Side B and Celibacy: Quick Assessment
A short reflection on Side B (http://mudbloodcatholic.blogspot.com/2016/03/gay-and-catholic-part-i-gaystation-two.html) lesbian, gay and bisexual Christians, originally written as a comment to a friend – There’s much that I’m grateful for in the witness of Side B Christians. Christianity as I understand it is, in many ways, a fiercely ascetic religion and the Side B crowd has done the Christian community a real service in drawing renewed attention to the necessity of self-discipline, sacrifice and ascesis in Christian life. With that said, I worry about the rhetoric of sacrifice. I think for a sacrifice to be life-giving, at least in my experience, three things need to be present: (Criterion 1) sacrifice must be motivated by love and aimed at growing in knowledge of and respect for God, other people, and the image of God in oneself; in other words, rightly done, sacrifice is a means to the end of nourishing covenantal relationships (Criterion 2) sacrifice must be supported by