Homosexuality is a hot button topic in the church. It ranks right up there with the abortion debate, but homosexuality employs many other side issues as well. The “is it or isn’t it sin” debate rages, and depending on where you land on that question, the “what do we do with it now” debate rages as well. It encompasses the issue of civil unions, gay marriage and the ever unfolding wide ranging debate of equality. For this writer I have heard many stances taken on homosexuality through the years growing up in the church and being around other believers. This issue appears to be one that really gets at the core of what we believe, and for so many other issues in the church, homosexuality is a lightning rod of controversy, sympathy, apathy and even hate. In my opinion, we make theological bubbles and theological excuses for many things, but never for homosexuality. Again, just my opinion here, but I think this is something the church doesn’t really understand and know how to deal with, so it’s just easier to put it in a box and be done with it.
This is not an attempt to argue for or against homosexuality – that is something that every person can do for themselves. This is an attempt to shed light on the way that the church has treated this issue, and these people, down through the decades. This is a small attempt to give voice to some of my favorite musicians in regards to this subject. Most everyone reading this has been touched personally by the music of The Altar Boys, Undercover, Veil of Ashes, King’s X, and Dead Artist Syndrome. I have been personally impacted in various ways by these bands down through the years, and I wanted to give them the voice to share their story, the way they lived it and the things they encountered from their perspective.
In trying to decide the most effective way to get these stories across, we figured a straight question & answer format was best. These are word for word in the artist’s language, exactly as they expressed themselves. Matt and I batted a couple of ideas back and forth about how to do this, and we decided to completely steer clear of theology and politics, we just want you to read these stories as they were told to us. Politics and theology do nothing but divide and dissect, but I figure that everyone reading this likes good music, and I’m sure we can agree on one thing; that it is long since time we put down our judgments, our ideas and our differences, and we learned to listen and to love in spite of ourselves and in spite of our own preconceived notions. People are people, we all are trying to just figure things out and make the best of ourselves in the best way we can. We all come into this place kicking and screaming, and trying to just learn to live inside of our own skin can be a daunting task at best. There is always at least one thing that people can find common ground on, let’s start there and find our similarities and not our differences. It’s a big world full of people and ideals that are created by something so much bigger then us. I’m sure there are some issues that are just beyond a simple cut and dried answer or response.
I want to thank Sean, Ric and dUg for allowing me to pry into their personal life and for being so open, honest and forthright. I feel blessed to be able to talk with some of my favorite musicians about their art, their lives and their journey. I hope the interviews here are read, appreciated and can open up dialogue about an issue that touches most all of us, even if only from a distance. Thanks for taking the time to read.
