A video in which a student's poem
proposes that God might be gay has gone viral on YouTube.
“God is Gay” features Elliot
Darrow's performance during finals at the 2013 College of Unions
Poetry Slam Invitational.
“What if I told you God is gay?”
begins Darrow, a 20-year-old University of North Carolina drama
student. “Do you think belligerent bible-belters; Would still
holler hate speech to the hilltops; In His name?”
Darrow told Time
magazine that he's straight and grew up Presbyterian. He said
the seed of the poem began to germinate 18 months earlier.
“I personally believe that God is not
a sexual being. But at the same time, to make a statement, what if
He were, was all an attempt to show people that even God, who we see
as infallible, still has human traits, such as sexuality, or loves
people of specific gender or identity.”
The poem interprets Bible passages from
a new perspective.
“A history lesson: A faggot is a
bundle of sticks; Originally used as kindling for fires that engulfed
gays; When they were burned at the stake, people were firewood; But
Moses came across wood on fire and saw God in it; What is a burning
bush but bundles of branches; On fire, isn't it funny how faggots and
God can look the same sometimes?” (The video is embedded on this
page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Darrow's complete poem.
What if I told you God is gay?
Do you think belligerent bible-belters
Would still holler hate speech to the
hilltops
In His name?
Or do you think they would reread the
scriptures
They say they swear and survive by
See, I've been reading the Bible again
lately
And I think I've taken a leaf from
their holy book,
Picking passages for my purpose
Which is in short
To let you know it's very possible God
is gay.
I mean think about the book of Genesis
In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth
And it wasn't just good, it was
fabulous.
I mean what else is our planet but the
pinnacle
Of exterior design, and I don't mean to
generalize
But it certainly seems like that the
Garden of Eden
Was designed by queer, I mean divine
eye for the straight guy
But some Christians would go as far as
to call
God's creations abominations
Heretics calling themselves faithful
When their faith is full of belief that
only God may pass judgment
Matthew 7:1 Judge and you too shall be
judged
Luke 6: 37 Condemn not and you shall
not be condemned
Fred Phelps 2006: You're going to hell!
God hates fags!
A history lesson: A faggot is a bundle
of sticks
Originally used as kindling for fires
that engulfed gays
When they were burned at the stake,
people were firewood
But Moses came across wood on fire and
saw God in it,
What is a burning bush but bundles of
branches
On fire, isn't it funny how faggots and
God can look the same sometimes?
Keep in mind Jesus had two dads and
turned out just fine
In fact, Jesus had two dads and a
surrogate mother
That never had sex with either of them,
Maybe Mary was a lesbian
And I remember the prayer going
"Hail Mary, full of grace"
Not full of sin,
"Pray for us sinners"
For we have become blinded by bigotry.
And forgotten that God gave us the
rainbow
As a promise that we will never be
flooded again
Either with rain or ignorance
And now all the homosexual Homo sapiens
Stand more united under God's rainbow
Than all of his denominations do around
the cross.
I was brought up believing that my
Savior loved us all
And never had to specify "no homo"
But if you have hate in your heart
Say it don't pray it
Don't teach it and for the love of God
don't preach it
Because I am tired of these fire and
brimstone sermons
Slinging slurs when they're not firing
brimstones
From voices that should be filled with
love and praise
Instead of raised with hate and rage
I am a Christian, and I believe in
saying the Christian thing.
Which used to sound like "Love thy
neighbor as thyself"
But now sounds more like hate at the
top of your picket signs
The closest thing to God being "Hell,
is waiting for you"
They're passing out damnation pamphlets
Filled with out-of-context Bible verses
Trying to define God
When his meaning is clear.
He is acceptance, He is pride, He is
humility, He is just,
God is perfection, God is protection,
God is love,
But most importantly
God is gay