleasant and asked if they could talk to me for a bit. Immediately, I knew what was coming. They wanted to have “the talk” about Jesus and Hell.
The talk I’ve heard thousands of times since the time I began to speak as a young child. The very same talk that led me to Spiritual conversion at the age of 10 when I accepted the idea that Jesus had to “come into my heart” in order for my young soul to escape the fiery pits of hell.
Typically, I would immediately decline and tell them something like “I’m gay and I don’t believe” in an attempt to get them to walk away. However, this time was different. This time, the woman appeared to be a Lesbian by all outward appearances so I just had to see where this was going.
Sure enough, not only was the woman a Lesbian but the man was also gay. However, they both said they were saved and brought out of the sin of homosexuality. They converted to Christianity as a way to escape who they truly were as LGBT individuals. Denying themselves by way of a mysterious conversion.
While our discussion was civil and extremely friendly I am unsure as to the fruitfulness of it. I’ve grown out of outdated anti-Spiritual beliefs and folks who believe word for word an ancient book over their own God given Spirit tend not be receptive to new information or a new way of thinking.
The entire discussion was one in which we both came to the conversation with our own agendas. Theirs was trying to convince me that I need to deny myself in order to accept their version of Truth to avoid being burned forever in a lake of fire. Mine was to encourage them to fall in love with themselves again and to realize their own Christ Consciousness rather than taking the Bible literally.
We all left the conversation on a positive note. I gave them a “Non-Tract” I happened to have on me about various Christ myths through the ages and they gave me one of theirs. They said they wanted to have lunch so I agreed and await their phone call at some point. But the question remains, what creates the feeling that one needs conversion?
Leaving behind the idea of the Holy Spirit and Satan himself, what is the true cause of mystical conversion? What generates that light bulb moment? I had a mystical conversion out of Christianity as I accepted the Truth of myself as a gay man. They denied their own Truth in exchange of another and converted to Christianity. If I had a magic power I would want it to be the ability to cause illumination in the hearts and minds of men to see the Truth that resides in them.
I truly hope that I was able to inspire some form of light within these two friendly people. The irony is they too probably left the conversation with high hopes that they have spurred in me the awakening of their idea of the “Holy Spirit”. All I can hope and trust is that in the end, Truth will win out.