The God Box Read Online Free Page B

husband.' Clearly, this woman's love life wasn't
    'one man, one woman, till death do us part. 'Jesus knew this, and yet he reached out to her. He didn't judge her. He didn't condemn her. He didn't try to change her. Nor did he get into a scriptural debate. Instead he asked her to share a cup of water with him."Angie paused and scanned our group for reactions. I followed her gaze.Cliff bent forward, muscles taut, as if about to tackle, but waiting. Meanwhile Elizabeth sat with her arms folded and her jaw set. Though obviously disturbed by Angie's interpretation, both Cliff and Elizabeth seemed unsure how to challenge it.Others in our little circle kept their eyes trained on their Bibles. Either they agreed with Angie or they were too uncertain to speak up.As for me, I wasn't exactly sure what I thought.
    This was turning out like no Bible discussion we'd had before, and the silence was making me nervous."I can see your point," I ventured, "about Jesus being accepting and nonjudgmental, but didn't he also want the woman to believe in him and change her ways?"Heads nodded eagerly in agreement. But before Angie could answer, Dakota tossed a grenade that sent the discussion in a26different direction. "So, by sexuality, would you include gay and lesbian people?"Everyone snapped to attention again. Sweat built on my forehead. It was the first time anybody had ever brought up the topic of gays in Bible Club.Angie gave a confident nod to Dakota. "I think that's consistent with the passage.""Wait a sec!" Cliff burst out. "To claim Jesus reached out to people is way different from saying he approved of them. The Bible clearly states that homosexuality is an abomination."I tensed in my seat. Thank God Manuel wasn't here. I wished I weren't either."God created Adam and Eve," Elizabeth added, "not Adam and Steve."Without missing a beat Dakota asked, "Then who created Steve?"Elizabeth smirked at the question. "If people hear the Word of God and keep sinning, they're not believers.""They're wolves in sheep's clothing,"
    Cliff agreed."And are you without sin?" Angie calmly asked."First Corinthians Five-Eleven,"
    Cliff shot back. "Don't 'associate with any one who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of immorality'--""But what about Romans Two-One?" Aaron Esposito, a heavyset boy, interjected."'... By the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things.'"Here we go, I thought. Proof-text volleyball. We'd gotten into debates like this before, where each side spiked and volleyed Scripture quotes. Sometimes it seemed that if you looked hard enough, you could find a Bible verse to justify anything."If you accept gays," Elizabeth sputtered, "you're saying that27what they do is okay. And if you say gay is okay, what's to stop everybody from becoming gay?"Dakota rolled her eyes. "Would you become gay?""No!" Elizabeth scrunched her nose in disgust. "But I don't want my children to be gay."Dakota widened her eyes in mock surprise. "I never knew you had kids." She abruptly turned to me. "Did you know she had kids?"I kept my mouth shut, growing warmer as the girls grew louder-- and felt like a phony for not revealing my own inner turmoil."Ha, ha," Elizabeth sneered at Dakota. "This isn't a joke, you know.""Okay," Dakota said in pretend seriousness. "So, you're worried about your imaginary children."Elizabeth shook with rage. "I'm thinking about the children I plan to have and all the other children in the world who shouldn't be told that something is okay when it's clearly a sin!"The two girls leaned toward each other. Were they about to come to blows? Eager to defuse the tension, I raised my hands into a T formation. "Can we get back to the passage?"Dakota and Elizabeth became quiet. Everybody else--even Cliff--
    exhaled a sigh of relief. Angie returned to reading aloud about Jesus being the living water, something which it seemed like we all could use a big dose of. My throat felt dry as