Recently Michael Tate came out as gay and admitted problems with drug and alcohol abuse and sexual harassment. I don't EXCUSE Michael for his harassing behavior, but there are REASONS for some of his behavior.
I feel sympathetic for his intractable situation. I can only imagine he felt trapped in his skin and trapped in his career. We have all seen the shame the church heaps onto LGBTQ Christians and non-Christians. For Michael confessing his authentic self would have risked his connection to his community, the respect of others, and his lively hood. Hiding his authentic self preserved all that but must have caused incredible mental and emotional stress that could easily make drugs and alcohol seem like an effective soothing, numbing option for coping. He was in a catch-22.
Too a far lesser degree, I understand Michael's challenge as I am part of the CSDT (Christian Skeptic Doubting Thomas) community. When I considered coming out of the closet in my skeptic free evangelical church as a CSDT, I was terrified to lose the connections to and respect of the community I had nurtured for thirty years. Yet I experienced anxiety, pretending I could not even spell the word "Doubt." We are inherently social creatures and there is little that drives our fear more than the potential loss of community and family.
As a Church we need to recognize the real pain we cause people in the LGBTQ community. That's not to say we must abandon theology or that experience trumps theology. But in our theology, we must fully acknowledge that our words have consequences, and we must consider that carefully as we seek to understand God's opinions.
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