Harding University Students Speak Out

Last updated on: December 15, 2012 at 10:16 pm by Andrew Marin

Harding University Students Speak Out 2012-12-15T22:16:17-06:00 Andrew Marin

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The following post was written by Kevin Harris, Director of Community Relations at The Marin Foundation.

Yesterday, lesbian and gay students at Harding University, a Christian University in Arkansas, spoke out with a self-published zine. The zine was written anonymously by a number of students that identify as the H.U. Queer Press as they feared that revealing their identities could cause them to be “expelled or put into therapy” by their university.

As the group states that their main purpose is to share their personal stories with Harding students, faculty, and staff, the piece starts off with the following:

‘Hello to all students, faculty, administration, staff, alumni, and the beloved donors of Harding University. We are the H.U. Queer Press, and we are presenting our first ever publication. This zine is a self-published work intended to bring attention to the lives and issues of demoralized minorities.’

We at The Marin Foundation felt that it could be beneficial to share this zine as it provides an opportunity to simply listen to and learn from voices that are not always heard, that being lesbian and gay Christians while they are still enrolled at a Christian university. Their stories bring some light to the feeling of being silenced and the anger and hope that can go along with being in that state. Some snippets reveal bits of what it was like for some to discover that they were lesbian or gay, something that is often a foreign concept growing up in a Christian context:

‘I’d never thought I might be a lesbian. I heard people in church talk about the dangers of the GAY AGENDA and knew several people who were part of the boycott against Disney for their support of homosexuality, but I’d never known any gay people or seen them on TV or read about them in books. They were like those mythological creatures who ran amok in far lands causing all manner of sinful, AIDS-ridden chaos.’

Some stories are unabashedly intimate and raw and others speak to fears while calling for support.

‘If there’s anything I need right now, it’s to know that my fellow students don’t hate me. We need it. We need people who aren’t afraid to say that they’ll love us no matter what. We’re in a place that hides us behind lies (an action that we’re supposed to fight against as Christians, I think). We’re scared that our peers will abandon and shun us, scared that our college experience is going to be horrendous and miserable, scared, if for no other reason, that we’ll be forced to choose between being with someone we genuinely love and doomed to spend an eternity in hell, or choose to be with Christ, but alone and miserable for the rest of our life on earth.’

Along with the snippets of personal stories, they touch on some of their thoughts on scripture, the need for LGBT people to have supportive friends and safe spaces, and their thoughts on the ‘gay lifestyle.’

Readers of this blog that identify with a more conservative outlook on faith and homosexuality may very well disagree with some of the sentiments and ideas that are expressed in the zine, but as always we ask that you try to use it as an opportunity to listen and let it be another window into the lives of others that informs how you seek to move forward in what it looks like to live out your faith in a way that honors both God and the LGBT community.

You can read the zine in its entirety here.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

Faith

LGBT

Youth and Campus Ministry

Media

Previous Post

March 3, 2011

March 3: My One Sentence Bible

Next Post

March 4, 2011 March 4: My One Sentence Bible

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Reviews Bridging Opposing Worldviews Culture Don't Drink and Drive Faith Guest Posts I'm Sorry Campaign Interviews Language Laura Statesir LGBT Living in the Tension Living in the Tension Gatherings Love Is an Orientation Love Is an Orientation Blog Love Is an Orientation Book Love Is an Orientation DVD Melinda Guerra Memory My One Sentence Bible Newsletter Our Last Option Parents & Families Politics Quick Quotes Quotes ReEngaging Civility Sexuality Speaking The Marin Foundation Theology Uncategorized Us Versus Us Videos Warren Perry Youth and Campus Ministry

Select a Month June 2016 May 2016 December 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz