Civil Discourse: It Takes Two

One of the things I do to try and bring a wider readership to this blog it reach out to other bloggers and offer to exchange links. I don't restrict that search to those who totally agree with my views and that led to me contacting a gentleman named Jonathan Marlowe, who writes the blog "The Ivy Bush."

There have been times when these requests have been met with judgementalism by someone with a closed mind, but this was not one of them. Mr. Marlowe's politics lean to the left like mine, but his views on homosexuality are much further to the right. I explained my views in the e-mail I sent and he did something unusual; he visited this site, read some of my posts, and found value to the discussion over here desipte his disagreement.

Mr. Marlow agreed to link here and shared our e-mail exchange on his blog. I point this out here as a reminder that not all people who don't openly accept and validate homosexuality are sworn enemies of GLBT people. There are actually people on the other side of these issues who
will respectfully engage in an exchange of ideas, who are professing Christians yet bigoted and judgemental.

It was a pleasure to make the connection with Mr. Marlowe and exchange links. I encourage you to visit his blog.

Thoughts From a Reformed Political Preacher

I ran across this exceptional essay from Dave Burchett, a writer and public speaker. In this piece, he does something truly remarkable in today's political and religious discourse; he admits mistakes and shares what he learned from them. At a time when most speakers are trying to shout down those who disagree with them to make sure their voice is the loudest, Burchett humbles himself and shares his lessons and also those of Dr. Gregory Boyd, the minister who lost over 1,000 members from his church because he preached that the church should stay clear of politics.

Here are some important quotes from Mr. Burchett:

"I have been roundly criticised for supporting George Bush in my first book, When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. I regret the political references I made in that book. I wish I could remove them because I found out that political remarks polarize and deflect the message of the Cross. I tried to make it clear that Christians were making a mistake by trying to change our culture through politics instead of by changing hearts for Jesus."

"I regret the impression that I gave to some readers that I believed the Republican party was the official party of Christianity. I do not believe that at all. And yes, I expect to see Democrats in heaven. And Libertarians. A few Republicans will be there too. But the common link will not be politcal ideology. The link that will bring us there will be Jesus. Period."

"I am not smart enough to decide what God has called people to do. If He has placed a desire for people to impact the culture through political action I am not about to question their motives. But I do agree that His house should be a house of worship and not a house of political promotion."

Mr. Burchett also includes some quotes from Dr. Boyd excerpted from a New York Times story:

"Christians are not to seek "power over" others by controlling governments, passing legislation or fighting wars. Christians should seek to have "power under" others winning others hearts by sacrificing for those in need."

"America is not the light of the world and the hope of the world. The light of the world and the hope of the world is Jesus Christ."

There is a lot of wisdom here from these two men, and there is more in the article I linked to.

This speaks to the messiah complex President Bush has demonstrated in trying to position the United States as the world's savior and the inevitable failure of that because this world has only one true Savior, Jesus Christ.

This speaks to those who claim absolute moral and political authority over the United States when there is actually only one absolute moral authority--Jesus Christ. Those who claim to know His judgement for others need to worry a lot more about His plans for themselves.

This speaks to how religious leaders are trying to shape this nation into their own image twisting selected passages from the Bible to claim their authority. In truth, they have no authority. Instead of trying to impose their will on the people of the United States, they need to be on their knees and submitting to the will of Jesus Christ.

Jesus will not transform the nation and the world through court rulings or legislation. He will touch the hearts of His children one at a time, and His greatest rewards will wait for those who faciliated ahd helped feed open hearts and open minds, not for those who got laws passed or stacked courts with right-wing judges.

WHOSOEVER: Believing is Seeing

We live in a world that advocates, "I'll believe it when I see it." Yet, medical and psychology professionals have manuals of information proving that our eyes can play tricks on us. What a quandry.

When faced with such a situation I go to the Scriptures for guidance. Jesus says in Luke 11:40 Mod Ver. "Didn't I tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" He says again in Mark 11:24, "........and when you pray believe that you have received it and you shall have it." The Lord's way is believe THEN see.

Now, don't let your thoughts go running wild. We must mix wisdom in this equation. There are some things we will never see no matter how much we believe. We can't believe hard enough to see ourselves jump off a roof and fly. We can't believe hard enough to see our skin change color. There are some things that are the way they are because God created them that way. These are not the kind of things Jesus is referring to in these Scriptures.

If we can just start believing that our lives can be better, eventually we will see them get better. Believe then see.

Exodus: "restore wholeness to the Body of Christ"

That what the organization's president, Alan Chambers, feels the Lord wants Exodus (the "ex-gay" group) to accomplish. This was excerpted from their most recent newsletter, "The Exodus Impact." Here is the entire opening paragraph of his column, lest you think I took the phrase out of context.

"I woke up thinking about Exodus this morning and its mission to rebuild the Church. I am unalterably convinced that the Lord means to use Exodus International in a significant way to restore wholeness to the Body of Christ. After all, those currently caught up in homosexuality are the ones being used to destroy the Church. But for the grace of God, you and I might be among those seeking to 'renovate' scriptures and sanctuaries to suit our unbridled passion. I am so thankful that the Lord and His people helped me to see, believe, and live out something far better than what I once accepted as a good alternative. I am equally thankful that He has chosen to use me to minister from the very broken places of my life where His healing has been most significant."

I sincerely hope Mr. Chambers is one of the few who acted as a homosexual but was truly born straight. If that is the case (he is now married), then I join him in thanking God for making him the man he was born to be.

Even if that is the case, however, his organization continues to foster the ideas that (1) people can decide to not be homosexual and (2) God won't accept them unless they "change."

This message has proven to be false for many of the now former leaders of this organization. Don't take my word for that, check out Wayne Besen's extensive research in his book "Anything But Straight." This trend is also well documented on the informative site Ex-Gay Watch.

The problem with people like Mr. Chambers, who reach the point of absolute enlightenment, is that they fail to see the light glowing from different paths. When he writes "those currently caught up in homosexuality are the ones being used to destroy the Church" he invalidates the experiences of any and all GLBT Christians, something he obviously lacks the knowldege to do.

Unfortunately, many religious right groups gain their strength not so much from lifting people up but rather by making them feel small, lacking validation, and unloved by God.

It is that final point where we clearly see the agenda of man replacing the love of God, which is constant and unchangeable. Nothing we can do will make God stop loving us, despite what groups like Exodus want you to believe. By teaching those lies, they show a critical lack of understanding of who God really is. God is love. Anyone who teaches differently is a heretic.

Therefore, Mr. Chambers, I submit it is not the homosexuals who are out of the closet and worshiping Jesus that are hurting His church. It is homosexuals who crawled back in their closet and working to push others in there with them so they can worship a God limited by their lack of understanding.

1 John 4:8 (NIV): Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Where's the part that restricts that to straight people? It's not in my bible.

Back to School

There are plenty of students who aren't happy when summer is over and a new school year has begun, but this column in the Philadelphia Daily News reminds us that GLBT students are often less enthusiastic. (Thanks to my friends at Teachthefacts.org for the link).

I know as a sometimes dorky straight kid, I caught plenty of crap in school, but as you can imagine (or, even worse, know first hand), it can get pretty rough when your sexual orientation is the point of ridicule or abuse--both verbal and physical. In my school days, I was still struggling to figure out who I was, and if I'd had to deal with the issue of being attracted to other boys when most of my friends were chasing girls, I would probably have been a total wreck.

One save haven for young men and women trying to sort this out is the gay-straight alliances that are popping up on campuses all over the United States. They won't be allowed in Georgia if attorney general candidate Perry McGuire has his way.

According to the Philly News story, McGuire has "likened gay-straight alliances (GSAs) to pedophilia and said they're illegal because they promote sex among minors: 'In Georgia, sex between minors is illegal; statutory rape laws apply. Homosexual activist clubs in schools are detrimental to students and to the moral well-being of society,' he said.

It is this kind of stupidity and bigotry that puts innocent kids at risk, not only of short-term physical harm but long-term psychological scars that many of them likely never fully recover from--in part because they are not encouraged to.

If your child or one you know is a target of this kind of abuse, I recommend you check out The Gay Lesbian and Straight Educators Network for some helpful information.

We can all also show them the true love of Christ and accept them for who they are, which will help them become who God wants them to be.

WHOSOEVER: Partners with God

Our God is an awesome God whose thoughts and ways are much higher than ours. Knowing that we would need and enjoy the relief and exhilaration of discovering the answer to a problem, or experiencing the realization of a long-awaited desire, God arranged things so we would have to seek after what we need. He also provided the security that we will have everything we need if we put our trust in Him. Even though God requires us to ask, seek, and knock for what we need in life, He has made a provision that those who ask will be answered, those who seek will find, and those who knock will be opened unto. God knows we need a sense of accomplishment as we work out the details of our daily lives. Yet, we are never alone. We are partners with the God of the universe.

From Somebody Pretty Smart, This is Pretty Dumb

I'm referring to an editorial published in the Baltimore Sun by Thomas Sowell, a senior fellor at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. With that position, it is reasonable to stipulate that he is quite intelligent. That may extend only to book smarts, though. He shows an almost total lack of understanding regarding the issues involving same-sex marriage in this editorial.

Sowell scoffs at the notion that disallowing same-sex marriage is any type of discrimination. He cites this as an example:

"When the law permits automobiles to drive on highways but forbids bicycles from doing the same, that is not discrimination against people. A cyclist who gets off his bicycle and gets into a car can drive on the highway just like anyone else. "

It seems obvious to this learned man that GLBT people enjoy the same right to marry as heterosexual people, they must simply ignore their sexual orientation and marry someone of the opposite sex. See, aren't we lucky that someone explained that so clearly.

Sowell also uses some twisted logic by saying there is no gay marriage to ban because there has never been legal gay marriage.

Is that like saying women were not denied the right to vote because they had never actually had it? That sounds pretty stupid too, doesn;t it?

I'm sure Mr. Sowell knows a lot more than I do, but unfortunately not quite as much as he thinks he does. I hope he sticks to topics on which he acaually does enjoy some perspective in his future columns and doesn't attempt to use his ignorance to restrict the rights of other individuals.

ADF Gets Another Right Taken Away From Gays

The Alliance Defense Fund, a right-wing legal alliance founded by ministers like James Kennedy and James Dobson, won another court case in favor of homophobes when Georgia Tech University agreed to drop prohibition of students verbally injuring their GLBT classmates from the school's speech code.

Now Georgia Tech students can return to throwing around words like "faggot" without fear of any reprucussion.

Good job, ADF. That's something worth fighting for! Jesus wouldn't want his children inhibited from good old tradional name calling, now would he?

"Bye Bye Bipartisanship"

Wayne Besen, the head of "Truth Wins Out," takes a look at the idea of supporting GLBT-friendly politicians from both parties. He concludes that it is time to stop that and focus on getting democrats elected.

Here are some of his key points:

".....in my estimation, the Republican Party's hostility towards gay people is not something that can easily be fixed. The entire party will have to collapse and remake itself into an entity that does not exploit fear and prejudice before GLBT people can return."

"While most Republicans are not anti-gay, the party is still the undeniable home for most haters and homophobes."

"When Republicans finally leave the thrall of Neo Puritan preachers, the GLBT community can again responsibly resume bipartisanship."

These are all excellent points which I agree with. The level of support given to GLBT issues by the Democratic Party is certainly open to debate, but the efforts of the Republicans to legislate bigotry and write it into the U. S. Constitution is not.

Anyone who is a supporter of GLBT equality needs to strongly consider voting for any QUALIFIED Democratic candidate when they go to the polls in November. If the Republicans retain control of Congress, they could be successful in ramming through their amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage and chip away at other rights GLBT people currently have.

Faith or Values: Pick One

I continue to be fascinated with the dynamics of the African-American portion of the GLBT community. According to this interesting article in the Indianapolis Star, some black gays are choosing to attend churches that preach strongly against homosexuality so they can experience the energetic, passionate worship style they grew up with.

Jeffrey A. Johnson, the pastor of 13,000 member Eastern Star Church, addressed his attitude toward homosexuals, "I don't know of anyone who is openly gay in my church," Johnson said. "But if someone claims to be openly gay, then we'd pull them aside and . . . try to convince them to God's way and will. I want them to hear God's word. But they cannot serve in leadership and ministry with that kind of mentality. It's not just gays, but anyone who is outside of God's will."

Another local Indianapolis minister said, "We don't investigate and we don't interrogate and we just don't get into it. "We don't make it an issue, and we conduct our services based on who comes."

Soundsd a lot like the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the U. S. Army, doesn't it?

Why would African-Americans subject themselves to this? "My church speaks to my gay soul, but not entirely to my black soul," said Robert Ferguson, a deacon for the Jesus Metropolitan Community Church who is president of Indiana Black Pride. "It's hard to not have the visuals, the music, the culture, if you were raised up by it."

It sounds to me like it's time for GLBT African-Americans to break away and start their own churches. Everyone deserves to opportunity to worship God and be accepted for who they are instead of having to pick one or the other.

AU Blasts Dobson For Turning Churches Into Political Operatives

Americans United For Separation of Church and State learned of a recent e-mail blast by James Dobson to political supporters that outlines his plan to use churches in eight states to mobilize evangelical Christian voters before the upcoming November elections.

AU's executive director, the Rev. Barry W. Lynn said about Dobson, the director of Focus on the Family, "He has made it abundantly clear that electing Republicans is an integral part of his agenda, and he doesn’t mind risking the tax exemption of churches in the process. Dobson wants to be a major political boss, and this is his way to get there."

“Congregations should not fall prey to Dobson’s shameless partisan schemes,” Lynn continued. “The Internal Revenue Service has promised swift and sure enforcement of federal tax law this year, and pastors should be aware of the danger to their churches’ tax exemption.”

Dr. Dobson and his ilk are finding some way to rationalize the fact that this political mobilzation through churches is, in fact, against federal tax law, which prohibits all nonprofits from endorsing or opposing candiates for public office.

If he's going to be a political leader, Dobson already has the selective, self-serving morals of one.

"Note To Press: Being Christian Is Not Anti-Gay"

That's the point made in this excellent op-ed piece by James A. Lopata for the In Newsweekly in Boston.

The entire editorial is well worth reading, but here's a good excerpt:

"The divide on gay rights is not a divide between gay rights supporters and Christians. There are Christians on both sides of the issue. The divide is between gay rights supporters and those who favor discriminating against gay people. That's it.

Let's stop pretending that religion has anything to do with this. Those who support discrimination may think that it is because they are Christian, but nobody, least of all the press, should let them get away with it.

Just because most - if not all - gay rights opponents are religious, doesn't mean that all gay people are anti-religious. The press needs to do a better job of ensuring that the Christian voice is heard on both sides of the debate. "


Leaders of the religious right have given bigots the cover of morality and "God's word" to practice their hatred of people not like themselves in a socially acceptable manner. By trying to be impartial, or even worse agreeing with them, most of the mainstream media has validated this approach by allowing it to go unchallenged.

For God's true voice to be heard, however, these people must be challenged!

AFA Blows Smoke - Again

In a recent "Action Alert," the folks at the American Family Association proclaimed "78 Dealers Ask Ford to Stop Supporting the Homosexual Agenda." This was "Great news!" and further evidence that the boycott they started several months ago because Ford has the nerve to support PFLAG and advertise in The Advocate and Out magazines was working.

The AFA also pointed to Ford's declining sales since the boycott started as further evidence of the far-reaching effects of their devastating efforts.

As with most right-wing rhetoric, these claims do not stand up to close scrutiny.

Seventy-eight Ford dealers may sound like a lot, but in the grand scheme of things it is not. There are over 3,800 Ford dealers in the United States, so the 78 that the AFA claims have protested Ford's actions are barely 2% of the nation's dealers. Sounds a bit different when it is put in perspective, doesn't it?

Speaking of perspective, is the AFA boycotting Chrysler? If not, then why has Chrysler's sales dropped even more than Ford's recently? The Reuters article points out that Ford has been primarily victimized by a 44% drop in their truck sales, which a reasonable person can easily attribute to the price of gas staying over $3 a gallon. The article also points out the negative impact of raising interest rates.

Reuters did not mention the AFA boycott. I suppose that's more evidence of liberal media bias.

Traditions Are of Man

There's been a lot of talk in recent months about maintaining the "traditional family" and protecting "traditional marriage." I did some bible study on the concept and found that Jesus had some very different ideas about tradition.

Click here to read "Traditions Are of Man" at Gay Christian Outreach

WHOSOEVER: Mountain Moving Faith

The kind of faith that moves mountains isn't the sitting-back-on-your-laurels-waiting-for-something-to-happen kind of faith. It isn't the weeping-crying-begging-God-to-do-something kind of faith. The kind of faith that moves mountains is a SPEAKING kind of faith.

Mark 11:22-26 MV reads like this: "And Jesus answered them saying, Have faith in God; for whoever says to this mountain, "be removed and be cast into the sea," and does not doubt in their heart, but believes that those things they say will come to pass, they shall have whatever they say. And whatever things you desire when you pray, believe that you have received them and you shall have them. And when you stand praying, forgive anyone that you may have anything against; for if you do not forgive, then your Father God in Heaven will not be able to forgive your tresspasses."

How can it be any clearer?
1. HAVE FAITH in God! When you speak faith God will back you up with His power.
2. SPEAK to the mountain or problem/situation/circumtance and tell it to GO! We were created in the image of God with the ability to reason and speak. Use it. WHO CARES what other people think!
3. BELIEVE that your faith will work and the mountain will move.
4. FORGIVE or else it blocks everything else from working.

If we really took this Scripture seriously and practiced what it teaches, there would be a lot of mountains running around!!

Badly Skewed Priorities

According to Colorado secretary of state filings, Focus on the Family has donated $500,000 to Colorado Family Action, Inc., an organization it helped establish for the sole purpose of supporting two state constitutional amendments.

The first amendment the group supports is one that would limit marriage to a heterosexual union, and the other would prohibit legal recognition of domestic partnerships.

I am not trying to imply there is anything illegal or unethical about Focus on the Family's actions. As far as I know, they have not broken any laws here or breached any ethical standards. Have they followed God's word? That's where I think they run into trouble.

The Bible talks A LOT about an equitable distribution of wealth and the moral obligation of those with wealth to share it with the poor and disadvantaged. Here is just one of the many scriptures that support this fundamental truth of God's Kingdom.

1John 3:17 (NIV) But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?

Focus on the Family is an organization that claims it's primary reason for existence is "to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ through a practical outreach to homes." I wondered what kind of homes that $500,000 could have been spread to in their own home base of Colorado Springs, so I did some research.

According to a survey taken in 2000, there were 830 people living on the street in Colorado Springs and another 1,090 living in transitional housing. While those numbers have certainly changed, it is reasonable to think that there are still upwards of 1,000 people who could have been enormously blessed by a small portion of that $500,000 Focus on the Family decided to instead use on a political campaign.

In a survey conducted in 2003 by the U. S. Census Bureau in Colorado Springs, "9 percent of people were in poverty. Thirteen percent of related children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 8 percent of people 65 years old and over. Seven percent of all families and 22 percent of families with a female householder and no husband present had incomes below the poverty level. " That's better than a lot of cities, but out of a population reported at 535,000, that would still leave close to 50,000 people who could have benefitted from the $500,000 used to restrict the rights of GLBT people.

So how does Focus on the Family sync up giving so much funding to this political organization with what they claim is their "primary reason for existance" and the Word of God?

Honestly, I don't really care how they would justify and rationalize these actions. I do wish, however, that they would come clean with everyone and just declare Focus on the Family a Political Action Committee instead of leagally laundering money to other groups.

"The Sin of Sodom"

Anyone who had even the slightest exposure to discussions about the morality of homosexuality has certainly heard the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is the sins committed in Sodom, referenced in Genesis 19, that are most often used by preachers and the religious right as the foundation for their attempt to show that God hates GLBT people. That mindset is why homosexual sex is sometimes referred to as "sodomizing" and there are still some anti-sodomy laws on the books in some parts of the United States that makes homosexual sex illegal.

This piece, written by Miguel De La Torre, is a clearly stated, concise explanation of the TRUE story of Sodom. Here are a couple of key quotes:

"Commenting on Sodom's sin, the prophet Ezekiel (16:49) wrote that Sodom's iniquity was the city's unwillingness, due to pride and haughtiness, to share their abundance with those who were poor and marginalized."

"Nowhere in the Bible where Sodom's wickedness is mentioned is homosexuality ever listed as being the cause for God's wrath. The crime of Sodom and Gomorrah, as elucidated by the scriptures themselves, is described as being a lack of justice done in the name of the "orphans and widows," the biblical euphemism for the disenfranchised. "

Using the latter description, there are a lot of Sodomites sitting on the Republican side of the isle in Congress and wagging their fingers as "evil homosexuals" behind pulpits in front of television cameras.

WHOSOEVER: Be Filled With God's Fullness

"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in your inner being: that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:14-19 NKJV

Notice the progression of this passage of Scripture. First, the Holy Spirit must strengthen us in our inner being, SO THAT Christ can dwell in our hearts by faith, SO THAT we may be rooted and grounded in love, SO THAT we may be able to comprehend the breadth, length, depth and height of love, AND THEN to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, SO THAT we will be filled with the fullness of God.

We have been deceived into a very shallow knowledge and expression of love. God never intended it to be that way. God wants us to be able to comprehend all the dimensions of love so He can fill us up!

I challenge you to pray this scripture passage on a regular basis allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you, and dare to be filled with the fullness of God.

The Left Has Their Wing Nuts Too

A group of left-wing extremists have joined together to write a manafesto and set up a web site called beyondmarriage.org. As I understand their views after visiting their website, they want to extend marriage rights and legal recognitions far beyond same sex couples. Among the various and sundry relationships they want recognized are "households in which there is more than one conjugal partner."

Oh crap. This DOES NOT HELP LGBT people who want to have their committed relationships recognized as a legal marriage. It does not help at all because this is foddder for opponents to use in scaring their sheep to fall in line opposing equality. There is an excellent essay about the damage this will inflict on the GLBT community on the Independent Gay Forum.

The American Family Association has already seized upon this extremist rhetoric, portraying it as "Pro-Homosexual Marriage Proponents Go Public With Their Agenda." Of course, the clear implication is that all marriage equality advocates subscribe to these extreme views.

The AFA continues "In short, they want to totally redefine our society by eliminating the very concepts of marriage and family, and the battle to redefine traditional marriage is just the beginning. The proponents of homosexual "marriage" admit it and they have posted their manifesto online."

I suspect what the people at beyondmarriage.org will ultimately accomplish is helping to keep same-sex marriage beyond the reach of loving, committed same-sex couples. They are providing organizations like the AFA with effective ammunition for their campaign to discredit proponents of equality and scare people who won't put forth the effort to investigate the issue on its own merits.

Braves Chop Out "Focus On the Family"

Last week, the Atlanta Braves baseball team held one of three scheduled "Faith Day" events, which features post-game Christian evangelism. The Braves' organization dediced that the next two would be held without the participation of Focus on the Family.

The Braves' declined to state why they have disinvited Focus on the Family, but kudos to them for doing so. I'm happy to see they are not endorsing the hatred and bigotry these folks propigate, but according to the report from the Think Progress website, they are scheduled to participate in others. There is an e-mail address on their website where you can contact the organizers and discourage them from being associated with an group that promotes hate and exclusion, and I would encourage you to do so.