This is ridiculous --and it isn't made less absurd by the fact that both Left and Right are equally snookered by some sort of opinion-driven paradigm. As if public opinion necessarily must be the arbiter of truth. News flash, the public is often WRONG. And the public often is wrong because the public is misinformed by the media and, in any case, may be uninterested in truth for its own sake because of consumer-centric interests. . The issue of homosexuality will NOT be decided by public opinion polls. But while it is true that Evangelicals --for the most part-- have the right idea, they are : ( 1 ) ridiculously misinformed about just how extensively the Bible condemns homosexuality, and for what reasons, and ( 2 ) hopelessly unwilling to use the Bible as a guide for research priorities so that the empirical evidence of just how dysfunctional and mentally sick homosexuality actually is can be identified and publicized. . As a result the Evangelical case is getting stomped -- all over the place. And Evangelicals are starting to retreat. But what do you expect when Evangelicals often agree that "only a few" passages in the Bible condemn homosexuality ? This is flat out wrong unless you think that 25 passages is only a "few," and are clueless about the actual research results available about homosexuality, which are close to 180 degrees the opposite of what homosexuals and their supporters claim. . All of this is disgusting beyond belief. . Billy . . . _____________________________ Jan 17, 2013 02:04 AM ESTTheWashingtonPost (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/christianity-after-louie-giglio/2013/01/16/3c901e02- 6047-11e2-9940-6fc488f3fecd_blog.html#license-3c901e02-6047-11e2-9940-6fc488 f3fecd) Christianity after Louie Giglio By _Becky Garrison_ (http://www.washingtonpost.com/becky-garrison/2011/07/19/gIQAxFgJOI_page.html)
Upon initial glance, the Rev. Louie Giglio presents himself as a compassionate evangelical conservative with a ministry focusing on doing good not damning others. He isn’t calling for a day of prayer to save American from the evils brought forth by the _Obama administration in the spirit of Governor Mike Huckabee_ (http://www.generals.org/news/single-view/article/gov-huckabee-calls-for-a-day-of-prayer/) . Nor is he hosting a presidential inaugural prayer breakfast that bills itself as a non-partisan inter-denominational event even though the_ lineup reads like a who’s who of the religious right._ (http://www.pipb2013.com/press-release-and-requests.html) And no sane Christian would participate in Terry Jones’ pre-inauguration_ burning of effigies and images of President Obama._ (http://www.standupamericanow.org/press-release/2012/11/press-release-update-terry-jones-nationwide-burning-of-effig ies-and-images-of-) But what these individuals share in common is their base their belief that “homosexuality is a sin” in large part by citing select Bible verses that theologian_ James Allison deems the “clobber texts.”_ (http://jamesalison.co.uk/) This method of biblical analysis could be found in previous eras when similarly minded church leaders used a very small smattering of Bible verses to condemn women and people of color as inferior beings. Now, anyone who espouses such outdated thinking gets called out on the carpet, and rightly so. According to a _Washington Post poll_ (http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-01-10/local/36272362_1_legal-gay-marriage-gay-activists-gay-rights) , between 2006 and 2012, the percentage of all Americans who support same-sex marriage has climbed from 36 to 53 percent. Along those lines, megachurch pastor _Rick Warren delivered the invocation in 2009 despite his public views against gay rights,_ (http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-4685478.html) and President Obama did not support marriage equality publicly until the_ closing months of his re-election campaign_ (http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/05/10/obama-supports-same-sex-marriage) . Following Obama’s re-election and the growing support for marriage equality, religious conservative stalwarts like _Dr. James Dobson admit they are losing the battle_ (http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2011/05/focus-family-weve-lost-gay-marriage) on this issue especially among young evangelicals. Ross Murray, Director of Religion, Faith & Values for GLAAD, _reflects on this cultural shifting: _ (http://www.glaad.org/) “I had hoped that Pastor Giglio was able to “evolve” much like our president did on the issue of LGBT equality. From reading in between the lines of his recent statements, that is not the case. He found that his main issue was elsewhere, working to end human trafficking. That’s an issue I can support. I think it is to his credit to not stake his ministry off of opposing LGBT people, but to do something that helps society. And I continue to hope that he will listen and learn from LGBT people and eventually come to the understanding that we are all children of God.” Furthermore, this fracas signifies a trend in progressive evangelical circles where leaders like _Giglio_ (http://www.talk2action.org/story/2013/1/11/14921/7815) , _Warren_ (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2009/01/07/the-truth-about-rick-warren-in-africa.html) , and Jason Russell, co-founder of Invisible Children and producer of the _KONY 2012 video sensation]_ (http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/2012/03/23165/) , champion civil rights in Africa while forming alliances with clergy working against LGBT rights in African countries. Similarly, Sojourners President Jim Wallis cites a document signed by 46 religious leaders that condemns persecution against LGBT people in Uganda but fails to denounce their teachings that fuel this anti-gay violence. Also, evangelist Tony Campolo compares the theology of his _Red Letter Christian (RLC) group _ (http://sojo.net/blogs/2011/06/10/my-response-sojourners-article-about-family) with that of the Family, host of the _National Prayer Breakfast _ (http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/Becky_Garrison/2011/02/would_jesus_attend_the_national_prayer_breakfast.html) even though religion scholar Jeff Sharlet’s research connects the Family to the “Kill the Gays” bill in _Uganda_ (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/34783946/ns/msnbc-rachel_maddow_show/t/uganda-be-kidding-me/) . Therein lies the elephant in the room -the one that needs to be taken out of the closet. In mainline and more liberal religious settings, one finds the rise of an ecclesiology that embraces LGBT people in all aspects of the church’s rites including ordination and marriage. Central to this development is a refutation of “homosexuality” as a “sin” and an embrace of a more incarnational theology that views all of humanity as created good in the image of God. This worldview embraces the myriad of discoveries from _science_ (http://www.soulforce.org/pdf/whatthesciencesays.pdf) , _psychology_ (http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx) , _theology_ (https://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID= 8604) , and other disciplines that inform changing attitudes toward LGBT people. Hopefully, the media can stop presenting evangelicals voices as the sole representatives of Christianity because the reality of the faith at the grassroots level proves to be much more multifaceted. -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
