God and Gays: Churchgoers Divided

This issue got the national treatment from USA Today. Here are some excerpts I found particularly interesting:

Barbara Brown Taylor, 55, left the Episcopal priesthood, observing that "human beings never behave more badly toward one another than when they believe they are protecting God."

Surveys have shown that most of the growing denominations and non-denominational community "Bible churches" are theologically conservative, with no openly gay clergy or no same-sex unions blessed.

Once, black people, women and homosexuals were viewed the same way by the leading theologians of the times: "They were all cursed by God in Scripture, inferior in moral character and willfully sinful and deserving punishment," says the Rev. Jack Rogers, former head of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and author of a new book, Jesus, the Bible and Homosexuality.
Eventually, most churches found a biblical basis for changing their stance on race and gender but not on homosexuality.

"Young adults today can't understand what the fuss is all about. Their lives are colorblind. They have gay friends and straight friends. They have good values, but they don't stay with the church," he says. "The gay-rights battle isn't the main reason, but it's one of them. They don't see in their church a lens to see the world." And people of all ages "are really tired of all this" fighting. "Most people just want to get on with thinking about Jesus."

Overall, this was a well balanced piece that's worth taking time to read thoroughly.

Naming Names

The Boston Globe has a story about the work of a website called KnowThyNeighbor.org. They put together a serchable database containing names of people who signed the petition for a Massachusetts constitutional amendment to outlaw gay marriage. The group is now working on a similar data base in Florida.

I like it!

Why shouldn't people be accountable for their actions. The activists who are working very hard to promote GLBT equality are putting their names out there for the cause. I could write this blog anonymously, but I choose not to because I'm perfectly willing to stand behind what I write and be accountable for it.

It's easy to hide behind the shroud of anonymity and discriminate against someone else's rights, but it might not be quite so easy when your name gets attached to it.

Be Transgendered At Your Own Risk

The Yahoo group "Teach The Facts" posts a lot of interesting articles that I wind up linking to, and this one regarding transgendered people especially moved me.

According to this story, the murder rate of transgendered persons is 17 times the national average, the highest rate of any minority group.

"It's ignorance, more than anything else, that creates fear," said Vicky Ortega, who founded LOTUS and also works as a health education specialist at the Gay and Lesbian Center of Los Angeles. LOTUS is the League of Trans-Unified Sisters, a support group of transgender people working to change society's attitudes toward them. I was not able to find a website for them, but if anyone knows of one, I would be happy to post it here.

I'm not going to pretend to have any more than the most cursory understanding of transgender issues, but I do know that they are people too and deserve every right that I enjoy and should be treated with no less respect than anyone else. The problems here are a lot worse that name-calling and discrimination and need to be taken very seriously.

Media coverage of "Love Won Out" Conference & Protest-Updated

The Washington Times ran this story about yesterday's event. From a paper known for a strong right-wing slant, this piece was reasonably well balanced.

The Washington Post did not run anything (at least not that I could find online) but they did have a story about today's Gay Pride festival in downtown DC. Perhaps they have a quota of one gay story per day.

Bruce Garret, whom I also met yesterday, has a brief writeup and photos from yesterday's protest up on his blog. Fortunately for you readers, I'm not in any of the pictures.

As Bruce mentions in his post, Steve Boese attended the conference and has the first in a series of posts up where he will share his impressions of the event. Boese is apparently open to the ex-gay concept and shares this about the rules regarding the conference:

"I was aware that conference organizers do a bag search as attendees enter the premises, and folks found to be carrying gay-affirming pamphlets, cards, or tracts may either have them confiscated or be asked to leave. Registration requires attendees to agree that LWO organizers reserve the right to remove anyone from the event without cause, and that any behavior perceived to be disruptive (including offering a gay-affirming pamphlet to a fellow attendee) would trigger removal."

There was only one point of view offered to people inside the church, which made what went on outside the church even more important.

Demonstrating Against "Love Won Out" Conference

As I was driving toward today’s vigil to protest the “Love Won Out” anti-gay conference being held in Silver Spring, Maryland, I wondered what kind of turnout I would find. After all, it was not quite 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning, a great time to sleep in and recover from the week just ended.

I was thrilled to see dozens of colorful signs lining both sides of the road in front of Immanuel’s Church as I pulled up. Some of them said:

“Another Marylander Against Demonizing Gay Americans”
“Love Welcomes All”
“Reparative Therapy is Neither”
“Homosexuality Is Not a Disorder”
“Focus on Fairness”
“Straight, But Not Narrow” (obviously a personal favorite)

By the time the press conference began around 9:30 AM, well over 100 people had gathered to support fairness and equality and condemn the practice of trying to “change” homosexuals promoted by the conference ready to begin only a few yards away.

Dan Furmansky, the director of Equality Maryland, opened with a few comments and introduced each speaker. At one point, he said “James Dobson, (the conference was sponsored by his Focus on the Family organization) you are not welcome in Maryland! Go back to Colorado!” I would agree with that except I don’t have anything against the GLBT population of Colorado.

One of the speakers was Harry Knox, the Director of the Human Rights Campaign’s Religion and Faith Program. Knox is a former pastor of a United Methodist Church in Georgia. He was also the Executive Director of Equality Georgia and program director of Freedom to Marry. Knox told the crowd and cameras (two local television stations shot footage), “God made me gay and called me good.”

A representative of National Black Justice Coalition (I did not catch her name) added that the group across the street was representative of a “cult of the annihilation of the authentic self.”

Maryland State Delegate Gareth Murray, who represents the district where the conference was being held, pointed out “Today it’s the gay community. What community are we going after next?” Murray sharply condemned the purpose of the conference, speaking from his background as a minister and a mental health professional.

Dr. Stephen Eckstrand, a member of the local PFLAG chapter, spoke about his two children; a lesbian daughter and a left-handed son. He pointed out that, “until the latter half of the twentieth century, people considered left handed individuals to be unlucky, clumsy, and even abnormal.” Fortunately society has moved beyond that, and Dr. Eckstrand expressed his hope that society would also grow past its failure to love and accept gays and lesbians.

I also had the pleasure of meeting writer and activist Wayne Besen, author of the book “Anything But Straight.” Besen just this past week announced the formation of the organization “Truth Wins Out and was there to support the vigil. Like his book, Truth Wins Out is dedicated to refuting the lies groups like Focus on the Family propagate to wrongly influence people. Besen wrote a piece earlier this week about the conference where he said, “Unfortunately, it will be a bastion of misinformation that flies in the face of modern psychology and presents a distorted picture of gay life filled with stereotypes in the guise of science.”

The final word is this post goes to Dr. Lise Van Susteren, whom I also ran into at Equality Maryland’s Lobby Day back in February at the state capitol in Annapolis. Dr. Van Susteren, a forensic psychiatrist, offered this profound thought, “Religion must not be used as the fig leaf to hide prejudice.”

How about it, Dr. Dobson?

"Christians Must Do More to Combat AIDS, Comfort Victims

That's the title of an essay written by Kay Warren for CNN. She is the wife of Rick Warren, author of the wildly popular "The Purpose Driven Life." Kay Warren is executive director of their home church's HIV/AIDS initiative where she has learned quite a bit about dealing with the disease and the attitudes of her fellow Christians.

She writes, "Twenty-five years into the AIDS pandemic, being HIV-positive still carries stigma and shame. But God cares for the sick and so must we. It's not a sin to be sick. The Bible tells us Jesus was repeatedly "filled with compassion" as he encountered broken bodies and broken minds. While polite society vigorously avoided contact with those they considered diseased outcasts, Jesus responded in a radical way: He cared, he touched, he healed."

Here we go again with Jesus and all that compassion stuff.

I just hope it catches on more in His church.

FMA Defeated.....For Now

Today the U. S. Senate voted 49-48 on a motion to end debate on the proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage, 11 votes short of the 60 needed to bring it to a vote on the floor of the senate.

This was an important victory for those who are fighting to avoid making discrimination a part of the U. S. Constitution, but it's merely a battle won. The war will continue and perhaps intensify.

Think I'm exaggerating? Check out these quotes:

"We're going to continue to press this issue," Colorado Republican Sen. Wayne Allard said. "If it's up to me, we'll have a vote on this issue every year."

"We're making progress, and we're not going to stop until marriage between a man and a woman is protected," said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas.

Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said failure to pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage would be "a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions for children" in a Monday radio broadcast.

President Bush, in a 10-minute speech on Monday, said "An amendment to the Constitution is necessary because activist courts have left our nation with no other choice."

Of course, the right-wing defines "activist courts" or "activist judges" as ones who don't support their views.

Regarding the Senate vote: "It is true what this vote will do will be to help the voters identify who is and is not supportive of the family," said Dr. James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. "And I think those that are not are going to have to answer for it."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), "Marriage ranks as one of our most important social institutions," he writes. "Americans have made it clear that they want to protect it against activist judges like those who sit on the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts."

Folks, these people are not going away just because they lost a vote. Some of them truly believe they have the moral high ground and that they are charged with protecting their version of God's will from being violated. Others are seizing this issue as their ticket to power and wealth. Either way, they're not going to quit.

It is critical that those 47 senators who voted against bringing the amendment to a vote know that their constituents have their backs, and their vote.

It is also cricital that people understand that the attidute of treating homosexuals as second-class (if that high) citizens is NOT reflective of all Christians. There are people who love God with all their hearts and feel the leading of the Holy Spirit to strive for equality for ALL his people. We need to continue to raise up our voices and speak to God's love, not this spirit of exclusion the religious right wants people to think he is all about.

"Ex-Gay" Leaders Invited to White House

When President Bush announced his support for the constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage yesterday, he did it with in the company of Alan Chambers and Randy Thomas from Exodus International. Exodus is an organization at the forefront of claiming to "lead people out of homosexuality."

In this outstanding column by Michelle Goldbert of The Huffington Post, the writer offers this thought:

"If, as virtually all mainstream experts believe, Exodus is wrong, then Bush's attempt to rally support against gay families is simply gratuitously cruel. But mainstream experts carry little weight with this administration. Once again, Bush is using his position to symbolically subvert science in favor of a faith-based parallel reality. Gay people will suffer the most from what he is doing, but truth itself is also a casualty. "

Wide-Ranging Takes on Same-Sex Marriage Ban

If you're even an occassional visitor to this blog, you know where I stand on the issue of same-sex marriage and the proposed Constitutional amendment currently under consideration in the U. S. Senate that would ban it across the nation.

Courtesy of the political blog "The Moderate Voice," I found one of the best aggregations of opinions that I've come across regarding this issue, so I'm linking it here for your perusal.

Will Bush's Push for Gay Marriage Ban Backfire?

There are even some conservatives that are seeing through this as nothing more but a shallow political ploy, and there is some thought that even this won't galvanize the Religious Right to support the President or the Republicans?

Where else can they go? How far away could we be from a new political party with them as the base?

"Ex-Gay" Conference Coming to My Area

I am very disappointed to report that one of Focus on the Family's "Love Won Out" conferences is being held on Saturday, June 10 only a few miles from my home. It is being hosted by one of the larger independent churches in the area, Immanuel's Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. For those of you who haven't heard of them, this is where homosexuals can go to get "cured" of their same-sex desires. At least that's what Dr. Dobson and his folks want everyone to believe.

I am pleased, though, that there will be an organized opposition vigil in front of the church both before and after the day-long conference. It is being put together by Equality Maryland, the DC chapter of PFLAG, Teach the Facts, a group promoting education about homosexuality in Montgomery County Schools, and Christ Congregational Church, a UCC member.

I'll be participating in what is promised to be a silent and respectful vigil. I believe it is important for GLBT people and their allies to demonstrate their opposition to these farcical exercises whenever they come to town. Anyone in the DC area that is interested in participating in the June 10 vigil can contact Rev. Sandy Dodson at sandy@christ-ucc.org.

For more information on "Love Won Out," click here.

It's About Protecting Votes, Not Marriage

There is an excellent column on EthicsDaily.com about next week's Senate vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment that would restrict marriage to one man and one woman in all 50 states.

I've linked to columns by this writer, Jim Evans, who is a pastor in Alabama, and he again nails it with this one:

"The Marriage Protection Act is not about protecting marriage. It's about getting out the vote.
Never mind that it demonizes a segment of our population in a legislative effort no one believes will really happen. It works, and that's what matters, apparently."

I have yet to see any pundits on either side of the isle who think this Amendment will come close to receiving the 60% vote it needs to pass. Even if it did, 35 states would need to ratify it before it became a part of the Constitution.

It is painfully obvious that conservative Republicans are pandering to their dissatisfied religious right constituency. Could those voters actually be so shallow and narrowly focused to fall for that ploy? Anyone who is gullable enough to be influenced by this maneuver should have their right to vote taken away until they get a clue.

One God, One Body, In Service to Christ

In my latest column for Gay Christian Outreach, I share my thoughts about the divisions in the church caused by divergent views on homosexuality, and what each side can do to bridge the gap and move closer to God's will for our lives.

Brotherhood: Better Late Than Ever

This is my contribution to a special event, Blogging for LGBT Families Day. To see others, check out Mombian.

I was born into a LGBT family, but it was well into adolescence before anyone let me in on it.

My brother Michael was born in Washington, DC in June, 1950. Our mother was only 18 years old when he was born and did not stay with his father for very long. As a result, Michael was adopted by my aunt and uncle. By the time I was born in December, 1958, also in Washington, DC, my mother had remarried and I was raised as an only child in an allegedly “normal” home. My aunt and uncle had relocated to Florida, and later Georgia, while my family was anchored in the DC suburbs.

When I was a youngster, my aunt and uncle would come for visits with their three children. To avoid upsetting the perception of normalcy, Michael was always referred to, like the other two, as my cousin. Even as a naïve child, however, I could tell he looked nothing like his “siblings” and bore a striking resemblance to my mother and to me, but I never questioned it.

Michael had a tumultuous childhood (imagine that) and by the time he was in his teens had become quite rebellious. I had my first opportunity to spend extended time with him in the summer of 1966. He stayed with my grandmother (whom he grew very close to) in DC to take some advanced placement classes at Georgetown University. I thought my “cousin” was the coolest guy in the world! He was a lot of fun to be around. Michael was so smart, had a sharp sarcastic wit (one of the few traits we share) and showed interest in taking me under his wing.

During that summer, our mother taught me that Michael, although he was smart and fun, was NOT someone I should seek to emulate. He was a “troubled young man” who was “going to find trouble.” Once Michael graduated high school, he moved out on his own. He had long been chafing under the strict fundamentalist views of my aunt and uncle. Michael had been told repeatedly he was heading for a life that would bring him nothing but pain and unhappiness and he eventually found plenty of both.

Michael continued to visit my home, and we savored our time together. In some ways, we seemed to be kindred spirits. It was just so natural, so easy being with him and hanging out, just like having a brother. Little did I know I truly had one.

I had noticed something different about Michael, though, as I grew into adolescence. He didn’t seem to be very “manly.” I had been taught that men were supposed to like sports, tools, and cars. Michael, however, liked visiting art galleries, watching foreign films, and loved Barbara Streisand. I was sheltered enough not to connect those dots myself, but my mother finally told me the whole story about Michael.

It wasn’t one of those scenes out of a movie where she sat me down and said, “There’s something you need to know.” It was on a Saturday afternoon following a particularly nasty fight she had with my father. Mom was feeling sorry for herself and wanted my sympathy too. She walked me through some of the lowlights of her life and eventually told me about how she gave up Michael when he was born and that my aunt and uncle had adopted him. Least I get too excited, she also pointed out that he was destined to burn in hell because he was homosexual.

Neither of these facts was shocking. They actually helped some things make more sense. While my 15-year old mind was trying to get a grip on this newly clarified reality, I was instructed in no uncertain terms that this was the deep, dark secret of the family and NEVER to be uttered to another living soul. We had to maintain our family’s reputation after all. As I later learned, Michael had received the same instructions from our mother years earlier. She was a woman not to be trifled with, so we both toed the line. He later defied her enough to talk to me about our brotherhood, but it went no further while she still drew breath.

For the next two decades, Michael popped in and out of my life. Once free of the shackles placed upon him growing up, he sought out his niche in the world and began discovering who he really was. That journey led Michael to DC, San Francisco, Baltimore, New York City, Cincinnati, Toronto, Buffalo, and finally Rochester, NY. Unfortunately, he explored some of the darker sides of being a gay man. Michael made friends across North America, but drifted in and out of relationships.

He finally slowed down and planted roots in western New York State. That was not a result of any new clarity of purpose. Rather, he was fighting cancer and was too sick to keep traveling. This led to his final move, from Buffalo to Rochester because it turns out that Rochester is a great place to be if you are seriously ill.

While my brother struggled with his health and was completely out of touch, I had my hands full acting as caregiver for our mother. She was admitted to a nursing home in 1991, had a brief upturn, then passed away in October, 1992. Our grandmother had passed away only two months earlier, and my father had been gone for several years, so I was left to lean on the support of my closest friends to bury mom and move on with my life. This began a chain of events that finally brought Michael and I together as brothers.

Shortly after my mother’s death, I met Bette and we decided to get married. It was the first important decision I had made without mom’s direct influence, and it led to the second one. I decided it was finally time to break through the thick fog of dysfunction that had engulfed both Michael and me. I wanted my brother to be part of my wedding, the day that would begin a new and happier phase of my life.

I contacted my aunt and obtained an address for Michael in Rochester. I sent him an invitation and included my phone number. A few days later, Bette answered the phone and said “It’s Michael.” For the first time, we spoke not as kids still under our mother’s thumb, but as independent adults, man-to-man. He asked me how I would introduce him. That was a fair question since at my first wedding, my mother had deftly avoided identifying him as anything more than a miscellaneous family member.

I’m happy that I did not hesitate in replying “As my brother.” It was interesting telling my friends that, contrary to what they had always known, I had a brother. It seemed like something one would see in a soap opera. After the wedding, Michael entertained my friends and in-laws with bizarre (but true) stories about our family, some of which I had never heard myself. Later on, we had the first face-to-face adult conversation of our lives. In one amazing weekend, I had gained a wife and a brother.

It took us awhile to get used to our new relationship, and we didn’t contact each other very often. After about two years of sporadic communications, Bette and I traveled to Rochester to spend a weekend with Michael, and he reciprocated by visiting us the next year. We built upon the bonding that had begun after the wedding and started to understand what being brothers was all about.

Bette and I never made it back to Rochester, but Michael tried to visit us at least once a year. Bette, who was truly an only child, grew to love him like the brother she never had. As time moved along, Michael no longer came alone. He had met a wonderful man named Mike, and we grew to love him too. They just made such a darned cute couple we could hardly stand it.

It warmed my heart so much that Michael had finally found someone to love and be loved by just like I had. He and I had broken through the boundaries of dysfunction and narrow-mindedness that engulfed us growing up and made our own little family. Bette and I knew we could turn to them if we were in need, and I believe they felt the same way about us.

That theory was tested on October 11, 2004, when Bette suddenly passed away at the young age of 53. Along with the shock, I felt empty and alone. I called Mike with the horrible news that night (I always talk to him on the phone because Michael’s hearing is severely damaged), and they were on my doorstep the next afternoon. The memorial service for Bette was in Illinois, and Mike and Michael made the round trip with me, taking a week out of their lives with no warning to be with me and give comfort and support.

One moment I will never forget was when I came out of the funeral home with Bette’s remains (she had requested to be cremated upon her passing). Mike and Michael had waited in the car, prepared to begin the trip to Illinois. As I approached the car, Michael met me, put his arms around me, and held me while I cried like a baby on his shoulder. We always love joking around, but when it was time to get serious, my brother was there big time, both physically and emotionally.

Isn’t that what the whole concept of family is truly about?

As I write this, I am returning home from a visit to Rochester with my wife Brenda (God richly blessed me with a new partner after calling Bette home). Mike and Michael were the first people I knew to meet Brenda when they visited Maryland shortly after we started dating. I even got the big brother talk from Michael about not rushing into a new relationship. They both see how happy we are and have accepted her into our strange little family with open arms.

When I hear all the rhetoric about “preserving the traditional family,” I cringe. I think we should strive to do a lot better than that! Michael and I both grew up in “traditional families” and spent much of our adult lives recovering from it. What we have now, that’s a family!

As long as you’re still on this earth, it’s never too late to have a family, even if you have to wait for it like Michael and I did.

"Thorns In the Rose Garden"

Wayne Besen is one of my favorite writers regarding GLBT issues, and his column this week again knocks it out of the park.

Besen discusses the political strategy President Bush is following. The master planner is Karl Rove, and he has been successful enough to get Bush elected twice, but Besen believes the bloom has come off the rose.

A cornerstone of Rove's strategy has been to smear opponents and promote fear, and the GLBT community has been a favorite target. He will go to that well again on Monday, when President Bush is scheduled to hold a press conference restating his support for the Constitutional Amendment that would prohibit same-sex marriage on the eve of the scheduled vote in the senate.

Besen writes, ".....it has always been easier to scare than to care. Rendering people blind is simpler than providing a positive vision. To me, Rove is a cheater - the Barry Bonds of politics. Homophobia and hysteria are the steroids and he injects the poison into the body politic at every opportunity."

Please contact your senators and let them know that if they fall for this tactic, they are at risk of losing your vote.

Strong Opposition to Federal Marriage Amendment

I'm back from a wonderful refreshing trip to visit my brother and his partner in Rochester, NY. It was great to get away, but it's time to get back to business.

Last week, the Washington Post printed a strong editorial (free registration required) opposing the federal constitutional amendment that would prohibit same-sex marriage all across the United States.

The Post did not opine of the merits of same-sex marriage, focusing its opposition on the process of amending the Constitution. The Post feels that there is absolutely no reason to take this matter out of the hands of the individual states. Here's the key point:

"On the merits, there is simply no case for an amendment that would write into the Constitution an express command to every state and federal official to discriminate against a class of people."

Well said. Hopefully some senators will consider the wisdom of this arguement and forego pandering to the Religious Right by voting against this grievous amendment that would make discrimination a part of this nation's fundamental laws.

Gone Fishin'

Actually no fish will be harmed on our trip, but I'll be away for a few days visiting my brother in beautiful Rochester, NY. I'll be back blogging on Monday night.

For all my American readers, have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. For everyone else around the globe, have a wonderful time doing whatever it is you normally do.

"Even deep in Dixie, gays sense acceptance"

I ran across an interesting Associated Press story via USA Today. It focuses on the state of the GLBT community in Alabama.

On the one hand, things aren't so good. The state is certain to overwhelmingly vote to strengthen its prohibition against same-sex marriage in early June. A national gay magazine says Alabama is the worst state in America for gays and lesbians. A gubanatorial candidate has called homosexuality evil.

Not so good.

Despite that, however, the GLBT community has made some progress toward acceptance and eventually equal rights. There's a long way to go, but there is a growing feeling that more opportunities exist for gay and lesbians to have a full, happy life in Alabama. Check out the article to find out why.

A Look Inside the "Double Closet"

As many of you know, it can be challenging if you are a GLBT person living in the United States these days. Imagine in this post-9/11 society being Arab-American AND GLBT.

That, folks, in an open invitation for harassment and discrimination in today's America. This story from AlterNet tells the story of a few individuals who are dealing with that on a daily basis.

Of course, it would probably be even tougher back in their families' native lands. There are some horror stories told in this piece about treatment of GLBT people in the Middle East.

The story also tells us about a group named AL-GAMEA that has been started with the goal of acting like a PFLAG organization for Arab-Americans.

They clearly have their work cut out for them.

June 1: Blogging for LGBT Families Day

I want to let you know about a grass roots blogging event that I will be participating in on June 1. It is called "Blogging for LGBT Familes Day." The event is being driven by the blog "Mombian" (Sustenance for Lesbian Moms) and is designed to raise awareness about LGBT families. You can click through on the link for more background and details.

It's actually very simple--those of you who blog can post an entry on or before June 1 and let the folks over at Mombian know so they can get it linked up. What should you write about? Quoting from Mombian:

"The choice of topic is up to you. If you are part of an LGBT family, and normally blog about your family’s activities, you may simply do so again. You may also choose to write on broader issues of LGBT family rights, acceptance, your personal path to parenthood, being the child of an LGBT family, what you’ve learned from the LGBT family down the street, or anything else that supports the goal above. Regardless, please let me know you’re participating."

If you don't have a blog and still want to participate, you can e-mail me your piece and I'll be glad to post it under your byline, or you can contact Mombian directly.

As part of the event, I'll be sharing a very personal story about my family. I encourage all of my readers to consider participating.

"The DaVinci Code" Fact vs. Fiction

As far as I know, there aren't any gay folks running around in "The DaVinci Code" movie just released this weekend, but I still wanted to post on it since this blog is ultimately about Jesus Christ.

I have not read the book or seen the movie, so I don't have any great depth to add to the national debate about both, but this column by Dr. R. Albert Mohler does.

Mohler is part of the "fundamentalist" leadership I write about often, usually not in a flattering way. That doesn't mean they are wrong about everything, though, and I felt Dr. Mohler knocked it out of the park with this address he gave regarding "The DaVinci Code." Oddly enough, he was speaking only a few miles away from my home in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Dr. Mohler's talk was very informative and thorough and I think it is definately worth reading if you have any questions at all about the issues raised by this book and/or movie.

Just keep in mind that if you have a choice between what a novel and movie teach about Jesus Christ vs. what the bible says, stick with the bible. The bible shows the path to the Holy Spirit, not Tom Hanks, especially not with that funky haircut.

Interview with Equality Maryland's Leader

A GLBT oriented magazine in the Washington, DC area, Metro Weekly, has posted an excellent interview with the head of Equality Maryland, Dan Furmansky.

I am a member of that organization, the leading GLBT advocacy group in the state of Maryland. As you will see in the interview, Equality Maryland has experienced excellent growth in both size and influence during Furmansky's two years as head honcho.

Last fall, I watched him more than hold his own with Fox News blowhard Bill O'Reilly during an interview on O'Reilly's prime-time program. Furmanksy has accomplished a lot at a relatively young age. He's worth getting to know more about.

What God Hath Joined Together

If you're a regular visitor here, you know one of my pet peeves (I have several) is people who don't practice what they preach. I had the opportunity to follow my own mantra recently when I not only attended my first same-sex committment ceremony/wedding, I actually played a very small role in it.

In this week's column for Gay Christian Outreach, I share the experience. The evening only strengthed beliefs I have often stated on this blog.

Constitutional Amendment Moves Forward

The U. S. Constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage made it out of committee today in the Senate and will now be debated by the full Senate in June.

It didn't happen without an unusual bit of drama, at least between two straight men. As the hearing was winding down, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) stormed out after exchanging barbs with committee chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania). Specter told Feingold, "If you want to leave, good riddance." Of course, the fact that the hearing was being held in a room approximately the size of a closet may have helped fray nerves. Wouldn't want the voters to see this process at work, would they?

As with most things on Capitol Hill these days, the Judiciary Committee vote was 10-8, strictly along party lines with the Republicans holding the advantage.

The ACLU has set up a page on their web site to make it easy for concerned citizens to contact their congressmen and indicate their opposition to this discriminatory piece of legislation. I would strongly encourage anyone interested in fairness and equality for ALL Americans to click through on the link and make sure their voice is heard.

In a related item, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is still trying to do damage control following his recent interview on The 700 Club. As part of this, he gave an interview to "The Advocate".

While Dean is strongly opposed to this constitutional amendment, he won't take a stand FOR same sex-marriage.

Advocate: "Do you personally support marriage equality for same-sex couples?
Dean: "I’ve never answered that question. What I have said is that I support equal rights under the law for every single American. "

It sounds like the Democrats, or at least their leadership, will play defense and try to avoid additional restrictions to same-sex marriage, but don't count on them trying to help any gay or lesbian couples actually get legally married, at least not at this time.

Is the HRC Acting as Howard Dean's Lapdogs?

That the question raised by Washington Blade reporter Chris Cain in this piece. Cain's answer to his own question is yes and he does a through job of supporting it.

After Dean's screw-up on The 700 Club program last week, where he misstated the Democrat's 2004 platform position on marriage, the Human Rights Campaign chief Joe Solmonese slammed Dean's "serious lack of leadship" on the issue of same-sex marriage.

This week, however, Solmonese is quoted on the issue in an HRC press release saying "Voters want candidates focused on soaring gas prices, a healthcare crisis and national security, not putting discrimination in the United States Constitution."

As Cain points out in his writeup, this mirrors a release issued earlier the same day by the Democratic National Committee. In that release, the Democrats criticize Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist for ignoring First Lady Larua Bush's suggestion over the weekend that the issue of same-sex marriage not be used as a major campaign issue. The Democrats pointed out, accurately I believe, that the Republicans are using the Federal Marriage Amendment to deflect attention from their own shortcomings as the 2006 elections approach.

Good politics is one thing but, as Cain points out, that strategy is harder to swallow when it is coming from a civil rights advocacy organization. It seems that the HRC's main strategy to oppose the Family Rights Amendment and state issues regarding same-sex marriage is to downplay their importance.

If I'm a gay or lesbian person who has been donating funds to and supporting the HRC expecting them to fight for my right to marry my same-sex partner, I would feel underserved at best and sold out at worst. I know I would want a little better approach than "Nothing to see here, we've all got bigger problems."

"Dear Pat Robertson"

You don't get to see many photos of Rev. Pat Robertson hanging out with gay guys, but this story from The Advocate has one.

This went beyond a funny prank, however. One of the five men in the picture, Andrew Brewer, took the opportunity of their brief connection to write a letter and reach out to Robertson.

The letter is printed in full in The Advocate piece, but here's the part that really struck me:

"The hypocrisy of using his name to marginalize men like us--at times making our lives excruciatingly difficult--while directly and blatantly contradicting his very clear teachings is both bold and unfathomable. "

You'll need to click on the link to see what Brewer was referring to. I bet you'll read it and go "hmmmm."

Could Gay Acceptance Just Be a Matter of Time?

That question is asked in this week's religion column in the Greensboro (NC) News-Record.

One of several interesting quotes in this column come from the well-known retired Bishop John Shelby Spong. He said, "There has never been a moment in the history of the human race where publicly debated prejudice continued to live." To support this, he cited slavery and rights for women as issues where public debate gradually changed our nation's society. I found that one of the more profound thoughts I have run accross in recent days.

Spong also cited poling data that shows younger people are much more comfortable with homosexuality and equal rights for GLBT people as a sign the tide is turning towards acceptance in mainstream society.

The Rev. Stanley Welch, the president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, sees it much differently. "We have stood together on this issue because it is very clearly biblical doctrine, and that's where other denominations have failed. ... They have allowed the times to dictate their doctrine," said Welch, pastor of Blackwelder Park Baptist Church in Kannapolis. "There's no way those two (same-sex marriage and biblical doctrine) are compatible."

I believe the best we can hope for in my lifetime (I'm 47 years old now) is that voices like Rev. Welch are clearly recoginzed as a minority and given less credence outside their particular circle of influence. That would be a great step forward for the GLBT community to be accepted as a full-fledged member of society.

It would also reduce (although not eliminate) scenes like this described by Rev. Julie Peeples, a Greensboro resident. "I cannot tell you how many people have sat on that couch wanting me to tell them that God doesn't hate them.....It's a real struggle for them to stop the voices they heard growing up."

People can tell you wrong and hateful things, but God is ALWAYS right, ALWAYS loving, and ALWAYS reaching out for us. We just have to ignore those who would tell us otherwise and press in toward Him, allowing His love to heal us and point our lives in the direction He has planned for us.

Many parts of society do not accept homosexual people, but God always has and always will.

Standing Up For Civil Rights

A few days ago, I wrote about teenager Tully Satre. He writes a blog for The Advocate and shared with his readers the rough time he had been getting from people identifying themselves as Christians. I was delighted how many readers here and from the other blogs that linked to my post joined me in sending him e-mails expressing affirmation and acceptance.

This young man gets it. I ran across his personal blog and a post he made a few weeks ago. Satre showed up at a town meeting with Senator George Allen (R-VA) near his home in Culpeper, Virginia and shares that story in his blog.

Despite a crowd largely friendly towards Allen, Satre took the podium during the Q & A session and engaged in a brief debate about LGBT equality in this nation's civil rights laws. His post goes into some detail about the experience and is worth reading in full.

I post it here to use this as an example of what I was talking about yesterday. More people need to step up to the podium and express to their elected officials that the current restrictions in the legal rights of GLBT people and the move to make that part of the federal and some state constitutions in unacceptable.

If a 16-year old, albeit an exceptional youngster like Satre, can make a stand in front of a crowd full of opponents, I suspect many of us can find a venue to speak out ourselves.

It's not about special rights, it's about equal rights and the prevention of constitutional discrimination.

With Friends Like This.....

The chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean, says it was a mistake when he threw the GLBT community under the bus in an interview on The 700 Club Wednesday.

During this interview, Dean said "The Democratic Party platform from 2004 says that marriage is between a man and a woman."

Actually, it did not say anything about marriage.

Dean issued the following statement on Thursday, "I misstated the Democratic Party's platform, which does not say that marriage should be limited to a man and a woman but says the party is committed to full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and leaves the issue to the states to decide. The Democratic Party remains committed to equal protection under the law for all Americans. How we achieve that goal continues to be the subject of a contentious debate, but our party continues to oppose constitutional amendments that seek to short-circuit the debate on how to achieve equality for all Americans."

First, let me say I applaud Dean for going into hostile territory to sell the Democratic message, and it doesn't get much more hostile than Pat Robertson's TV show. It is fair to ask, however, if he was pandering to The 700 Club's conservative audience or just made an honest mistake.

It is hard for me to believe that the chairman of a political party could make such a clear mistake on their most recent presidential platform. Could Dean and the Deomcratic leadership believe that they can get away with alternately ignoring and antagonizing their GLBT supporters, taking for granted the fact that they wouldn't vote Republican under any circumstances?

Are they willing to sell out on GLBT issues during campaigns, rationalizing that they need to do whatever is necessary to get elected, then address those concerns?

Is the GLBT community willing to take that chance, supporting Democrats at the polls on faith and as the lesser of the evils compared to Republicans?

There is still time for voters to let their candidates know this is not an acceptable course of action for them to take.

Pops Says Gay Love is "Weak"

No, I'm not reading between the lines with that headline. In this report from Bloomberg.com, Pope Benedict XVI, speaking at the John Paul II Pontifical Institute, said, "Only the foundation of complete and irrevocable love between man and woman is capable of forming the basis of a society that becomes the home of all men.....''

He added, "confusing marriage with other types of weak love'' should be avoided.

Weak love?!

I bet Apostle Dale and Garrey, partners for 19 years, would be shocked to know their love is weak. With crap like that spouted by one of the most (if not the most) influential religious leaders in the world, it HAS to be strong to survive. Without the legal protections afforded couples like me and my wife Brenda, it CAN'T be weak and last.

I wonder how the Pontiff would classify Brittney Spears' marriage to her friend Jason Alexander. It may have only lasted 55 hours before it was annulled, but since they were a man and a woman and did get married, at least they didn't have the type of weak love that he warned us against.

People who don't know what they are talking about should just keep quiet, even if they are supposed to be "infalible" like the Pope.

Mary Cheney: Stepping Up or Selling Out?

If you ask conservative columnist Andrew Sullivan, she is stepping out. Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, has written a new book titled "Now It's My Turn," and is making the tour of talk shows promoting it. On ABC's Good Morning America, she strongly opposed the Federal Marriage Amendment and said her father does also. Sullivan wrote on his blog:

"Mary's relationship with her spouse, Heather, is testimony to the endurance and dignity of gay relationships - and their presence in Republican families as well as Democratic ones. Here's a thought: maybe Mary can build on her opposition to the "Marriage Protection Amendment" by agreeing to testify against it when the Senate holds hearings next month. We need you, Mary. Help reclaim the Republican party as the party of freedom, not intolerance. You could make a real difference in humanizing this issue for your own party."

On the other hand, liberal columnist Wayne Besen writes:

"For six long years, Mary Cheney backpedaled from speaking out against Republican attempts to write her out of the Constitution, yet emerged from the musty closet just in time to peddle her new book, which hits stores this week. Cowed Mary now wants to be Proud Mary, but it's too late, for she has already sold us down the river.....she has gathered contempt for her meek attempt to justify her silence. She and her family had a unique opportunity to use the bully pulpit to educate Americans, and they failed miserably."

Besen supports his points in some detail, and his post has attracted numerous comments that are also quite negative toward the Vice President's daughter.

I have not read her book yet, but I think both Sullivan and Besen make good points. Cheney could be a very positive role model and spokesperson for GLBT issues, but I also understand those who resent the fact that she waited until she was selling a book to speak out. It does make one think that at least part of her motivation is to draw attention to herself and her book.

The bottom line, at least in my view, is that the GLBT community would be wise to put resentment aside and welcome Mary Cheney's support. With opposition to GLBT equality so loud and well-financed, any high profile ally, regardless of their motivation, is a good thing.

Help Out ChristianGays.com

I received this e-mail from a posting in the Yahoo group supporting the site ChristianGays.com.

Dear friends,The enemy is at work! ChristianGays.com has been “hammered” so badly by hackers that they have totally shut down the server and have taken the other forty websites on that server with them.

Jeff has just written:
We have managed to delete your site and the server has come back to life. Not sure where we go from here but, I have a security guy on the case who will give some advice. Possibly we need to move servers as these guys may not be providing us enough security. I'll let you know when I know more but, at least for the foreseeable future, it looks like the site will be down.
Jeff

I have mentioned to you before that Jeff wants to move to a new server (which would also solve our intermittent chat problems) but at this time they just can’t afford it.

If anyone knows anyone with expertise regarding security and hackers on servers, please ask them to contact me at mary@cogeco.ca.

This could be the end of ChristianGays.com unless
1. We find a solution to the security issues, or
2. We find the extra money to move to a new/better server for Jeff (about $100/mo more than what he pays now). It is not an option for me to move to another host for many reasons.

Along with the website went my email address, so from now on, if you need to contact me, please use mary@cogeco.ca. Please pray that God will intervene in this matter if it His will that ChristianGays.com should survive.

Thanks!
God bless,
Mary

ChristianGays.com was one of the first sites that linked to this blog and is a valuable resource for anyone investigating the possibility of being both gay and Christian. If you can help these folks put their site back together, I would strongly encourage you to.

"What Was Once a Truly Beautifully Represented Religion"

Those were the indicting words of Tully Satre, a contributor to "The Advocate" and the founder of Equality Fauquier-Culpepper in Virginia. He's also a junior in high school.

Satre received a lot of feedback recently from Christians, none of it good according to him. Here are a couple of the most disturbing quotes from his column:

"I have seen—more often than not—Christians as a people whose sole purpose and mission in life is to “help” people be unaccepting of themselves, give up their own truths, and trade them in for a fake life. "

".....nearly every single letter and act toward me in the name of Christianity or by a Christian person has been hateful, isolating, and completely focused on my “self-destructive actions.”

Satre closes with this:

"I am not asking for an explanation; I am asking for a reason: Why have I not received a single letter from anyone saying they accept me because they are a Christian? "

I know he's received at least one because I sent him an e-mail. I suggest you do the same. Show Tully that God loves him as he is and that he is accepted by Christians who understand that. His e-mail address is tully@efcva.org

Folks, this is what we are up against when we reach out to our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. We've got a lot of work ahead of us. We need to reach out futher because of those who have pushed them away from God.

Accountability: A World-Wide Problem

I saw this piece about a group that is concerned "about the lack of public accountability on the part of those exercising political and bureaucratic power. Putting a spin on things, rather than speaking the truth, has become the norm."

Sound familiar. It probably does regardless of what part of the world you live in. This particular quote came from a group of Christian leaders in Australia. The writer of this column added "Australians have good reason to be concerned about the lack of public accountability on the part of those exercising political and bureaucratic power. Putting a spin on things, rather than speaking the truth, has become the norm."

Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Here in the United States, our nation is led by those who are working to restrict the rights of its citizens while waging a war for the sake of "freedom." They want to legislate adherence to Christian principles while working to make discrimination toward GLBT people a part of the Constitution, the very basis for our laws.

It is time for citizens across the globe to stand firm and hold our leaders accountable. It is time to let them know that their spin needs to be replaced with substance.

It is time to hold those who spew scripture to defend their political positions accountable when their actions go against the teachings of Christ.

It's time to stand firm in our faith for our faith.

"Misusing Jesus' Name"

I'm linking to an excellent piece from Ethics Daily regarding war and how it is justified as being consistent with the teachings of Jesus.

The writer, Jim Evans, is pastor of Auburn First Baptist Church in Alabama. Despite being in the middle of a red state, he takes issue with how war can be called "a Christian thing."

Here is the key thought:

"But what are we supposed to do when unscrupulous and self-serving pretenders, wrap themselves in the cloak of Christianity and misuse the name of Jesus for their own benefit?"

Of course, the GLBT community deals with this on a daily basis. Instead of claiming war as a vehicle to peace, "fundamentalists" and conservatives use hate and call it a form of "love."

Just because you put a label on something doesn't mean that changes the actual nature of it. War is war, not peace. Hate is hate, not love.

Any faint claim the United States may have had to being a Christian nation was lost when our military invaded a sovereign country and took it over by force, imposing the United State's will on the people of Iraq. Clearly Saddam Hussein was an evil ruler and horrible atrocities were being committed in Iraq, but who gave American the moral authority to decide the fate of that nation?

It amazes and sickens me the things that our government condones in the name of “security” and, even more laughably, “freedom.” Would Jesus torture anyone to find out information from them? Even writing that sentence is preposterous, isn’t it? Despite that, our nation’s leaders are justifying those actions out of one side of their mouth while proclaiming their faith in Christ from the other.

No wonder Christian “leaders” feel empowered to hate and politic for discrimination! Given what the U. S. government is getting away with, trying to shove gays and lesbians back into the closet probably doesn’t seem like that big a deal.

It IS a big deal. It would be wrong under any circumstances, and double-dog wrong when Christ’s name is attached to it.

Of course, people can justify anything they want while on this earth, but it will be a whole different ball game when they stand before God trying to pitch how they were serving Him while hating an entire group of his children.

Establish Commonatlity

Im my latest column for Gay Christian Outreach, I write about the need to establish a common base with someone if you plan on reaching out to them and sharing Christ. I show an example from the Apostle Paul of how to accomplish that.

When you visit the site, please consider signing up and participating in the discussion of this column or any other topic of interest.

Comedy Can Hurt If You Take It Too Seriously

I ran across this story via The Advocate website that struck me as what can happen if we take ourselves too seriously.

A writer named Jeff Whitty (he wrote the musical Avenue Q which is currently playing on Broadway) wrote an open letter to Jay Leno, the long-time host of The Tonight Show, expressing his view that Leno's gay jokes were hurtful.

In his letter, Whitty speaks of discrimination and atrocities suffered by GLBT people. He refers to Leno's gay jokes as "a silent holocaust that is perpetuated by people like you, who seek to minimize us and make fun of us and who I suspect really, fundamentally wish we would just go away. " To his credit, Leno did respond to Whitty, but apparently no accord was reached.

Readers here may or may not be fans of Leno (I am), but anyone who has even casually watched his stand-up comedy over the years or his monologues on the Tonight Show knows that nothing is off limits. After all, presidents have been assasinated yet ones from both parties are frequent targets of Leno's material.

In my opinion, any group making Leno's monologue has taken a step toward mainstream acceptance, which I understand is a primary goal of the GLBT community. Comedian Jim David offers his take in The Advocate, one which is similar to mine.

My suggestion is for folks to not take themselves so seriously. There are some terrible things going on in this world but it's still okay to laugh at others and be laughed at ourselves.

Taking Their Ball and Staying Home

There is an interesting story developing in the Southern Baptist Convention. There is a group that has drawn up a resolution proposing an "exit strategy" for their youth to leave public schools and be homeschooled with the support of the convention.

Homeschooling is a growing trend, especially among "fundamentalist" families. Elizabeth Watkins, who formed the Southern Baptist Church and Home Education Association in 2004, says the purpose of homeschooling "is to impact our culture for Christ."

Here's another thought; maybe it's a way for parents to shelter their children and not be exposed to other ideas and lifestyles like, oh I don't know....homosexuality.

A student who is homeschooled doesn't have anyone teaching them views of the world that their parents don't subscribe to, which saves them from showing up at school board meetings or writing letters in protest.

When these kids grow up and are allowed to make their own choices in society, aren't the chances greatly reduced that they will be open to embracing or even understanding individuals from different cultures or who have different lifestyles? Denied interaction with a diverse group of their peers growing up, won't these young people be at a disadvantage when trying to succeed in a society with others that did have that exposure growing up?

Surprisingly, the SBC is not embracing this idea, but there will apparently be a big push from homeschool supporters at their next national convention. If they have their way, the narrowing of the American mind will continue.

"If You're Not Outraged, You're Not Paying Attention"

That's the theme of this op-ed piece in the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader newspaper. It is written by Christina Gilgor, the executive director of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance.

It's been a bad few weeks for the GLBT community in the state of Kentucky. A student was expelled from the University of the Cumberlands when he was found to violate the school's policy against admitting homosexuals, yet the school is still on track to receive a new funding grant of $11 million from the state.

In addition, Governor Ernie Fletcher has stripped state employees of any protection from workplace discrimination based on their sexual orientation.

In her piece, Gilgor is emploring those in the state who believe in equality for ALL citizens of Kentucky and don't believe that the state should fund institutions that practice discrimination to raise their voices.

The GLBT community is having a rougher time in some states than others, but regardless of location they need all people directly affected by these issues to get off the sideline and get involved in fighting for their rights. Their straight allies also need to step up and put themselves out there supporting equal rights.

Just because you may not be directly impacted now doesn't mean you won't be at some point. After all, if governments are successful in restricting the rights of GLBT people, who knows what they might go after next.

Let's not give our governments that much power over our lives.

It's Not About Restricting Religious Expression

Although the religoius right loudly complains about "activist judges", they sure do love to spend time in court. Here is a story about three high school students in Pennsylvania, backed by the Alliance Defense Fund, who are suing their school district claiming they are being prevented from quoting bible verses in posters they want to display at their school.

This sounds disturbing, but the posters they wanted to put up were supporting "the harmful effects of homosexuality." The Alliance Defense Fund is the group that sponsored "The Day of Truth" last week to "counter the homosexual agenda." There was also a recent ruling in California that upheld the prohabition of a student wearing a t-shirt saying"'homosexuality is shameful" during the 2004 "Day of Truth."

The "fundamentalists" of the religious right like to whine about cases such as this, claiming that schools and the courts are favoring "the homosexual agenda" at the expense of religious freedom.

As is the case with so much coming from that direction, it doesn't require much thought to see through their flawed, narrow-minded arguement here.

Events such as "Day of Silence" are designed to bring attention to mistreatment and bullying of GLBT students and promote acceptance and tollerance. This is the type of thing educators should and often do try to teach in our schools.

On the other hand, t-shirs like the one the student in San Diego wore don't promote positive affirmation, they promote hate and intollerance. Wouldn't it be the same if he had worn a shirt with a nazi symbol or one saying "muslims are murderers?"

Growing up and finding out where you fit in at school is tough even if by most measures you are "normal." It was difficult when I grew up in the 1970's and I understand it is even more so now. If school administrators allowed some students to actively promote hate and intollerance toward other students, wouldn't that only make things tougher and take away from anything they might actually learn.

Let's face it, our nation's youth don't need to learn that kind of thing in school. That's what their parents and churches teach them, but at least they are not supported with taxpayer money.

The Warning Signs of Toxic Religion

I read this list on a Christian web site and thought is was worth sharing:

All of us would like to enjoy a healthy spiritual life. But the sad truth is that many of us, and many churches today, are barren because of hazardous additives. We have believed a different gospel—one laced with legalism, performance-based religion and salvation by works—when Christ alone is our only source of life.

Jesus Himself referred to these toxins as “the leaven of the Pharisees” (Luke 12:1). He told us that the Pharisees’ brand of religion, which looked good on the outside, was deadly—and contagious.

Have you been infected? You can take your own pH test by examining these eight characteristics of a religious spirit.

1. A religious spirit views God as a cold, harsh, distant taskmaster rather than an approachable, loving Father. When we base our relationship with God on our ability to perform spiritual duties, we deny the power of grace. God does not love us because we pray, read our Bibles, attend church or witness, yet millions of Christians think God is mad if they don’t perform these and other duties perfectly. As a result they struggle to find true intimacy with Jesus.

2. A religious spirit places emphasis on doing outward things to show others that God accepts him. We deceive ourselves into believing that we can win God’s approval through a religious dress code, certain spiritual disciplines, particular music styles or even doctrinal positions.

3. A religious spirit develops traditions and formulas to accomplish spiritual goals. We trust in our liturgies, denominational policies or man-made programs to obtain results that only God alone can give.

4. A religious spirit becomes joyless, cynical and hypercritical. This can turn a home or a church completely sour. Then, whenever genuine joy and love are expressed, this becomes a threat to those who have lost the simplicity of true faith.

5. A religious spirit becomes prideful and isolated, thinking that his righteousness is special and that he cannot associate with other believers who have different standards. Churches that allow these attitudes become elitist—and dangerously vulnerable to deception or cult-like practices.

6. A religious spirit develops a harsh, judgmental attitude toward sinners, yet those who ingest this poison typically struggle with sinful habits that they cannot admit to anyone else. Religious people rarely interact with nonbelievers because they don’t want their own superior morals to be tainted by them.

7. A religious spirit rejects progressive revelation and refuses to embrace change. This is why many churches become irrelevant to society. They become so focused on what God did 50 years ago that they become stuck in a time warp—and cannot move forward when the Holy Spirit begins to speak in new ways. When religious groups refuse to shift with God’s new directives, they become “old wineskins” and God must find more flexible vessels that are willing to implement His changes.

8. A religious spirit persecutes those who disagree with his self-righteous views and becomes angry whenever the message of grace threatens to undermine his religiosity. An angry religious person will use gossip and slander to assassinate other peoples’ character and may even use violence to prove his point. Jesus, in fact, warned His disciples: “There will even come a time when anyone who kills you will think he’s doing God a favor” (John 16:2, The Message).

If the poison of religion has seeped into your life, ask Him today to pour a fresh understanding of His grace into your barren spirit.

Here is the link:

I wholeheartedly agree with this piece and encourage everyone involved in church to strongly consider how their life may be reflecting in our lives. I would also encourage the author to do the same.

The writer, Lee Strang, is the editor of Charisma magazine. He wrote the column "To Be Gay...and Christian?" that I posted about a month ago. In that column, and the subsequent firestorm on the message board I was involved in, I saw God viewed as a cold, harsh taskmaster (1), a spirit that had developed a formula (3), a near total lack of joy (4), plenty of pridefulness (5), harsh judgementalism (6), the rejection of further revelation (7), and persecution of those who disagreed (8).

Either they don't adhere to their own preaching, or homosexuality has drawn some type of exemption. Whichever is the case, I feel it does not represent the Holy Spirit very well at all.

Practice what you preach folks, especially when it is expressed so well.

Why Are "Fundamentalists" Anti-Gay?

Today, I had the first in an ongoing series of weekly columns posted at the site "Gay Christian Outreach." This is a growing community of GLBT Christians who believe as I do that the phrase is not an oxymoron.

I jump in headfirst with my first contribution, taking on the issue of why "fundamentalists" are so strongly anti-gay. Here's a hint--not much of it is about religious doctrine.

While you're there, check out the site and consider joining the numerous discussions they have there.

"Why Are Fundamentalists Anti-Gay"

Dean Wants Political Churches to Pay Taxes

According to this post on the website of the Illinois Family Institute (meaning only straight-couple families), Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said "The religious community has to decide whether they want to be tax-exampt or involved in politics."

Amen!

You'll notice that Dean did not single out churches promoting the views of the religious right. His statement would also include open and affirming churches like mine.

Fine.

Brian Burch, a member of Catholic Advocacy Group Fidelis, objected to Dean's comment. Burch said, "It's important to remember the intent of the First Amendment was to protect, not constrain, religious speech and faith-filled activism."

That's true, but the First Amendmend did not guarantee anyone tax-exempt status. Dean is not adovcating silencing anyone, just not allowing pseudo-political organizations who also hold worship services to masquerade as churches.

Let's motivate churches to remain focused on preaching the word of God and saving souls.

Now THAT's fundamentalism!

"Day of Truth" Anything But

Tomorrow, April 26th, GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) will sponsor its 10th annual National Day of Silence. This event will involve Gay-Straight Alliances and other supportive students all over the United States. GLSEN is expecting 500,000 students from over 4,000 schools to participate.

This event is described on the GLSEN site: "The Day of Silence®, a project of GLSEN in collaboration with the United States Student Association (USSA), is a national student-led day of action where those who support making anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) bullying and harassment unacceptable in America’s schools participate in activities to recognize and protest the discrimination and harassment - in effect, the silencing - experienced by LGBT students and their allies."

Not to be outdone, the Alliance Defense Fund (founded by leaders like Dr. James Dobson) will rebut with a "Day of Truth" the following day, promoting the "Anti-Homosexual Agenda" in many of the same schools that will host the National Day of Silence.

Alan Sears, the President and CEO of the ADF, wrote a piece that was published on the Baptist Press (the media arm of the Southern Baptist Convention). Here are some noteable quotes.

".....if you hadn’t reckoned with the advocates of homosexual behavior being so single-minded in their determination to crack every moral cornerstone of the country ... if it never occurred to you that they wouldn’t stop until they’d converted every child in America to their fierce distortion of human sexuality....."

"Scheduled for April 27 (one day following the “Day of Silence”), “Day of Truth” is an ideal opportunity for young people to make a strong, thoughtful, outspoken response to the tacit lies and subtle intimidations put forth on the “Day of Silence.”

That's right, Mr. Sears, don't forget to portray your side as the victims.

Our schools are rapidly becoming a major battleground when the "fundamentalist" right will seek to spread their message of exclusion and condemnation and repress any presentation of homosexuality as anything other than an abomination that will lead to the downfall of civilization.

Sears quotes surveys in his piece that show his side is being solidly thrashed in our schools, so they are intensifying their efforts. This only makes it even more important for those of us on the side of inclusion and acceptance to support our youth and reinforce the efforts to protect them from bullying and intimidation from those who aren't so enlightened.

Rep. Frank Optimistic on Future of Gay Rights

U. S. Rep. Barney Frank(D-Mass) shared some interesting comments at a fundraiser for the Utah Stonewall Democrats Friday night.

"There is no bigger difference between the two political parties today than on LGBT issues," Frank said. Being an openly gay congressman (he came out publicly in 1987), Frank has been right in the middle of those issues.

When gay people make their sexuality public, Frank said: "We tell the average American that they are not homophobic, they just thought they were supposed to be."

Frank said heterosexual people constantly out themselves by saying something about their spouse or pointing out someone they feel is attractive.

"Heterosexuals also discuss their sexual nature, but when they do it, it's called talking," he said.

To further gay rights, Frank said homosexual people must not only come out of the closet, they must become politically active too, encouraging their loved ones to follow suit. "We don't win this alone," he said. "We win this with the people who love us, who support us."

I totally agree, but it carries a lot more weight when someone like him says so, doesn't it?

If You Seek Answers, You Just Might Find Them

Here is a story about a Presbyterian minister who grudgingly agreed to serve on a task force to study whether his church in Southern California should ordain gays.

Boy, was he surprised what he found when he took a thorough schollarly approach to studying the bible to find the answer.

Jack Rogers approached the issue predisposed to an answer; "I opposed homosexuality reflexively--that's just what I thought Christians were supposed to do." Like many others active in the church, he had stopped at that point until serving on the task force.

Rogers now has a more educated and totally different view; "I am so convinced that Jesus and the Bible, rightly understood, support the equality of all persons, including gays and lesbians, and that the church cannot continue going against its central values."

Imagine that, an ordained minister who is not part of "the homosexual agenda" finds that study and an open mind lead to knowledge that supercedes what so many of us have been taught since we first learned the words to "Jesus Loves Me."

Maybe that's why the title to the song wasn't "Jesus Loves Me If I'm Straight."

Rogers has recently released a book titled "Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church. I have not yet read it myself, but it is already receiving some very positive reviews on Amazon.com.

I am glad that Rogers made the effort to share what he learned with anyone who is interested enough to read about it. We all need to do what we can to get the message out and counteract the thundering crescendo of hate and exclusion being spewed from the "fundamentalists" and their ilk.

Jesus' Example--If All Else Fails, Sue 'Em?

That would be the gospel according to Dr. Jerry Falwell. Be careful of the spelling if you are seeking out his website. If you are trying to reach the home page of the good doctor's website by typing in his last name, don't put in one two many l's. The site www.falwell.com will direct you to Dr. Falwell's center of ministry. However, if you type in www.fallwell.com, you will find an entirely different message--and that's the problem, at least in Dr. Falwell's judgment.

The site with one too many l's, very low tech by today's standards, contains this message:

I was just 12 years old. My family and I were on vacation in Virginia. My dad and I were watching television in our motel room. Jerry Falwell's "Old Time Gospel Hour" was on. Reverend Falwell looked into the camera and, preaching against gay people, said, "Even animals don't do that."

That was the first time in my life that I ever felt unworthy of the love of God.

Yes, the owner of www.fallwell.com is gay and uses that forum to present the other side of the issue. Generously, he also provided a link to Dr. Falwell's site for those who are misdirected. I noticed no reciprocal link from Falwell's home page, a clear violation of Internet courtesy.

Apparently outraged by someone clever enough to use that domain name, Falwell did just what Jesus would have--he sued. When the decision didn't go his way, he took it all the way up to the Supreme Court. Earlier this week, the High Court had the good sense not to waste their time with this case, allowing the owner of www.fallwell.com to maintain his site as is.

The MSNBC report also tells how Dr. Falwell intimidated the owner of the domains jerryfalwell.com and jerryfallwell.com into yielding control of those or else face the wrath of Falwell's attorneys.

I keep searching my bible to find where Jesus ever did anything remotely like bringing a suit against anyone. He didn't even have an attorney when He was "tried" and sentenced to death for crying out loud. Can you imagine Him suing someone else who was called Jesus out of fear he would lose part of his audience? The thought is laughable, isn't it?

I guess I have one of those "Lavender Bibles" that doesn't correctly explain to me why homosexuals are horrible sinners and why Christians should sue whenever they don't get their way.

Delusions of Grandeur

Our friends at the AFA (American "Family" Association) are still harassing the Ford Motor Company. Their latest grievance is Ford's sponsorship of The Family Area at the upcoming Motor City Pride event in suburban Detroit on June 4.

That in itself is enough to annoy the AFA, but an activity scheduled in this area is really ticking them off. The Detroit MCC church is looking for gay and lesbian couples to participate in a committment ceremony to make a statement in support of same-sex marriage.

The AFA is using this as more ammunition to get people on board with their boycott of Ford. Here's the part that really chafes me. Taken from their website:

"Since the boycott began, Ford stock has fallen 7% and Associated Press stated that Ford sales were down 5% in March. Many financial consultants believe that Ford is headed for bankruptcy. It appears that Ford is more willing to face bankruptcy than ending their support of homosexual groups and causes."

Wait a minute--back the truck up! Is the American Family Association actually trying to claim credit for pushing Ford toward bankruptcy.

Anyone who closely follows the news knows that Ford, or any other American automaker, doesn't need anyone's help to encounter financial difficulties.

It makes me wonder how many of the AFA's members are really that closely in touch with the news or most of the reality the rest of us live in every day.

How Does It Feel to be a Political Pawn?

There are several items on the Republicans' congressional agenda leading up to the 2006 elections, and the GLBT community is right in the crosshairs.

The Republicans aren't even trying to mask their intentions any more. They are clearly playing to their right-wing base by introducing a constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman, along with pushing for abortion limits and anti-flag burning legislation.

Not coincidentally, the right wing base has made it abundantly clear they expect this and more from the legislators they feel they put into office. Quoting from the USA Today/AP report:

"It seems like for only six months, every two years — right around election time — that we're even noticed," said Tom McClusky of the Family Research Council.

"Some of these better pass," he added. "You notice when it's just lip service being paid."

Bill Frist, the senate majority leader, has accepted his marching orders. ""When America's values are under attack, we need to act," Frist told the Conservative Political Action Conference in February.

Gary Bauer (he's still around?), the head of Americans United to Preserve Marriage, says "The marriage amendment is in a class by itself because of what's at stake."

What's at stake? Oh yeah, the entire concept of a family. How can I keep forgetting as often as these folks are reminding me?

The report also says "Sending the proposed amendment to the states for ratification may not win the two-thirds majority required in the House and Senate. But committing to a vote in June is a gesture of good faith that would resonate with social conservatives, Bauer said.

I'm glad to see my tax money being put to such good use.

So, GLBT folks, the Republicans think you are a pawn, perhaps even a pinata--you know, just getting whacked around for someone else's entertainment.

Are you going to sit there and take your beating? The elections are coming in November and you have an opportunity to step up and defend yourself at the ballot box.

Education—The Enemy of Prejudice

There is a proposal being considered by the California state legislature that would require public school textbooks to include gay and lesbian history.

"This is simply adding the LGBT community to the groups that the state has said must be included in the curriculum," Geoffrey Kors, executive director of Equality California, which backs the bill, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "There's nothing special or different.”

Of course, not everyone agrees. Again quoting from the Chronicle report:

"This is about pushing a blatant sexual agenda -- including sex changes that involve cutting off body parts -- upon impressionable schoolchildren as young as kindergarten," said Randy Thomasson, who heads the Campaign for Children and Families.

Thomasson said teaching about racial differences is not like teaching about sexual orientation because, he believes, people can change their sexual orientation. He said the bill "will require the positive portrayal of these lifestyles, with the goal of forcing students to accept them and even consider themselves eligible to engage in them."

To their credit, the Chronicle has come out in support of this legislation in a recent editorial. While stating that this law would be largely symbolic, the Chronicle opined:

“…..symbolism can be important when confronting an entrenched curriculum that may -- even unintentionally -- be perpetuating myths or negative stereotypes about a particular minority group. Kuehl's bill is not about political correctness. It is about completeness and accuracy.”

This reminds me of a situation I experienced while attending elementary school just a few miles outside of Washington, DC in the late 1960’s. Living in Prince Georges County, Maryland, I was exposed to one of the first curriculums that included what at the time was referred to as “Black History.” We were taught about the civil rights protests, the works of Martin Luther King, and what prejudice was really about.

As I learned more about the struggles of blacks in our nation and the important contributions of black scientists, artists, and leaders I had not previously heard of, I looked at my black classmates differently, with more understanding and acceptance of our differences.

The religious right cringes at the thought of that happening with attitudes toward the GLBT community. They don’t want their kids taught about positive contributions of gays and lesbians and the injustice many of them have endured over the years. If children learn these things, it will be harder for their parents to teach condemnation and discrimination.

The kids might be inclined to treat GLBT people like members in good standing of the human race.

Is Tax Money Supporting Discrimination?

This story out of Kentucky got me to thinking, something I try to do on occasion. A student named Jason Johnson (no relation I know of) was expelled from The University of the Cumberlands when details about his gay dating life he had made public on the Internet were found by school officials.

There are two points I want to make relating to this item. I don’t actually have a problem with the school taking this action. They stated it in their school handbook that sex outside marriage and homosexual practices could result in a student being asked to withdraw from school. The policy was in place and Johnson was willingly violating it.

I also don’t take exception to churches that do not welcome homosexuals. I obviously don’t believe they are correctly discerning God’s will, but I support their right to include and exclude whoever they want. My problems with them occur when they venture outside their boundaries and try to influence public policy or otherwise impose their views on those outside their organization.

That leads me to my second point and why I am quite bothered by the actions of the University of the Cumberlands. Despite their policy of exclusion, they receive $11 million in funds annually from the state of Kentucky. How can tax money support the work of schools that include or exclude students based in part on a specific set of religious values?

Doesn’t that at least imply the state of Kentucky supports the policy of requiring students from abstaining from sex outside of a legal marriage? Why are they allowed to determine a student’s suitability for higher learning based on their sex lives while operating in part on taxpayers’ funds, at least some of which would have been donated by GLBT people?

There is starting to be some pushback on the Governor of Kentucky to exercise his power of line-item veto on the next state budget and eliminate funds for the University of the Cumberlands. I hope he does so.

States and the federal government have no business contributing any support to organizations run by religious principles. I certainly have no issue at all with them existing; I just don’t want them enforcing their beliefs by using tax money.

There Are No Limits to Jesus

Matthew 28: 17-18 (after he had risen following his crucifixion) When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."

There are no limits to Jesus. He told us so himself. He has authority over everything! He demonstrated that by rising up from the dead!

Have you been so badly hurt by loved ones that you can't imagine your life every being right? Jesus can heal that pain--after all, he rose from the dead.

Have you dealt with condemnation of those who call themselves Christians and feel like you could never be welcomed into Christ's church? That's not the case. Jesus loves us all--he allowed himself to be brutally murdered and rose from the dead for each and every one of us.

Have you committed sin that you believe God can never forgive you for? He CAN forgive. he sent Jesus to earth to die and arise to pay the price for our sins. If we seek forgiveness, it is ours; not because we deserve it, but because Jesus rose from the dead.

Is there anything in your life you think is broken beyond repair? Is there an emptiness that you can't imagine could ever be filled?

Then you are wrong! Jesus can do it. He has authority over everything on heaven and earth.

After all, he rose from the dead.

Republicans Making Anti-Gay Pitch to African-Americans

As reported by The Advocate, the Republican party is reaching out to African-American voters by honing in on their presumed homophobia. This story was the result of a report issued by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force.

According to the Advocate, the GOP is relentlessly reaching out to African-Americans through their churches. President Bush's faith-based initiatives (which I spoke out against in my "Faith Based" Federal Funding post on February 24) have focused on African-American churches. Additionally, right-wing evangelical ministers exploit racial and socioeconomic ills by blaming them on GLBT people.

“You want to know what the single biggest problem facing inner-city black neighborhoods is? Homosexuality,” stated the Reverend Louis P. Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition, a far-right religious organization.

I suppose it's the gays and lesbians that are dealing drugs and killing people-good to know. It is beyond my comprehension how anyone could fall for such bigoted and idiotic rhetoric, but some people do.

The NGLTF report includes this quote; "I'd be excited to see the GOP finally making a serious push for black voters — if the party was offering fresh ideas on police profiling, housing discrimination, unemployment and other issues of importance to black folks. But the focus (isn't) on any of that. Rather, it's on the gosh-darned 'homosexual agenda.' "— African-American author Leonard Pitts Jr.

That actually makes sense, doesn't it? Even if you feel that there is a "homosexual agenda" and that all GLBT people are an abomination (a view I clearly do not share), surely you can realize the grossly disproportionate amount of energy and resources being used against GLBT issues.

At a time when the United States is spending billions of dollars fighting a war on foreign soil; while this nation is still extremely vulnerable to terrorism; when there are millions of people faced with poverty, homelessness, unemployment, hunger; when there are millions of people who do not have access to medical treatment they desperately need; when there are millions of people living within our borders illegally; WHY ARE POLITICIANS AND EVANGELISTS PUSHING THOSE ISSUES ASIDE AND ATTACKING THE GAYS?

Because GLBT people are easy targets.

Because the politicans and evangelists don't have answers for those difficult issues, but they do have a plan to discriminate against GLBTs.

Because there are enough people that either hate gays or at least want to restrict their rights for those issues to resonate and bring these "leaders" political strength and financial wealth.

Maybe it's not all the homosexuals' fault, though. Maybe our current leaders need to discern God's will and act upon it. Failing that, the people of this nation need to demand new leadership.

Living In the Bonus Round--A Note From the Past

I ran across the blog "Living In the Bonus Round" earlier this week and was moved by the post "A Note From the Past." It the story of his reunion with the leader of a Christian band and the writer, a former bandmate who had come out as gay and contracted AIDS.

The writer, Steve Schalchlin, began one of the first known blogs in 1996. Titled "The Bonus Round," Schalchlin chronicled his battle with AIDS, figuring it would be a diary of his last days. Fortunately, he's still blogging ten years later.

Schalchlin and his partner Jim Brochu co-wrote the musical "The Last Session" and the musical comedy "The Big Voice: God or Merman?". They won awards from GLAAD and the LA Drama Critics for The Last Session and again from the LA Drama Critics for "The Big Voice."

Despite this success, he met judgemental rejection when he got together with his former bandmate. I post this story not because it is unique; in fact, just the opposite. I'm sure most if not all GLBT people have a similar story to tell. I felt this one, especially in the context of Christianity, was well told and would resonate with readers of this site.

As Schalcilin writes, the person he calls "T" treated him "as if I were a specimen" instead of a person. It is especially troubling seeing this told of a professing Christian, since I don't recall Jesus treating even a leper in that manner.

Fortunately, not all Christians are like that, but sadly far too many do behave that way. You know, the Golden Rule isn't just a nice saying, it's biblical:

John 13:34 (NIV) Jesus says "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Did you notice that there are NO qualifiers in that command. If we are truly seeking Christ's will for our lives, that's how we treat other people; so simple yet so difficult for many "godly" people.

NAACP Leader Speaks Out for GLBTs

The Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III, the COO of the NAACP, spoke out over the weekend opposing a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in South Carolina.

Rev. Rivers, speaking at a political event in Columbia, South Carolina, said "This is not about sexual orientation or about a lifestyle, this is about fairness and equality.....Equality is what we must stand on. We cannot be afraid and surrender the higher ground for moral principal."

While not exactly an unconditional statement of support for the state's GLBT population, it is still an important step, especially in a state with one of the largest proportions of African-American residents in the United States.

With this statment, Rev. Rivers stopped well short of saying "gay is okay," but he may also have demonstrated a route than African-American fundamentalists can take to support same-sex marriage and other GLBT issues of equal treatment under the law. It appears Rivers took his church's views on homosexuality out of the equation and viewed the same-sex marriage issue strictly on its civil rights merits. Based on that, he developed a clear vision of the injustice of the constitutional amendment.

So it takes a preacher to show how to take the church out of the political process and view issues on their legal and constitutional merits.

Imagine that.