I have been watching, with interest, the furore surrounding a Christian school and its "Pastor" principal, who attempted to entice parents into a rejection of any gay and trans children within the school community. Interestingly, the document was repealed following an exodus of staff and students. I think that a safe bet would be that Mister Principal still holds his views and the scrapping of this edict has only been for economic purposes.
Then, there is a bloke named Lyle Shelton who has his own page on Facebook and comes across as being reasonably lucid. He believes "parents who disagree with homosexuality should be allowed to have their children in a school community that teaches the virtues of the Christian sexual ethic".
Lyle has a valid point, except parents and staff from WITHIN this school have been the ones that caused the disappearance of this particular article. I am sure there are families who wish to follow the "Christian sexual ethic" and that's why schools such as our "Pastor" principal's college exist.
I just don't believe that this school should be afforded similar funding as other Christian schools that have a more balanced ethos.
And Lyle, along with a multitude of other religious conservatives, has missed an important point. Genetics determine an individual's sexuality and orientation, just like other inherited traits such as eye and hair colour.
A very long time ago, my twin girls were stillborn on 19 January 1988. They had a condition called twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, which involves two identical foetuses, a single placenta and an imbalance of blood supply. Thus, at birth, Zoe was bigger and bright red as she had been receiving an overabundance of blood. Melanie was tiny and almost bloodless. She had been shunting her blood to her sister, which is part of the condition. Melanie died between 24 and 25 weeks and Zoe a week later. I believe she was distressed at her sister's death and performed somersaults until she repeatedly knotted her cord and died from asphyxia a week later.
Why I'm telling this story is not to gather sympathy. If the girls had lived, there would be no Callum, Alex, Bron or Miss Imogen Ivy. In my raw grief, all those years ago, I blamed God for taking my girls, along with their brother Christopher and my unnamed miscarried first baby. I ranted and railed in my distress at the unfairness.
Then I remembered the words of the wonderful hospital chaplain, a chap named Robert Anderson, who was patient, warm and completely honest. God has nothing to do with genetics was the essence of his message to me during that horrible time. God had not caused twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome in my pregnancy. God had not caused the death of my precious babies. And God had been unable to save them as he didn't hold the power to alter the outcome. Thirty-four years later, I still find comfort in his words.
The good news is that treatment for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome has advanced and more babies who develop this condition in-utero have a better chance of survival. But this scary scenario still happens, because genetics control these outcomes, not God.
God and I have made our peace, thanks to Robert. When Alex, my Man Child, arrived with a complex heart defect similar to his brother Christopher and then went on to develop asthma, autism, scoliosis and an eclectic array of health issues, I knew that my God had no part in Alex's creation. Would I change a hair on Alex's head? Not bloody likely, as then our autistic superstar wouldn't be who he is.
So, when research discovered that sexuality, sexual identity and sexual orientation were all genetically based, I was profoundly relieved. I live in hope that, eventually, these scientific facts will ease the prejudice endured by the LGBTIQA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Intersex, Queer and Asexual) community and allow them their dignity to live their lives as genetics have dictated.
After all, aren't we all God's children and creatures?
Yes!
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