I wrote earlier about Jennifer Knapp coming out of the closet and relaunching her career in the 100% more authentic world of “not-Christian” music.* She also did an interview with Christianity Today** where she answered their prying questions about her life, her career, her “lifestyle choice,” and her “struggles with same sex attraction.” She really is a saint for speaking to the interviewer, Mark Moring, because he asks so many questions in such a trademark Christian fashion: intellectually dishonest, callously dismissive of easily verifiable facts, disrespectful, and all under the comfortable umbrella of “The Chrischin worldvyew.” Par exemple:

I understand. But I’m curious: Were you struggling with same-sex attraction when writing your first three albums? Those songs are so confessional, clearly coming from a place of a person who knows her need for grace and mercy.

Knapp: To be honest, it never occurred to me while writing those songs. I wasn’t seeking out a same-sex relationship during that time.

During my college years, I received some admonishment about some relationships I’d had with women. Some people said, “You might want to renegotiate that,” even though those relationships weren’t sexual. Hindsight being 20/20, I guess it makes sense. But if you remove the social problem that homosexuality brings to the church‚Äîand the debate as to whether or not it should be called a “struggle,” because there are proponents on both sides‚Äîyou remove the notion that I am living my life with a great deal of joy. It never occurred to me that I was in something that should be labeled as a “struggle.” The struggle I’ve had has been with the church, acknowledging me as a human being, trying to live the spiritual life that I’ve been called to, in whatever ramshackled, broken, frustrated way that I’ve always approached my faith. I still consider my hope to be a whole human being, to be a person of love and grace. So it’s difficult for me to say that I’ve struggled within myself, because I haven’t. I’ve struggled with other people. I’ve struggled with what that means in my own faith. I have struggled with how that perception of me will affect the way I feel about myself.

Uh yeah. “Hi, I’m a ‘Christian journalist,’ and as such, I totally deserve to be smacked.”

The fact that she didn’t is a testament to her character.

*Yeah, I’m a singer/songwriter. I dare you to challenge me on my contention that “Christian music” is a fake “genre” created for people who aren’t talented enough to make it in real music and/or listeners who are unable to handle the real world and instead need “Christianized” versions of everything, from movies to music to freaking toothpaste, if it’s available.

**Damn, Jennifer. Way to jump in the lion’s den!

Welcome to the outside-the-closet world, Jennifer Knapp:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A rising star on the Christian music scene is returning to the public eye with a new identity after a mysterious seven-year absence spent mostly on the other side of the world.

Jennifer Knapp is not only coming out with a new album, she is also “coming out,” a term the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter considers “very bizarre” as she nervously relaunches her career.

The 36-year-old Kansas native, who dated men during her college days, is braced for a backlash from religious fans who faithfully shot down whispered rumors about her sexuality over the years. On the other hand, she said in a recent interview with Reuters, “I’m definitely getting a lot more friendly winks from the girls (at her concerts) than I have in the past!”

No other singer of Knapp’s renown in the Christian music genre is openly gay.

Of course, there will be those who lose their minds and take Jennifer’s CDs to Baptist bonfires, but even though Jennifer doesn’t seem to want to be an activist (which is okay), I think this will probably be good for some of her younger fans in the Evangelical world. Their parents and church leaders lie to them so much about LGBT people, and they get away with it because there is still a cloistered segment of society where people who don’t look, think or act like them are suppressed, if not driven away completely. Since we know for a fact that the mere fact of knowing a gay person makes people exponentially more likely to support us, maybe for some of those kids/young adults, Jennifer Knapp can be the one they know. And especially for those gay kids and young adults who are still trapped in that world and who are still very closeted, Jennifer’s courage in simply being honest will encourage and maybe even save a few of those kids.

Knapp’s new record, Letting Go, will be out May 11. Here’s a live YouTube recording of the title track (and Jennifer chit-chatting with the audience):

(Photo credit: Reuters)