Rev. Jim Evans, who regularly contributes to the site Ethics Daily, gets it. No matter what the topic, when I read his columns, in my opinion he gets it.
So it was no surprise that I read this piece on the recent North Carolina State Baptist Associaion's recent declaration that any church that affirms a homosexual "lifestyle" cannot join the association, and any current member that does so would be expelled.
While not directly affirming the place of the homosexual in the church, Rev. Evans asks,
"For instance, in the book of Leviticus homosexual behavior is described as "an abomination." But the exact same word is used to describe the eating of pork. Why don't we have a campaign against bacon eaters?
In the few places in the New Testament where homosexual behavior is discussed, it is always included in a long list of behaviors including greed and gossip.
Greed and gossip?
Why is it we never hear anything about greedy gossips? If Ezekiel and Jesus are right, greed makes more sense as a threat to our standing at the final judgment than anything else. In fact, greed may explain our general lack of concern and compassion for the poor in our midst."
It's always nice to see somebody dishing out healthy doses of perspective.
December 03, 2006
December 02, 2006
Mixed Bag in South Africa
The nation of South Africa is on the cutting edge in two important areas these days, one good, the other horriffic.
South Africa recently joined the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Canada in legalizing same-sex marriage, and they're lining up to do so. There is already such a backlog that many couples will have to wait until at least January to exchange vows. That's wonderful news.
The bad news is that many South African teenagers are not likely to live past their 60th birthday because of the overwhelming AIDS crisis in that country.
When I saw that headline, I couldn't believe it was true. After all, living in the United States, we hear a lot about how life expectancy is increasing so much that it threatens the solvency of our Social Security system. This report states that 15-year olds currently have a 56% chance of dying before they turn 60, up from 29% in 1990. Life expectancy in South Africa has dropped like a rock, from 63 in 1990 to 51 in 2006. Estimates are that over 11% of the country's population is infected with the HIV virus.
Reading that just makes my blood run cold.
These people need help, and they need prayer or else the gains they made in GLBT equality could literally be short lived.
South Africa recently joined the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Canada in legalizing same-sex marriage, and they're lining up to do so. There is already such a backlog that many couples will have to wait until at least January to exchange vows. That's wonderful news.
The bad news is that many South African teenagers are not likely to live past their 60th birthday because of the overwhelming AIDS crisis in that country.
When I saw that headline, I couldn't believe it was true. After all, living in the United States, we hear a lot about how life expectancy is increasing so much that it threatens the solvency of our Social Security system. This report states that 15-year olds currently have a 56% chance of dying before they turn 60, up from 29% in 1990. Life expectancy in South Africa has dropped like a rock, from 63 in 1990 to 51 in 2006. Estimates are that over 11% of the country's population is infected with the HIV virus.
Reading that just makes my blood run cold.
These people need help, and they need prayer or else the gains they made in GLBT equality could literally be short lived.
AIDS Is Not a Gay Disease
Yes, you hopefully already know that, but a lot of people still don't. One person spreading the word unfortunately had to learn it first hand. Tema Gerhrardt contracted AIDS in 1985 from having sex with her boyfriend. She is now going around to schools in the Baltimore area making sure they know that "this is 100 percent preventable. When you have sex with somebody, you are having sex with everyone that they have ever had sex with. It's like a pyramid."
Teenage students are an important target area for AIDS education since 13% of the new cases being reported are among people 13-24 years of age.
I was stunned to see that my home state of Maryland has the fourth-most reported cases of AIDS out of 50 states, and the Baltimore area had the fifth highest total among U. S. metro areas. Neither one is near the top in total population, and that tells me people like Terna Terhrardt have their work cut out for them.
Thanks to PageOneQ for the link.
Teenage students are an important target area for AIDS education since 13% of the new cases being reported are among people 13-24 years of age.
I was stunned to see that my home state of Maryland has the fourth-most reported cases of AIDS out of 50 states, and the Baltimore area had the fifth highest total among U. S. metro areas. Neither one is near the top in total population, and that tells me people like Terna Terhrardt have their work cut out for them.
Thanks to PageOneQ for the link.
December 01, 2006
Do It Their Way Or Not At All--Even If People Die
That's what I hear from the Christian conservatives who are pushing Congress to cut US funding into the Global Fund to Fight AIDS. This fund fights not only AIDS but also Tuberculosis and Malaria in 136 countries.
So what could be wrong with that? In the eyes of organizations like Focus on the Family, there are issues like encouraging the use of condoms, providing clean needles for drug users and, in the words of FOTF's senior director of government and public policy, Peter L. Brandt, "It does such an unbelievable job in discriminating against faith-based organizations."
So because the Fund does not follow the rigid philosophy of FOTF, they and other groups of that ilk want our country to pull out, which would surely mean PEOPLE WOULD DIE!
Is that any different from the Phairasees not wanting Jesus to heal on the Sabbath because of the Jewish laws? I don't think so.
The Phairasees put rules ahead of people, and so does Focus on the Family and other religious organizations who want to short AIDS funding.
So what could be wrong with that? In the eyes of organizations like Focus on the Family, there are issues like encouraging the use of condoms, providing clean needles for drug users and, in the words of FOTF's senior director of government and public policy, Peter L. Brandt, "It does such an unbelievable job in discriminating against faith-based organizations."
So because the Fund does not follow the rigid philosophy of FOTF, they and other groups of that ilk want our country to pull out, which would surely mean PEOPLE WOULD DIE!
Is that any different from the Phairasees not wanting Jesus to heal on the Sabbath because of the Jewish laws? I don't think so.
The Phairasees put rules ahead of people, and so does Focus on the Family and other religious organizations who want to short AIDS funding.
November 30, 2006
"The Cost of Coming Out Early"
If you're like me (God forbid), high school was an awkward time in your life. I struggled, like many of my friends, figuring out where I fit in and trying to figure out the whole dating thing.
Just imagine having added to that the uncertainty about which gender you should be dating, or even knowing that, but the answer being someone of the same sex.
This article from the Wilmington, Delaware News Journal, delves into the issue of teenagers coming out as gay or lesbian. They are a growing but still very small minority, which in high school is a major issue because the challenge of fitting in becomes even more daunting.
Just imagine having added to that the uncertainty about which gender you should be dating, or even knowing that, but the answer being someone of the same sex.
This article from the Wilmington, Delaware News Journal, delves into the issue of teenagers coming out as gay or lesbian. They are a growing but still very small minority, which in high school is a major issue because the challenge of fitting in becomes even more daunting.
November 29, 2006
Churches Finally Mobilizing to Fight AIDS
World AIDS day is coming up on Friday, December 1, and the United Nations has issued an update that indicates World's AIDS epidemic is getting worse. Here is an excerpt from the report via the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life:
Religious leaders, citing a new report by the United Nations, are cautiously optimistic that the moral and political will to fight the pandemic is being finally being mobilized.
The statistics, however, are sobering, and religious groups vow to keep pushing politicians toward increased action -- and spending -- against the disease.
The U.N.'s 2006 AIDS Epidemic Update said the HIV epidemic is growing, with an estimated 39.5 million people worldwide infected with the deadly virus. In addition, the report said:
-- 2.3 million of those living with HIV are children under the age of 15.
-- 4.3 million became newly infected last year, 530,000 of them children.
-- 2.9 million died of AIDS-related illnesses, 380,000 of them children.
Let's pray that reports like this and events like the conference Pastor Rick Warren (author of "The Purpose Driven Life") is holding will continue to raise world-wide awareness and encourage churches to mobilize their resources to save lives.
Religious leaders, citing a new report by the United Nations, are cautiously optimistic that the moral and political will to fight the pandemic is being finally being mobilized.
The statistics, however, are sobering, and religious groups vow to keep pushing politicians toward increased action -- and spending -- against the disease.
The U.N.'s 2006 AIDS Epidemic Update said the HIV epidemic is growing, with an estimated 39.5 million people worldwide infected with the deadly virus. In addition, the report said:
-- 2.3 million of those living with HIV are children under the age of 15.
-- 4.3 million became newly infected last year, 530,000 of them children.
-- 2.9 million died of AIDS-related illnesses, 380,000 of them children.
Let's pray that reports like this and events like the conference Pastor Rick Warren (author of "The Purpose Driven Life") is holding will continue to raise world-wide awareness and encourage churches to mobilize their resources to save lives.
November 28, 2006
Interview with Jen Austin
Jen, the author of "Coming Out Christian" which I reviewed a couple of days ago, was kind enough to answer a few follow-up questions. She and her partner Angela are in the process of trying to have a baby, a process she writes about on her blog at JenAustin.com. She is also a big Dallas Cowboys fan.
Oh well, nobody's perfect.
Q: What kind of feedback have you received about the book? Is there anyone you know of yet who has been led to make any major life changes based on your story? How have folks responded at your book signings?
A: The feedback has been wholly positive. The book seems to have opened up a dialogue and encouraged others to tell more of their own stories, which is all that I could have hoped for. It seems to have stirred the spiritual pot a bit. As we were leaving church a couple of weeks ago, one of the pastors told me that another church member said it was a "life-changer," but I don't know exactly that means. It's funny how the feedback just barely trickles back to the author! As long as it's helpful, that's the important thing. I know that one young gay man was encouraged to start his own Bible study independent of any church, so the book has renewed his personal determination and enabled him to take better ownership of his faith. That's encouraging. And just recently I got an email from a mom who hopes that my book will be the thing that helps her daughter realize it's okay to be a lesbian and still love God. These are all humble reminders about how powerfully God can use us when we allow ourselves to become vessels.
Q: Was anyone you wrote about in the book, especially Angela, uncomfortable with the directness and honesty in which you told your story and/or wrote about them?
A: Angela read most of the drafts as the book was being constructed, and she was okay with the honesty. She even helped me dig deeper in many places, and I think hitting the bottom of that emotional barrel made the book better than it otherwise might have been. It's painful for both of us to go back and read the parts of the book that highlight the weak spots in our relationship, but we don't regret that we've been exposed. The book is real, and that's what makes it relatable. The people who get upset with me are the new friends who don't know all the details of our history, and then they read the book and want to smack me! I made misakes, but God picked up the pieces and put them back together again. That's the truth that ultimately breaks through, and in that God is glorified.
Q: Was there any particular moment you and Angela realized you wanted to have a baby or was it a gradual process?
A: It was a gradual process. Angela always wanted to have a baby, but I was more career-driven and goal-oriented, and thought I didn't have time to be changing diapers. Quite plainly, I was selfish. (And perhaps a bit afraid of being judged as a gay parent. I thought perhaps I shouldn't bring children into the world under these circumstances, and that it might be better to remain focused on work.) Then things began to happen in my life that seemed to awaken me to the idea of having a baby, and I gradually grew into a place where the desire to have children was stronger than the desire for anything else. Now, I'm pretty much consumed by it. Call it maturity, or a ticking of the biological clock, but I can't wait for the day that Angela and I become parents. Five years ago the thought might have sickened me, but after maturing as a lesbian and as a Christian I've realized it's the simple things in life that ultimately give it the most profound meaning. The thought of being judged or discriminated against as a gay parent doesn't bother me a bit now, because I know that God will be at the center of our family and God will be what ultimately defines it. Anything else that comes at it from the outside will just be meaningless periphery, and the truth will remain firm despite it.
Q: What did you learn about yourself and your faith while writing the book?
A: I've never considered myself to be perfect, but when glaring personal weaknesses are written down on paper and published, it can make a girl wince. At the same time, it's inspiring and humbling to see the things that God can do in the midst of weaknesses if we name them and open ourselves up to being healed. I feel like a stronger person having overcome the worst of myself, and I'm grateful to God for the blessing that has been added to it. It's nice to know that my being a lesbian is not what gets in the way of my faith; it's my being an idiot that does the damage! That's strangely comforting, and I might not have known the depth of it if I had not written the book.
Q: You made mention on your blog about a new book you hope to have out next year. Can you tell me anything about it?
A: The new book is about taking better ownership of our faith as gay Christians. I'm incredibly grateful for folks like you, Jim, who aren't gay, and yet accept us fully and believe us when we say we have reconciled faith with sexuality. The support is revolutionary, and it will continue to carry us and edify us. But laws won't change and fundamentalists won't stop the derrogatory propaganda until we as gay Christians become so articulate in our faith that God practically jumps from our chests and declares a new gay Christian covenant. God is alive in gay Christians now, but we need to make sure that God is increasingly visible. I hope that the new book helps lead us in that direction.
Q: I see you're on My Space now. Is that part of a concerted effort to do more outreach? What kind of feedback have you received there so far?
A: I originally joined myspace about a year and a half ago as a way of connecting with radio listeners. (I work for Mix 102.9 in Dallas.) Then I discovered that a lot of my friends were on myspace, so it became a way to connect with them every day. It has gradually become an outreach mechanism, although I hesitate to call it that. I don't want people to hear the word "outreach" and take off in a dead sprint. I would rather that myspace simply be a way to get to know me as a person and as a friend.
I have noticed that people who disagree with me feel awfully free to tell me so on myspace. I've heard a variety of derrogatory things, and most of them try to make the point that I'm being misled by thinking that it's okay to be both gay and Christian. One 18 year-old boy in Alabama told me once that I am what's wrong with America, and that he hopes the Christian Right will eventually become successful in ridding the country of the immorality that I represent. If he lived close enough I might have invited him over for a Coke Zero, Triscuits, and Flannel Pants Movie Night at our house, so he could see exactly how "immoral" we truly are. But people see what they want to see, and gay was the word that jumped out at him and became my primary identifier. Still, I hope that myspace will continue to serve as a place to connect and positively impact others.
Q: How 'bout them Cowboys?
A: Oh, the Cowboys! If I were a straight chick I might start stalkin' Tony Romo. As it is, I'm content to keep diagramming plays and jotting down coachspeak in my own little lesbian football handbook. How 'bout that 3-4 defense! Sometimes the stereotypes are right on.
Oh well, nobody's perfect.
Q: What kind of feedback have you received about the book? Is there anyone you know of yet who has been led to make any major life changes based on your story? How have folks responded at your book signings?
A: The feedback has been wholly positive. The book seems to have opened up a dialogue and encouraged others to tell more of their own stories, which is all that I could have hoped for. It seems to have stirred the spiritual pot a bit. As we were leaving church a couple of weeks ago, one of the pastors told me that another church member said it was a "life-changer," but I don't know exactly that means. It's funny how the feedback just barely trickles back to the author! As long as it's helpful, that's the important thing. I know that one young gay man was encouraged to start his own Bible study independent of any church, so the book has renewed his personal determination and enabled him to take better ownership of his faith. That's encouraging. And just recently I got an email from a mom who hopes that my book will be the thing that helps her daughter realize it's okay to be a lesbian and still love God. These are all humble reminders about how powerfully God can use us when we allow ourselves to become vessels.
Q: Was anyone you wrote about in the book, especially Angela, uncomfortable with the directness and honesty in which you told your story and/or wrote about them?
A: Angela read most of the drafts as the book was being constructed, and she was okay with the honesty. She even helped me dig deeper in many places, and I think hitting the bottom of that emotional barrel made the book better than it otherwise might have been. It's painful for both of us to go back and read the parts of the book that highlight the weak spots in our relationship, but we don't regret that we've been exposed. The book is real, and that's what makes it relatable. The people who get upset with me are the new friends who don't know all the details of our history, and then they read the book and want to smack me! I made misakes, but God picked up the pieces and put them back together again. That's the truth that ultimately breaks through, and in that God is glorified.
Q: Was there any particular moment you and Angela realized you wanted to have a baby or was it a gradual process?
A: It was a gradual process. Angela always wanted to have a baby, but I was more career-driven and goal-oriented, and thought I didn't have time to be changing diapers. Quite plainly, I was selfish. (And perhaps a bit afraid of being judged as a gay parent. I thought perhaps I shouldn't bring children into the world under these circumstances, and that it might be better to remain focused on work.) Then things began to happen in my life that seemed to awaken me to the idea of having a baby, and I gradually grew into a place where the desire to have children was stronger than the desire for anything else. Now, I'm pretty much consumed by it. Call it maturity, or a ticking of the biological clock, but I can't wait for the day that Angela and I become parents. Five years ago the thought might have sickened me, but after maturing as a lesbian and as a Christian I've realized it's the simple things in life that ultimately give it the most profound meaning. The thought of being judged or discriminated against as a gay parent doesn't bother me a bit now, because I know that God will be at the center of our family and God will be what ultimately defines it. Anything else that comes at it from the outside will just be meaningless periphery, and the truth will remain firm despite it.
Q: What did you learn about yourself and your faith while writing the book?
A: I've never considered myself to be perfect, but when glaring personal weaknesses are written down on paper and published, it can make a girl wince. At the same time, it's inspiring and humbling to see the things that God can do in the midst of weaknesses if we name them and open ourselves up to being healed. I feel like a stronger person having overcome the worst of myself, and I'm grateful to God for the blessing that has been added to it. It's nice to know that my being a lesbian is not what gets in the way of my faith; it's my being an idiot that does the damage! That's strangely comforting, and I might not have known the depth of it if I had not written the book.
Q: You made mention on your blog about a new book you hope to have out next year. Can you tell me anything about it?
A: The new book is about taking better ownership of our faith as gay Christians. I'm incredibly grateful for folks like you, Jim, who aren't gay, and yet accept us fully and believe us when we say we have reconciled faith with sexuality. The support is revolutionary, and it will continue to carry us and edify us. But laws won't change and fundamentalists won't stop the derrogatory propaganda until we as gay Christians become so articulate in our faith that God practically jumps from our chests and declares a new gay Christian covenant. God is alive in gay Christians now, but we need to make sure that God is increasingly visible. I hope that the new book helps lead us in that direction.
Q: I see you're on My Space now. Is that part of a concerted effort to do more outreach? What kind of feedback have you received there so far?
A: I originally joined myspace about a year and a half ago as a way of connecting with radio listeners. (I work for Mix 102.9 in Dallas.) Then I discovered that a lot of my friends were on myspace, so it became a way to connect with them every day. It has gradually become an outreach mechanism, although I hesitate to call it that. I don't want people to hear the word "outreach" and take off in a dead sprint. I would rather that myspace simply be a way to get to know me as a person and as a friend.
I have noticed that people who disagree with me feel awfully free to tell me so on myspace. I've heard a variety of derrogatory things, and most of them try to make the point that I'm being misled by thinking that it's okay to be both gay and Christian. One 18 year-old boy in Alabama told me once that I am what's wrong with America, and that he hopes the Christian Right will eventually become successful in ridding the country of the immorality that I represent. If he lived close enough I might have invited him over for a Coke Zero, Triscuits, and Flannel Pants Movie Night at our house, so he could see exactly how "immoral" we truly are. But people see what they want to see, and gay was the word that jumped out at him and became my primary identifier. Still, I hope that myspace will continue to serve as a place to connect and positively impact others.
Q: How 'bout them Cowboys?
A: Oh, the Cowboys! If I were a straight chick I might start stalkin' Tony Romo. As it is, I'm content to keep diagramming plays and jotting down coachspeak in my own little lesbian football handbook. How 'bout that 3-4 defense! Sometimes the stereotypes are right on.
November 27, 2006
Bridge of Light
Fellow blogger Joe Perez over at Gay Spirituality & Culture asked me to let my readers know about "Bridge of Light." Here is how he describes it:
What: A new cultural tradition for celebrating the full equality and dignity of all people
When: December 31, 2006 and January 1, 2007
Where: Public and not-so-public celebrations to be held across the USA (and beyond)
Why: To raise awareness of the full spiritual equality of GLBT people and of all people, to have fun, to strengthen our communities, to celebrate an integral and holistic spirituality
Who: Everyone (not just gays) is invited to endorse and celebrate with us ... even YOU
I encourage you to check it out and see if it is something you want to get involved in and support.
What: A new cultural tradition for celebrating the full equality and dignity of all people
When: December 31, 2006 and January 1, 2007
Where: Public and not-so-public celebrations to be held across the USA (and beyond)
Why: To raise awareness of the full spiritual equality of GLBT people and of all people, to have fun, to strengthen our communities, to celebrate an integral and holistic spirituality
Who: Everyone (not just gays) is invited to endorse and celebrate with us ... even YOU
I encourage you to check it out and see if it is something you want to get involved in and support.
November 26, 2006
Book Review: Coming Out Christian
Coming Out Christian. By Jen Austin. 254 pp. Sources of Hope Publishing. $15.
One of the aspects of blogging I find particularly interesting is people’s willingness to dig deep into themselves and share their findings, warts and all, with the world.
Accomplishing this in a blog is impressive enough, but capturing that in a book is another matter entirely. Jen Austin, a radio DJ in Dallas, Texas, has done an outstanding job of that with her recently published book, “Coming Out Christian,” (Sources of Hope Publishing, $15).
Jen has been blogging about her life on her personal website since 2005, sharing her views on being a Christian lesbian and the perspective that gives her on life and social issues. She was one of the first to link to this blog, supporting our goal of bringing the message of GLBT equality and the Good News of Jesus into the gay community.
In “Coming Out Christian,” Jen retraces the steps she took on her “journey of self-discovery” and gives readers an inside look at how she accepted the fact she was attracted to women, come out as a lesbian, and then reconcile that to her Christian beliefs.
Jen’s was often a difficult journey, one with plenty of obstacles. As she tells her story, Jen is almost painfully honest about the mistakes she made along the way. This is not a book written by someone trying to elicit sympathy or looking to make excuses when things went badly. Jen accepts responsibility for her decisions throughout and wants to help others not suffer through the same pitfalls she did.
In the introduction to “Coming Out Christian,” Jen writes, “The single greatest barrier to irrevocably accepting my own homosexuality in the mid 1990’s was the all-consuming fear that upon doing so, God would cast me into the fire in the pit of hell in absolute disgust, without even blinking an eye. This fear paralyzed me for many years, but after an extended period of intense study and even more intense prayer, I can now say with certainty that—contrary to popular belief, God is the author of homosexuality, and wholly embraces me as a lesbian.”
Regarding her family background, Jen writes, “Nothing traumatic happened to me during my childhood that my present-day homosexuality could somehow be blamed on…..I grew up in a situation, if it was not the American Dream, it certainly did resemble it.”
Yet despite a strong foundation growing up, it was still a difficult, at times traumatic process for Jen to accept herself as a lesbian Christian. One of the major problems was all the un-learning she had to do. Growing up in the nation’s heartland, homosexuality was usually discussed “under the guise of dirty jokes and religious condemnation….being gay was seen as an unacceptable lifestyle or behavior that you chose to pursue, rather than an orientation or state of being that you were born with and can do nothing about.”
Jen, not realizing there was another option, made a valiant effort of doing what was expected of her; date boys, get married, and raise a family. She writes, “I wasted a lot of valuable time in my late teens and early twenties barking up the wrong heterosexual tree. We gay men and lesbians seem to spend a good portion of our lives attempting to deny and even exorcise our most pure and native instincts, while the heterosexual population is allowed to carry on quite naturally. It’s a shame that the process of coming of age and dating which comes so easily for a heterosexual person is often years in the making for a homosexual person. We should not have to attempt to live as heterosexuals before accepting our innate homosexuality.”
While I personally didn’t find the coming of age process quite as easy as Jen implies it should be for a heterosexual male like me, at least I didn’t have the enormous disadvantage of being funneled into a lifestyle I was not born to live. Jen has come to understand this about the societal norm of heterosexuality, “I believe that most people who fear homosexuality do so because they consider heterosexuality to be the default identity….homosexuality is a corrupt departure from the norm…..I, for one, cannot fathom heterosexuality. Homosexuality is my norm. I don’t understand why a woman would want to have a husband and I don’t understand how a woman could sexually desire a man.”
She hits on a critical point here. I can’t explain why a woman would desire another woman, but I don’t have to. I can just accept that’s the way God made them and accept them as they are. Jen doesn’t understand how I can be attracted to a woman, but she accepts me as I am. Unfortunately, there are still far too many people who, instead of accepting what they don’t understand, fear and condemn it.
Jen details the ups and downs of her relationship with Angela, her long-term partner, including how she almost pushed Angela away for good. They shared worship experiences and studied the bible together, but it wasn’t until Jen made her final reconciliation with God’s acceptance of her homosexuality that she could be at peace and her relationship had the strong foundation it needed to last.
She writes, “I used to fear the Bible…..when I semi-blindly let others decide for me what exactly the Bible does and does not say about homosexuality ….. Thankfully, I began to “get real” with God and listen more closely to the things God would say to me personally, while trusting in the Spirit’s ability to reveal truth to me not via the vocal masses, but alone, through prayer and intimate moments with the Word.”
Folks, when you hear someone referring to “a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, THAT is what they are talking about! Without it, we will stumble along, either following someone else’s direction like sheep or falling away from God entirely. He wants us to choose neither of those options. As Jen demonstrates, that intimate relationship with our savior is available regardless of our sexual orientation.
If you are a GLBT ally who wants to understand more about the coming out process and the reconciliation of homosexuality and Christianity, you will, like I did, find this book very informative and helpful.
If you are a Christian who condemns homosexuality and those you believe chose that “lifestyle,” I would strongly recommend you open you mind and read this book. It will be a lesson that not all homosexuals hang out at leather bars and sleep with a different partner every night. Many of them live like Jen and Angela; in a loving, long-term committed relationship.
If you are a GLBT person who feels that God does not love you as your are, you need to read this book to understand how he DOES love you and wants to have a relationship with you.
If you don’t fall into any of these categories, “Coming Out Christian” is still worth reading. It is interesting, well written, and most of all real.
This book is available at JenAustin.com.
One of the aspects of blogging I find particularly interesting is people’s willingness to dig deep into themselves and share their findings, warts and all, with the world.
Accomplishing this in a blog is impressive enough, but capturing that in a book is another matter entirely. Jen Austin, a radio DJ in Dallas, Texas, has done an outstanding job of that with her recently published book, “Coming Out Christian,” (Sources of Hope Publishing, $15).
Jen has been blogging about her life on her personal website since 2005, sharing her views on being a Christian lesbian and the perspective that gives her on life and social issues. She was one of the first to link to this blog, supporting our goal of bringing the message of GLBT equality and the Good News of Jesus into the gay community.
In “Coming Out Christian,” Jen retraces the steps she took on her “journey of self-discovery” and gives readers an inside look at how she accepted the fact she was attracted to women, come out as a lesbian, and then reconcile that to her Christian beliefs.
Jen’s was often a difficult journey, one with plenty of obstacles. As she tells her story, Jen is almost painfully honest about the mistakes she made along the way. This is not a book written by someone trying to elicit sympathy or looking to make excuses when things went badly. Jen accepts responsibility for her decisions throughout and wants to help others not suffer through the same pitfalls she did.
In the introduction to “Coming Out Christian,” Jen writes, “The single greatest barrier to irrevocably accepting my own homosexuality in the mid 1990’s was the all-consuming fear that upon doing so, God would cast me into the fire in the pit of hell in absolute disgust, without even blinking an eye. This fear paralyzed me for many years, but after an extended period of intense study and even more intense prayer, I can now say with certainty that—contrary to popular belief, God is the author of homosexuality, and wholly embraces me as a lesbian.”
Regarding her family background, Jen writes, “Nothing traumatic happened to me during my childhood that my present-day homosexuality could somehow be blamed on…..I grew up in a situation, if it was not the American Dream, it certainly did resemble it.”
Yet despite a strong foundation growing up, it was still a difficult, at times traumatic process for Jen to accept herself as a lesbian Christian. One of the major problems was all the un-learning she had to do. Growing up in the nation’s heartland, homosexuality was usually discussed “under the guise of dirty jokes and religious condemnation….being gay was seen as an unacceptable lifestyle or behavior that you chose to pursue, rather than an orientation or state of being that you were born with and can do nothing about.”
Jen, not realizing there was another option, made a valiant effort of doing what was expected of her; date boys, get married, and raise a family. She writes, “I wasted a lot of valuable time in my late teens and early twenties barking up the wrong heterosexual tree. We gay men and lesbians seem to spend a good portion of our lives attempting to deny and even exorcise our most pure and native instincts, while the heterosexual population is allowed to carry on quite naturally. It’s a shame that the process of coming of age and dating which comes so easily for a heterosexual person is often years in the making for a homosexual person. We should not have to attempt to live as heterosexuals before accepting our innate homosexuality.”
While I personally didn’t find the coming of age process quite as easy as Jen implies it should be for a heterosexual male like me, at least I didn’t have the enormous disadvantage of being funneled into a lifestyle I was not born to live. Jen has come to understand this about the societal norm of heterosexuality, “I believe that most people who fear homosexuality do so because they consider heterosexuality to be the default identity….homosexuality is a corrupt departure from the norm…..I, for one, cannot fathom heterosexuality. Homosexuality is my norm. I don’t understand why a woman would want to have a husband and I don’t understand how a woman could sexually desire a man.”
She hits on a critical point here. I can’t explain why a woman would desire another woman, but I don’t have to. I can just accept that’s the way God made them and accept them as they are. Jen doesn’t understand how I can be attracted to a woman, but she accepts me as I am. Unfortunately, there are still far too many people who, instead of accepting what they don’t understand, fear and condemn it.
Jen details the ups and downs of her relationship with Angela, her long-term partner, including how she almost pushed Angela away for good. They shared worship experiences and studied the bible together, but it wasn’t until Jen made her final reconciliation with God’s acceptance of her homosexuality that she could be at peace and her relationship had the strong foundation it needed to last.
She writes, “I used to fear the Bible…..when I semi-blindly let others decide for me what exactly the Bible does and does not say about homosexuality ….. Thankfully, I began to “get real” with God and listen more closely to the things God would say to me personally, while trusting in the Spirit’s ability to reveal truth to me not via the vocal masses, but alone, through prayer and intimate moments with the Word.”
Folks, when you hear someone referring to “a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, THAT is what they are talking about! Without it, we will stumble along, either following someone else’s direction like sheep or falling away from God entirely. He wants us to choose neither of those options. As Jen demonstrates, that intimate relationship with our savior is available regardless of our sexual orientation.
If you are a GLBT ally who wants to understand more about the coming out process and the reconciliation of homosexuality and Christianity, you will, like I did, find this book very informative and helpful.
If you are a Christian who condemns homosexuality and those you believe chose that “lifestyle,” I would strongly recommend you open you mind and read this book. It will be a lesson that not all homosexuals hang out at leather bars and sleep with a different partner every night. Many of them live like Jen and Angela; in a loving, long-term committed relationship.
If you are a GLBT person who feels that God does not love you as your are, you need to read this book to understand how he DOES love you and wants to have a relationship with you.
If you don’t fall into any of these categories, “Coming Out Christian” is still worth reading. It is interesting, well written, and most of all real.
This book is available at JenAustin.com.
November 25, 2006
Is the King James Bible the Original Rainbow Translation?
You might read that headline and wonder what in the world I'm talking about. Try this on for size. The King James Bible, treated by some fundamentalists as the original writing of the Bible (no dummies, it was written in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic--the King James was the first ENGLISH translation from those original scriptures), was ordered by an actual King James in the 17th century.
What if he had been gay? What if, for centuries, the bible that has been the basis of much of the religious right theology had been authorized by a gay man?
Richard Mathis was kind enough to forward a link to this piece he wrote on that very subject for the site OpEdNews.com.
Mr. Mathis wonders how the North Carolina Baptist Convention, which recently turned up the head on any member church that is accepting of gays, would view that revelation, then goes into great detail presenting evidence to support that assertion, one that is not new (Pastor Brenda was familiar with it) but is presented very clearly in this column.
Mathis writes, "How ironic it is that gay unfriendly Southern Baptists are the biggest proponents of the King James Bible. Then again, given that King James was remarkably arrogant, out-of-touch and torched "sodomites" and "witches" in the name of God while all the time being a sanctimonious hypocrite engaging in gay relationships, he could blend right in along side Ted Haggard putting the heat on gays and feminist abortionists."
Touche!
What if he had been gay? What if, for centuries, the bible that has been the basis of much of the religious right theology had been authorized by a gay man?
Richard Mathis was kind enough to forward a link to this piece he wrote on that very subject for the site OpEdNews.com.
Mr. Mathis wonders how the North Carolina Baptist Convention, which recently turned up the head on any member church that is accepting of gays, would view that revelation, then goes into great detail presenting evidence to support that assertion, one that is not new (Pastor Brenda was familiar with it) but is presented very clearly in this column.
Mathis writes, "How ironic it is that gay unfriendly Southern Baptists are the biggest proponents of the King James Bible. Then again, given that King James was remarkably arrogant, out-of-touch and torched "sodomites" and "witches" in the name of God while all the time being a sanctimonious hypocrite engaging in gay relationships, he could blend right in along side Ted Haggard putting the heat on gays and feminist abortionists."
Touche!
November 24, 2006
"When Religion Loses Its Credibility"
A column recently appeared in the USA Today with that headline.
"Galileo was persecuted for revealing what we now know to be the truth regarding Earth’s place in our solar system. Today, the issue is homosexuality, and the persecution is not of one man but of millions. Will Christian leaders once again be on the wrong side of history?"
"Galileo was persecuted for revealing what we now know to be the truth regarding Earth’s place in our solar system. Today, the issue is homosexuality, and the persecution is not of one man but of millions. Will Christian leaders once again be on the wrong side of history?"
"Christianity is in danger of squandering its moral authority by continuing its pattern of discrimination against gays and lesbians in the face of mounting scientific evidence that sexual orientation has little or nothing to do with choice. To the contrary, whether sexual orientation arises as a result of the mother's hormones or the child's brain structure or DNA, it is almost certainly an accident of birth. The point is this: Without choice, there can be no moral culpability."
"The suffering that gay and lesbian people have endured at the hands of religion is incalculable, but they can look expectantly to the future for vindication. Scientific facts, after all, are a stubborn thing. Even our religious beliefs must finally yield to them as the church in its battle with Galileo ultimately realized. But for religion, the future might be ominous. Watching the growing conflict between medical science and religion over homosexuality is like watching a train wreck from a distance. You can see it coming for miles and sense the inevitable conclusion, but you're powerless to stop it. The more church leaders dig in their heels, the worse it's likely to be."
The author is a Baptist minister, and it certainly is refreshing to see this type of insight in the mainstream press instead of just in someone's blog.
November 23, 2006
U. S. Military Continues to Contemplate Homosexuality
A while back I posted about a story that detailed how the Pentagon had classified homosexuality as a mental disorder. I suppose, with not much else going on in the world occupying their attention, they have continued their consideration of how to classify gays.
The good news is that homosexuality is no longer considered a mental disorder. Hip hip hooray!
The bad news is that is it considered a defect:
"Among the conditions are stammering or stuttering, dyslexia, sleepwalking, motion sickness, obesity, insect venom allergies and homosexuality."
With this kind of insight into the human condition, or at least one of them, is the mess in Iraq really that much of a surprise?
The good news is that homosexuality is no longer considered a mental disorder. Hip hip hooray!
The bad news is that is it considered a defect:
"Among the conditions are stammering or stuttering, dyslexia, sleepwalking, motion sickness, obesity, insect venom allergies and homosexuality."
With this kind of insight into the human condition, or at least one of them, is the mess in Iraq really that much of a surprise?
November 21, 2006
"Gays Keep Separated, Church and State Not"
I ran across this op-ed in the Chicago Tribune written by Geoffrey A. Stone, a law professor at the University of Chicago who had a very personal take on same-sex marriage. He has watched his daughter Mollie settle into a very happy long-term relationship with another woman who she cannot legally marry.
He writes about previous restrictions on marriage:
"The institution of marriage has embodied many restrictions over the years since St. Paul. Marriage has been prohibited, for example, to people of different religions and different races. Like the ban on same-sex marriage, those prohibitions were justified by appeals to tradition, natural law and Scripture. In a representative statement, a judge explained miscegenation laws: "Almighty God created the races, white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix."
Mr. Stone closes with this thought:
"At least with respect to same-sex marriage, our society is about to change. A third of Americans now favor allowing same-sex marriage, and more than half now support same-sex civil commitment. Our nation's greatest achievement has been its ability to recognize and overcome deeply entrenched racial, religious, gender and ethnic discrimination. We will achieve this as well in the realm of sexual orientation. But some of us grow impatient. I'd like to go to Mollie's wedding."
I hope he gets his wish sooner rather than later.
He writes about previous restrictions on marriage:
"The institution of marriage has embodied many restrictions over the years since St. Paul. Marriage has been prohibited, for example, to people of different religions and different races. Like the ban on same-sex marriage, those prohibitions were justified by appeals to tradition, natural law and Scripture. In a representative statement, a judge explained miscegenation laws: "Almighty God created the races, white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix."
Mr. Stone closes with this thought:
"At least with respect to same-sex marriage, our society is about to change. A third of Americans now favor allowing same-sex marriage, and more than half now support same-sex civil commitment. Our nation's greatest achievement has been its ability to recognize and overcome deeply entrenched racial, religious, gender and ethnic discrimination. We will achieve this as well in the realm of sexual orientation. But some of us grow impatient. I'd like to go to Mollie's wedding."
I hope he gets his wish sooner rather than later.
November 20, 2006
Bucking the Southern Baptist Bigots
First Baptist Church in Greensboro is holding fast in its affirming and accepting policies despite a recent decree from the North Carolina State Baptist Convention. The convention decided to no longer affiliate with churches that embrace openly gay members, and even went so far to encourage member congreations to rat out other churches that did so.
First Baptist Church, however, is standing true to its convictions. After the convention's vote, the marquee outside the church read, "We practice confession, not condemnation."
"We try to stay away from labels like 'lesbian' and 'gay'; we just work together in the church in ministry, whether it's building a house for Habitat for Humanity or working for Greensboro Urban Ministry," said Mark File, a gay deacon at College Park. "Decisions like this are missing the point of the church, which is not shutting doors."
It seems like a LOT of churches don't get it these days. I'm glad there are ones like mine and First Baptist Church in Greensboro to shine God's light in the GLBT and all other communities.
First Baptist Church, however, is standing true to its convictions. After the convention's vote, the marquee outside the church read, "We practice confession, not condemnation."
"We try to stay away from labels like 'lesbian' and 'gay'; we just work together in the church in ministry, whether it's building a house for Habitat for Humanity or working for Greensboro Urban Ministry," said Mark File, a gay deacon at College Park. "Decisions like this are missing the point of the church, which is not shutting doors."
It seems like a LOT of churches don't get it these days. I'm glad there are ones like mine and First Baptist Church in Greensboro to shine God's light in the GLBT and all other communities.
November 19, 2006
The AIDS Evangelists
Here is an interesting piece from the Seattle Weekly publication that tells us about the struggle the organization World Vision is having engaging churches as part of the solution to the worldwide problem with AIDS.
Rich Stearns, the director of World Vision, answered the question "Where has the church been?"
"If we honestly ask who are the ones who have taken the lead in fighting against AIDS and showing compassion to its victims, we find a surprising list." He ticked them off: "the homosexual community, Hollywood, rock stars, political liberals, the U.S. government, the United Nations, secular humanitarian organizations, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation."
Some elements of the evangelical community have done worse than ignore the issue, they have incredibly actively opposed more AIDS funding.
"In May of this year, Focus on the Family's James Dobson and 30 other Christian leaders signed a letter to congressional representatives urging them to oppose a proposed increase in U.S. contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, a Swiss-based fund that raises billions of dollars in governmental and private money throughout the world. Among the Global Fund's alleged crimes were ties to philanthropist George Soros, whom the letter linked to "radical causes" like abortion and euthanasia. It also attacked the Global Fund for promoting condoms rather than abstinence and faithfulness. The increase in funding passed anyway."
Gee, what a surprise Dobson was mixed up in that. As usual, Dobson and his ilk are more worried about their base of political power than helping people, and it continues to disgust me that he claims to do so in the name of God.
There is movement from the evangelical community.
"A number of prominent evangelical leaders have turned their attention to the issue, among them Franklin Graham and the Rev. Rick Warren, the best-selling author and pastor of California's populous Saddleback Church, which is about to hold its second annual AIDS conference. World Vision enlisted Kay Warren, the pastor's wife, to make several appearances on its Hope Tour. That same year, evangelicals lent crucial support to a $15 billion, five-year AIDS effort launched by President Bush called the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief."
Please join me in praying that more people turn their focus on God's work of helping to heal those who are sick and preventing more from contracting this horrible disease.
Rich Stearns, the director of World Vision, answered the question "Where has the church been?"
"If we honestly ask who are the ones who have taken the lead in fighting against AIDS and showing compassion to its victims, we find a surprising list." He ticked them off: "the homosexual community, Hollywood, rock stars, political liberals, the U.S. government, the United Nations, secular humanitarian organizations, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation."
Some elements of the evangelical community have done worse than ignore the issue, they have incredibly actively opposed more AIDS funding.
"In May of this year, Focus on the Family's James Dobson and 30 other Christian leaders signed a letter to congressional representatives urging them to oppose a proposed increase in U.S. contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, a Swiss-based fund that raises billions of dollars in governmental and private money throughout the world. Among the Global Fund's alleged crimes were ties to philanthropist George Soros, whom the letter linked to "radical causes" like abortion and euthanasia. It also attacked the Global Fund for promoting condoms rather than abstinence and faithfulness. The increase in funding passed anyway."
Gee, what a surprise Dobson was mixed up in that. As usual, Dobson and his ilk are more worried about their base of political power than helping people, and it continues to disgust me that he claims to do so in the name of God.
There is movement from the evangelical community.
"A number of prominent evangelical leaders have turned their attention to the issue, among them Franklin Graham and the Rev. Rick Warren, the best-selling author and pastor of California's populous Saddleback Church, which is about to hold its second annual AIDS conference. World Vision enlisted Kay Warren, the pastor's wife, to make several appearances on its Hope Tour. That same year, evangelicals lent crucial support to a $15 billion, five-year AIDS effort launched by President Bush called the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief."
Please join me in praying that more people turn their focus on God's work of helping to heal those who are sick and preventing more from contracting this horrible disease.
November 18, 2006
Gay Penguins Still Ruffling Feathers
"And Tango Makes Three" is a children's picture book that tells the story, a true story by the way, about two male penguins who raised a baby penguin as their own chick in New York's Central Park Zoo.
Of course, anything that exposes youngesters to a positive portrayal of homosexuals, even amongs penguins, will get some people's undies all bunched up. The lastest is in Shiloh, Illinois, where some parents have raised a stink. They are trying to get the book moved to a section containing "mature topics" which would require parental permission for a child to read it.
It's a sweet little book that you can buy on Amazon.com. Anything that can get our kids thinking outside the box the religious right so desperately wants to keep them in is a good thing.
Of course, anything that exposes youngesters to a positive portrayal of homosexuals, even amongs penguins, will get some people's undies all bunched up. The lastest is in Shiloh, Illinois, where some parents have raised a stink. They are trying to get the book moved to a section containing "mature topics" which would require parental permission for a child to read it.
It's a sweet little book that you can buy on Amazon.com. Anything that can get our kids thinking outside the box the religious right so desperately wants to keep them in is a good thing.
November 17, 2006
LGBT Equality As a Competitive Advantage
Here is yet another example of how economic pressure is one avenue LGBT advocates can use to move forward the policies of equality. Wisconsin is one of the states that voted in favor of a constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage. As a result, gay and lesbian employees, seeing little chance of receiving domestic partner benefits, are considering leaving the state's flagship institution of higher learning, the University of Wisconsin.
According to The Advocate article, Wisconsin is the only Big Ten school that does not offer benefits for domestic partners. For those of you who don't know what the Big Ten is, it is a collegiate sports conference comprised of many of the largest universities in the Midwest. These schools, like Ohio State, Indiana, Northwestern, and Purdue for example, often compete for the same academic and leadership talent.
GLBT people and their allies need to be aware of what employers and industries support equal rights and support them whenever possible. Maybe those groups who aren't supportive will get the hint.
According to The Advocate article, Wisconsin is the only Big Ten school that does not offer benefits for domestic partners. For those of you who don't know what the Big Ten is, it is a collegiate sports conference comprised of many of the largest universities in the Midwest. These schools, like Ohio State, Indiana, Northwestern, and Purdue for example, often compete for the same academic and leadership talent.
GLBT people and their allies need to be aware of what employers and industries support equal rights and support them whenever possible. Maybe those groups who aren't supportive will get the hint.
November 14, 2006
"War, Religion, and Gay Rights"
Columnist James Carroll of the Boston Globe writes about the unity diverse groups can find in gay bashing and addresses a couple of the primary underlying reasons why GLBT rights are often so viciously attacked.
"Same-sex erotic love is not the issue. Humans, including Catholic bishops, have long accommodated it. But that accommodation assumes denial and shame. What brings demonstrators into streets across cultures, and what shows up in the United States as "values" politics, mobilizing bishops, is the movement to bring homosexuality out of the dark.
When gay people openly assert their identities as such, whether through parades or through the demand for full and equal social recognition, reactionaries cannot stand it. "
"The open affirmation of gay identity can pose a mortal threat to people whose own sexual identity is insecure. The Haggard story is a cautionary tale. As it happens, I was present last year to hear Pastor Ted preach a sermon at his mega-church, and it included a digressive attack on homosexuals that was as venomous and it was gratuitous. He equated gay sex with bestiality.
Even at the time, I wondered about the dark energy of his hatred. That it is revealed now as self-hatred comes as no surprise. One needn't draw a direct line from Haggard's behavior to the private morality of Catholic bishops to sense that the church's own deepening insecurity on all matters of sexuality, especially those surfaced by the still unresolved crisis of priestly sexual abuse of children, informs its exceptional opposition to gay rights."
That's right, since GLBT people have the nerve to assert their desire for equality, that has been seen as a declaration of war by people who are often focus on that while in denial or diverting attention from other issues.
Righteousness will ultimately prevail and more of these hypocrites and hidden agends will be exposed. The tide is turning in favor of equality, but it will be more of a steady flow rather than a tidal wave.
"Same-sex erotic love is not the issue. Humans, including Catholic bishops, have long accommodated it. But that accommodation assumes denial and shame. What brings demonstrators into streets across cultures, and what shows up in the United States as "values" politics, mobilizing bishops, is the movement to bring homosexuality out of the dark.
When gay people openly assert their identities as such, whether through parades or through the demand for full and equal social recognition, reactionaries cannot stand it. "
"The open affirmation of gay identity can pose a mortal threat to people whose own sexual identity is insecure. The Haggard story is a cautionary tale. As it happens, I was present last year to hear Pastor Ted preach a sermon at his mega-church, and it included a digressive attack on homosexuals that was as venomous and it was gratuitous. He equated gay sex with bestiality.
Even at the time, I wondered about the dark energy of his hatred. That it is revealed now as self-hatred comes as no surprise. One needn't draw a direct line from Haggard's behavior to the private morality of Catholic bishops to sense that the church's own deepening insecurity on all matters of sexuality, especially those surfaced by the still unresolved crisis of priestly sexual abuse of children, informs its exceptional opposition to gay rights."
That's right, since GLBT people have the nerve to assert their desire for equality, that has been seen as a declaration of war by people who are often focus on that while in denial or diverting attention from other issues.
Righteousness will ultimately prevail and more of these hypocrites and hidden agends will be exposed. The tide is turning in favor of equality, but it will be more of a steady flow rather than a tidal wave.
November 13, 2006
A State of Moral Confusion
Yes, here's another piece on Ted Haggard, but it's not really about him. This situation has brought a lot of people out of the woodwork with interesting opinions, some of them profound, some of them ludicrous. My last post reference one of the former, and this one shows one of the latter.
From the Rocky Mountain News:
As a practical matter David Frum's analysis of the situation is more disturbing, given that, at least for now, the David Frums of the world still have more political influence than the Mark Driscolls. A former speechwriter for President Bush, Frum now writes for America's leading conservative magazine, National Review. Here's his take on the Haggard scandal:
"Consider the hypothetical case of two men. Both are inclined toward homosexuality. Both from time to time hire the services of male prostitutes. Both have occasionally succumbed to drug abuse. One of them marries, raises a family, preaches Christian principles, and tries generally to encourage people to lead stable lives. The other publicly reveals his homosexuality, vilifies traditional moral principles, and urges the legalization of drugs and prostitution. Which man is leading the more moral life? It seems to me that the answer is the first one."
It seems to me that there's something about the topic of sex in America today that causes otherwise sane and intelligent persons to say crazy things.
On what conceivable moral scale is publicly acknowledging one's sexual orientation while taking a libertarian view on the criminalizing of drugs and prostitution (this is apparently what Frum considers vilifying "traditional moral principles") worse than spending a lifetime deceiving one's spouse for the sake of career advancement?
I never cease to be amazed by the ability of people to rationalize the sins of those who work with them to condemn what they perceive to be the sins of others.
Fortunately, their judgement carries no long-term consequences. We will all be equals on judgement day, when they only thing that matters is the forgiveness of Jesus--if we've asked for it.
From the Rocky Mountain News:
As a practical matter David Frum's analysis of the situation is more disturbing, given that, at least for now, the David Frums of the world still have more political influence than the Mark Driscolls. A former speechwriter for President Bush, Frum now writes for America's leading conservative magazine, National Review. Here's his take on the Haggard scandal:
"Consider the hypothetical case of two men. Both are inclined toward homosexuality. Both from time to time hire the services of male prostitutes. Both have occasionally succumbed to drug abuse. One of them marries, raises a family, preaches Christian principles, and tries generally to encourage people to lead stable lives. The other publicly reveals his homosexuality, vilifies traditional moral principles, and urges the legalization of drugs and prostitution. Which man is leading the more moral life? It seems to me that the answer is the first one."
It seems to me that there's something about the topic of sex in America today that causes otherwise sane and intelligent persons to say crazy things.
On what conceivable moral scale is publicly acknowledging one's sexual orientation while taking a libertarian view on the criminalizing of drugs and prostitution (this is apparently what Frum considers vilifying "traditional moral principles") worse than spending a lifetime deceiving one's spouse for the sake of career advancement?
I never cease to be amazed by the ability of people to rationalize the sins of those who work with them to condemn what they perceive to be the sins of others.
Fortunately, their judgement carries no long-term consequences. We will all be equals on judgement day, when they only thing that matters is the forgiveness of Jesus--if we've asked for it.
November 12, 2006
The Party of the Angry Closet
I found this post on the blog Proceed At Your Own Risk which took a different spin on what appears to be a crowded closet in the Republican Party.
"It may very well be that the GOP's abominable homophobic campaign and party rhetoric is primarily fueled by a long-standing core and tradition of pathologically self-hating closeted gay men in key positions."
"So, I'm posing an ugly and incredibly distasteful question that the gay community must ask itself. Would a national political campaign be so focused on homophobia if not for the presence and influence of so many self-loathing closeted gay Republicans? When we blame straights for Republican and Christian homophobia are we pointing the finger in the wrong direction?
And are we ourselves, in a gay community sense, at least partly responsible if not primarily responsible for fueling this nightmare?
If this theory is even partly correct, then it is critical and vital to our future that we hunt down and expose these men with urgency and even brutality."
"It's time to consider that our collective silence on this issue and with regard to these individuals may be one of the root causes of national homophobia institutionalized by one of our two political parties.
The gay community may be more responsible for homophobia than we care to admit. Furthermore, the gay community may have more control over its own future than we care to address. In some circumstances, outing may be as much of a civic duty as voting. Forgive the cliche, but growing pains are an inevitable part of life and maturation; and now may be the time for some pain."
The word brutality seems to cross a line, but overall his points seem to make a lot of sense to me. What do you think?
"It may very well be that the GOP's abominable homophobic campaign and party rhetoric is primarily fueled by a long-standing core and tradition of pathologically self-hating closeted gay men in key positions."
"So, I'm posing an ugly and incredibly distasteful question that the gay community must ask itself. Would a national political campaign be so focused on homophobia if not for the presence and influence of so many self-loathing closeted gay Republicans? When we blame straights for Republican and Christian homophobia are we pointing the finger in the wrong direction?
And are we ourselves, in a gay community sense, at least partly responsible if not primarily responsible for fueling this nightmare?
If this theory is even partly correct, then it is critical and vital to our future that we hunt down and expose these men with urgency and even brutality."
"It's time to consider that our collective silence on this issue and with regard to these individuals may be one of the root causes of national homophobia institutionalized by one of our two political parties.
The gay community may be more responsible for homophobia than we care to admit. Furthermore, the gay community may have more control over its own future than we care to address. In some circumstances, outing may be as much of a civic duty as voting. Forgive the cliche, but growing pains are an inevitable part of life and maturation; and now may be the time for some pain."
The word brutality seems to cross a line, but overall his points seem to make a lot of sense to me. What do you think?
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