Bloggers on the Religious Right attack bestselling author Philip Yancey for speaking at the 2011 Gay Christian Network conference. After the event, Yancey posted a response at http://www.philipyancey.com/. Noting this “hammering … for [his] agreeing to speak”, he wrote: “I get tired of writing about this issue because it stirs up such a storm of controversy and little of the dialogue seems constructive. On the other hand, the church must keep engaging, and I know of no better way to engage than to hear the stories of Christians who are struggling personally with homosexuality. Some conservatives think the very term ‘Gay Christian’ is an oxymoron. I wish they could attend a gathering such as the one I spoke to last week and hear the stories I heard.” For over 30 years, other evangelical leaders (e.g., Lew Smedes, Nick Wolterstorff, Ros Rinker, Charlie Shedd, Letha Scanzoni) have voiced the very same wish at EC retreats. Yancey: “Rather than try to defend my decision just to speak to Gay Christians, I will quote here a letter from the head of GCN”, Justin Lee.
In Lee’s letter – printed in full on Yancey’s blog and written before the conference – he mentions his own struggle when, as a committed Christian growing up Southern Baptist, he discovered “to my horror that I was attracted to guys instead of girls.” Church leaders turned their backs on his seeking their help. “GCN began when I met other Christians who were in the same boat. All of us were struggling to figure out how to live holy lives with our same-sex attractions, and all of us had felt the church’s rejection.” He explains that GCN welcomes those who support gay marriage and those who believe that gay people are called to celibacy. He explains that he has “no idea what Philip’s views are on gay relationships [and that] that’s not the point.” He says: “I did not invite him because of any views he might or might not hold on gays; I invited him because this is a group of people who desperately need to hear not only that God loves them, but that other Christians do, too.”
“The Right is meaner, but they’re not as foul. The Left mail I get will use terrible words but be less vitriolic. They use the F-word and things like that.” Denver’s outspoken Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput was here describing, to the Pew Forum, the mail he gets in response to his speaking out on controversial issues.
City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era, a Moody publication by George W. Bush White House veterans Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner, faults the Religious Right for graceless politics. Citing sociologist Robert Putnam, they argue that the Religious Right must assume responsibility for turning the young away from the church.
The first EC bookmark, mailed out with Record & Review 36 years ago honored evangelist Charles Finney, quoting a statement from his Lectures on Revivals & Religion: “Revivals are hindered when ministers and churches take wrong ground in regard to any question involving human rights.”
In “What Matters More”, a new song from Derek Webb, he challenges his fellow Christians on their antigay rhetoric (see this issue’s “Worth Repeating” and YouTube). A Huffington Post self-described atheist asks Webb how Christians can build bridges to the LGBT community. Webb: “Initially, Christians can stop pretending that they’re so different. I think there would be an immediate change in the conversation if we all realized how similar we are … . The church has spent so many years dealing publicly in the morality of the issue, in a way that misrepresents the response that I believe Jesus would have, that Christians have forgotten, or maybe never really [knew] in the first place, that whether your moral response to the gay issue is that it is perfectly permissible in the eyes of the Bible, or that it is totally reprehensible, your interpersonal response should be absolutely no different to gay people. The response, by the way, is love. Period. It’s love and open arms, regardless of your position on the morality.”
“What to make of Sufjan Stevens?” is the Religious Right’s World magazine’s first sentence in a full-page piece on this innovative, inscrutable, indie folk singer/songwriter. Warren Cole Smith notes Stevens’ membership in the conservative Presbyterian Church in America where his local pastor and pastor’s wife are among his closest friends and his fellow music-makers. But, says Smith, “There can be little doubt that he sometimes sings with a lush romanticism about male-male love.” Smith says that most Sufjan fans are annoyed by the question of whether he’s gay while others guess he’s being “intentionally ironic”. Smith says Stevens declined “repeated requests” for an interview with World.
Stevens is the subject of a Christianity Today piece by Katelyn Beaty who says the artist’s latest album, “The Age of Adz”, features “cryptic lyrics about human love and desire, and the end of days.” Though she says the album “deemphasizes the theological themes”, the “message” of one of the songs is “Get right with the Lord.” She concludes that, “like his music, Stevens is a complicated and brilliant creature: neither a ‘Christian artist’ nor an ‘artist who is a Christian’, but a human like the rest of us.”
“Divorce is now the scandal of the evangelical conscience.” This is the assessment of Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Seminary. “Needless to say,” he says, “this creates a significant credibility crisis when evangelicals then rise to speak in defense of marriage.” Citing political scientist Mark Smith’s noting the absence of divorce on the “pro-traditional family” agenda, Mohler points out: “The real scandal is the fact that evangelical Protestants divorce at rates at least as high as the rest of the public.” Barna Research finds the divorce rate in nondenominational churches to be 34 percent (as compared to 25 percent in the general public) 29 percent among Baptists, 28 percent among Pentecostals, and 27 percent among self-identified “born-again” Christians. Asks Mohler: “How did divorce, so clearly identified as a grievous sin in the Bible, become so commonplace and accepted in our midst?” He notes Smith’s explanation that “the inclusion of divorce on the agenda of the Christian right would have risked a massive alienation of members. In summary, evangelicals allowed culture to trump Scripture.”
Canada’s Christian network, Crossroads Television, has axed an antigay preacher from its lineup. Charles McVety, a lobbyist against same-sex marriage, was canned over his suggesting that gay people pervert and prey on children. Crossroads does carry religious programming of scandal ridden Benny Hinn, 100 Huntley Street and the Robisons as well as reruns of Gilligan’s Island, The Partridge Family and The Waltons.
Focus on the Family keeps its focus of alarm on gay marriage, even while only 45 percent of teens in the general population grow up in intact homes of married parents. In the 1970s, 68 percent of black teens were living with their married parents; today the figure is 17 percent. Still, Focus’ big focus of fright is aimed at a relatively few families – gay families – that are lovingly rearing their own kids or the kids discarded by the biological parents. And while most aborted babies, most school dropouts, most teen suicides, most incarcerated youth, most drug addicted kids, most unwed mothers and most of the poverty entrapped are offspring of heterosexual men who impregnated their girlfriends and then disappeared, the Religious Right remains fixated on fighting against committed marriage for gay folk.
The largest concentration of gay parents is in Jacksonville, Florida. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, among an estimated 581,000 gay couples in America, those in the South are more likely to be rearing children than gay couples in the West and Northeast.
Chuck Colson continues to denigrate same-sex marriage. Half-jokingly suggesting a tax on all sex outside heterosexual marriage, he argues that out-of-wedlock sex is costing taxpayers $300 billion a year – due to single mothers’ poverty, deadbeat boyfriends, disease, public costs of childcare, food stamps, etc. The costs derive from heterosexual hook-ups but Colson concludes by condemning same-sex marriage: “Redefining marriage to mean nothing more than a contract between two or more people of any gender would further undo the institution of marriage, with all resulting costs.”
In “Reformed Matters: The Purpose of Marriage”, the president of Crossroad Bible Institute gives a history lesson to refute “those who contend that sinister forces are redefining marriage to be solely about the mutual enrichment of the couple [rather than] being first of all about procreation.” Christian Reformed minister H. David Schuringa explains on his denomination’s website, thebanner.org, that “back to the first Psalter of 1566, there is no mention of ‘the propagation of the human race’” as the purpose of marriage. That “propagation” phrase was inserted into Psalter editions of 1934, 1959 and 1973. It wasn’t there before. In 1977, the CRC Synod restored the older stated purpose of “mutual enrichment”. That wording remains. He notes that the mid-20th century detour, “the propagation of the human race”, is a phrase from an encyclical of Pope Leo XIII and was urged by a 1930s professor with “high-church leanings”. Schuringa concludes: “In our tradition, except for the one aforementioned generation (1934-1977), the enrichment of the couple has always been marriage’s primary purpose.” He adds that this is also the case with that most basic Reformed standard, the Westminster Confession.
Before repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, Pew Research found that 34 percent of American Evangelicals favored repeal. But the Religious Right is urging repeal of the repeal. But overlooking the evils of slavery, segregation, race and gender discrimination in American history, Robert Knight argues: “At some point, America’s temporary plunge into moral insanity must end, or it will be the end of this self-governing republic that God has blessed so richly – up to now.” Knight is senior writer for Coral Ridge Ministries. Pat Buchanan rants over Congressional support for “an aberrant lifestyle” in the military, “imposed from above by people, few of whom have ever served or seen combat.” And though Buchanan, himself, never served in the military, he asks ominously: “Can anyone believe that mixing small-town and rural 18-, 19- and 20-year-old Christian kids, aspiring Marines, in with men sexually attracted to them is not going to cause hellish problems?” – as though none of those Christian kids is gay? And antigay Calvinist pundit Peter Jones hints at something demonic in the repeal’s having been “enacted on the verge of the winter solstice [and] usher[ing] in a cultural winter: the new pan-sexual spiritual society.” He warns: “America will never be the same.”
Religious Right’s World magazine publisher Joel Belz says DADT’s repeal “may be the least of our problems.” In his “Ending the Fibbing” essay, he notes, “we have lived with a policy of pretense.” But there are “ larger issues [that are] more ominous” – all having to do with sins of gay folk: “It’s not just that they don’t want to be excluded from full participation in every expression of public participation – like politics, commerce, entertainment, or education.” They want to have “freedom of association and freedom of expression.” This, he fears, will mean loss of freedoms for “us [and] churches, schools, and even families will face more and more serious penalties for failure to comply.”
“No DADT, No Problem” is Jordan Sekulow’s reaction to repeal. “As a Christian conservative broadcaster, attorney, and activist”, he sees “no reason for DADT; there are more important issues.” Says he: “As a young member of the ‘religious right’, if a gay friend or family member came to me and said they wanted to join the military, I would gladly be the first to congratulate and thank them.” He concludes: “Now let’s get back to debating the most important issues facing our country.”
“As conservatives, we need to fall off of our self-righteous high horse and fight for the values we pay lip service to.” So says one of Pat Robertson’s Regent University law school students in her December 21 blog for DADT repeal. (RenewAmerica.com) Jamie Freeze explains that though she thinks the Bible condemns homosexuality, “our government governs Christians and non-Christians … Baptists were the forerunners of separation of church and state in colonial America.” She quotes Barry Goldwater: “You don’t need to be straight to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight.” She observes: “Homosexuals lose liberty when they honorably uphold our liberty in war. They fight for something they cannot have, and we moan and groan when they are granted the liberty to not lie.”
“Don’t Fret, Don’t Whine” is Bill Kristol’s advice to fellow conservatives. Writing in The Weekly Standard: “There’s been some hyperventilating among conservatives about the effects on the military of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Quoting a conservative whose Marine husband serves in Afghanistan and who finds these “hysterics are insulting to our honorable men and women in uniform”, Kristol joins her: “Cool it.”
“Gays: Too Mainstream for Liberals?” Conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg notes transition over the past two decades – from “some bohemian identity politics fantasy of homosexuality” to today’s same-sex marriage drives and the overturning of DADT. He notes that ABC’s “Modern Family”, about a hardworking gay couple with an adopted daughter from Asia, “is the No. 1 sitcom among Republicans (and the third show overall behind Glenn Beck and ‘The Amazing Race’) but not even in the top 15 among Democrats.” He imagines the old-time Left must think “gays have just been co-opted by The Man [and] folks who used [DADT] as an excuse to keep the military from recruiting on campuses just saw their argument go up in flames.” Goldberg sees gay marriage as “an inevitability, for good or ill (most likely both)” and adds: it’s “cruel and absurd to tell gays that living the free-love lifestyle is abominable while at the same time telling them that their committed relationships are illegitimate, too.” This conservative concludes: “the homosexual bourgeoisie strikes me as good news.”
Antigay groups boycotted the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference in D.C. because pro-gay GOProud was a co-sponsor. Antigay activist Tom Minnery threatens to pull out if he can’t offset GOProud’s influence in future. But Sarah Palin welcomes GOProud’s inclusion, telling CBN that GOProud folks “provide good information and balance” and adding that, instead of being distracted by divisions, “we’d better be concentrating on what is really important”.
GOProud’s Jimmy LaSalvia recalled his group’s reception last year: “We had an overwhelming amount of support. One person after another came up to our booth and thanked us for being there.” This year, CBS reported: “a stream of participants walked up to the booth throughout the day to thank GOProud representatives for coming.” Media mogul Andrew Breitbart joined GOProud’s Advisory Council and twittered his friends: “Gonna have a party welcoming Gay conservatives to CPAC. Deal with it.”
Evangelical Christians are less politically active than other Americans. So says sociologist Rodney Stark, working with the Gallup Organization. Other findings: the percentage of atheists in America is essentially the same as in the mid-1940s and Americans who identify as atheists are more likely to believe in Tarot, psychic healing and the paranormal than are Christian Americans; only 10% of Americans identify as “spiritual, but not religious” (they’re more likely to believe in ghosts and psychic phenomena than do the religious), 57% of Americans say they’re “spiritual and religious”, 17% claim to be “religious, but not spiritual” and 16% say they’re “neither”; Americans “with post-graduate training are as likely to attend church as are those whose education ended at high school or sooner”; members of theologically conservative churches are more likely to tithe and to volunteer within and outside their church than are members of theologically liberal churches. Stark’s What Americans Really Believe is a Baylor University Press book.
Christianity Today’s 2011 list of “the books that best offer insight into the people, events and ideas that shape evangelical life, thought and mission” includes, for Fiction, Ann Rice’s Of Love & Evil. CT judges started with 427 books and whittled that list down to the 11 winners. Among them, Rice is the most outspoken supporter of gay folks.
Christianity Today’s “Top 10 Stories of 2010” spanned from a threatened burning of the Qur’an in Florida (#10) to aid workers’ mistakes after the Haitian earthquake (#1). Ranked #7: “American evangelicals find themselves at odds with African Christians over Uganda’s proposed anti-gay bill which would punish homosexual acts with life imprisonment or even the death penalty.”
Reformed Church in America members who support “full inclusion of LGBT persons” launched Room for All (roomforall.com). RfA will have two regional workshops for church leaders interested in making their congregations more affirming. RfA will also have a meet-and-greet at RCA’s General Synod meetings at Calvin College in June. RfA co-president Tom Goodhart explains: “We do this not as a part of a culture war, or as adapting to societal trends, nor as being conformed by some social or political agenda. We do this because we are called by God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and following Christ. We do this because our faith compels us.”
Gay and lesbian young people are less inclined to attend gay/lesbian majority churches than are older gays. A Metropolitan Community Church in Florida is typical. Of the 250 who regular attend, only about twenty are in their 20s and 30s. Younger gay men and women don’t want to have to be closeted in church, but they also don’t want to have everything revolve around their same-sex orientation.
Gay Mormon activists were VIP guests at the 2010 LDS Christmas Concert in Temple Square. Among the invitees were WordPerfect creator Bruce Bastian and Oscar winning director Dustin Lance Black. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed along with singer David Archuleta and British actor Michael York. Black called this honored inclusion of gay activists “an extraordinary act of goodwill”.
Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Goodwin, in the conservative New York Post: “Hate crimes are up 14 percent across the state, but those against Muslims are a tiny fraction. Of the 683 reported to police in 2009, only 11 targeted Muslims. Yes, 11. In 2008 there were eight. Compare that with the 251 against Jews, or 37 percent of the total. Anti-black crimes were down slightly, to 144, or 21 percent of the total. The biggest rise was in crimes against gays, from 70 to 107. Remember those numbers the next time someone … warns against a rising tide of Islamophobia. Use the facts to shut them up.”
“Shame, guilt and internalized homophobia [during] childhood are directly related to increased risky sex and drug use and the resulting HIV infection and AIDS that we are seeing in adult MSM [men who have sex with men].” This finding by the widely respected AIDS researcher David G. Ostrow, was presented in a number of scientific papers at the recent XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna.
Fr. John Harvey, founder of Courage apostolate, has died at age 92. In 1980, he founded his group for Roman Catholic homosexuals committed to chastity. This group is not to be confused with the UK group, Courage, founded by Jeremy Marks – initially as an “ex-gay” group. After years of “ex-gay” failures, Marks refocused his ministry for the integrating of Christian faith and homosexuality.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) has signed an anti-bullying law that gay rights activists hail as the toughest such law in the nation. It eliminates loopholes in laws passed years ago and mandates specific preparations for preventing and procedures for uncovering and penalizing bullying.
In Snakes in the Pulpit, a 2007 book by gospel radio’s Reuben Armstrong, a chapter on the “Homosexual Pastor” begins: “This is not breaking news. Sad to say, some Pastors such as Bishop Eddie Long do sleep with members of their own sex.” Now, four young men under Long’s mentoring have made public accusations of Long’s sexual coercion of them. In his book, Armstrong noted Long’s penchant for “wearing his tight muscle shirts” and now, Long’s own posed photos of himself in muscle shirts, allegedly sent to the young men, have gone viral on YouTube. The black church’s “silent down-low brothers [who love] attractive and muscularly built … African brothers” is blasted by Armstrong. Both he and Long have preached against homosexuality for years.
AND FINALLY
2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the first printing of the King James Bible. The “King James Only” fundamentalists may be shocked at a love-note King James wrote to his young favorite, George Villiers, one morning in May: “The Lord of Heaven send you a sweet and blithe wakening, all kind of comfort in your sanctified bed, and bless the fruits thereof that I may have sweet bedchamber boys to play me with; and this is my daily prayer, sweetheart. When thou rises, keep thee from importunity of people that may trouble thy mind, that at meeting I may see thy white teeth shine upon me and so bear me comfortable company in my journey.” A quarter century ago, church historian Martin E. Marty quoted from this love-note of King James and asked: “Anyone for the RSV?”