What were 2009’s worst attacks on Christianity?

Almost with every passing day, it becomes harder and harder for me to want to identify as a Christian. I already identify as part Buddhist, part Christian, and for some that makes me 150% sinner as it is, but the increasing way in which the Far Right Conservatives and Religious Fringe continue to try and frame their opposition to gay equality as (at best) Religious Freedom but (more directly) as direct attacks on Christianity leave me ready to drop any self-identification as a Christian at all. And I won’t be surprised if other Christians feel similarly. Although I have always had the utmost respect for those gay men ad lesbian women who remained actively working within the Christian denominations for change, demonstrating a love and patience I don’t think I will ever achieve.

I would say that the linked article is a real problem to be concerned about, except that it is the WorldNetDaily. A source for vitriol and misinformation that surpasses most any other source. But I chose to link to it and point it out for a very specific reason. GLBTQ activists need to take a deep breathe and stop getting so caught up in a hissy fit over how slow progress is on achieving greater rights. What we are up against is no less than being accused of trying to overturn the whole of Christianity. It is the fragile, weak and needy Church against the demonic Gays, and that truly is no exaggeration.

Anyone who looks at the true basis of Faith, as practiced in the Christian tradition will see that this isn’t the case at all. But many individuals of power within every major branch of Christianity, but especially Catholicism and Evangelicalism, and doing their best to frame it that way. And too often, how a subject gets framed has more to do with what happens than the truth.So, the next time you feel pissed off that we aren’t making more progress relax and remember, we are fighting the greatest battle of all battles (at least until Armageddon), for the Church sees it as that huge.

And, anyone who studies the history of Faith in America, will no doubt realize that while we claim to have a separation of Church and State, the reality is that Religion is intermixed in every layer and detail of our culture and society. This is one reason why the battle for Civil Marriage can not be unhinged from Religious Marriage. For to do so will begin the unraveling  of these two- the religious and the secular- in a way that has never been known in this country. Ever.

The winners included a wide array of events deemed to insult, injure or marginalize Christianity.

“The winners” refers to those who made the top-10 list that is linked below, and while I don’t agree with the premise of the statement, they are 100% on target in terms of the result.  When the Gays win full equality, it will marginalize the Christians. What I don’t agree with is the insinuation that GLBTQ’s want to insult or marginalize the Christians. Truly, many are mad  and have been hurt enough, that there won’t be many tears shed if the Church were to crumble or lose any sense of value. But GLBTQ’s aren’t seeking equality to create that end result. The Queers would be totally happy to let the Christians be Christian, as long as they would leave us alone and quit trying to treat us as second class citizens. It is like the T-shirt I’ve seen that says “If you don’t believe in abortion, don’t have one.” If Christians would just go about doing their own thing and leave us alone, we really all could live happily ever after.

But it doesn’t look like that is going to happen, so here we are in round 1 of the greatest battle to be fought. Don’t expect a quick victory.

That said, I think eventually, victory is inevitable. The Church, is so busy judging, it (in the most generic sense) is forgetting the command of Jesus not to judge others. It has a huge log in it’s own eye that it can not see. Every majorobjection that throw up against our rights is a flawed argument to anyone who looks at the real world around them:

Queers are destroying the sanctity of Marriage? Look at Mark Sanford, (in a political arena) and who was that Aussie guy who made a violent and grotesque movie about Jesus? Heterosexuals have been doing a great job at destroying the sanctity of marriage, and the fact that tow men who have been partners for 24 years want to get civilly married isn’t going to do 1 hair’s worth of damage to the sanctity of anything.

Acceptance of homosexuality will lead to pedophilia? Really? When the greatest numbers of attacks on children was perpetrated by priests during the late 50’s and early 60’s at a time when there was less open homosexuality, why would out and proud gay people lead to this?  The other greatest abuse of children happens in war-torn countries where genocide and rape are rampant and is meted out as a means by which one side wishes to intimidate and hurt the other. Male domination is a appropriate cause of harm to children than gay people.

Homosexuality will destroy the family? This is a laughable claim given that the states with the least acceptance towards gays and lesbians, are also the states with the highest usage of heterosexual pornography, and out-of-wedlock births.

Wow, I was really on a roll there.

Bottom line is GLBTQ activist, recognize that we are seeking equality which is a rational thing from crazy and irrational people who are doing everything in their power to frame this as a battle against their Religion. Keep pushing ahead, slow and steady and don’t allow the frustration to take your focus off of the real end goal of liberation and equality.

via What were 2009’s worst attacks on Christianity?.

This predicament has led some to believe that a schism within the Anglican Church is inevitable; with the traditionalists who oppose homosexuality, based on the Bible, on one side, and the liberals who believe the Bible should be reinterpreted in the light of modern wisdom, on the other side.

The linked article is specifically about the Anglican Church, but I don’t feel it is too big of a stretch to generalize these attitudes as representing Christianity overall. The choices: hold to a more literal reading of the Holy Bible or reinterpret the Bible “in the light of modern wisdom.” At times like this I wish I was more of (or had been more of) a lover of History. The above quote got me thinking about the the Dark Ages and the Renaissance. Even when removed from a perjorative meaning, the Dark Ages, or Middle Ages were considered as the Age of Faith and a time of Catholic corruption. Wingnuts like Pat Robertson like to suggest that homosexuality led to the decline of the Roman Empire, but in reality, laws condemning and the persecution of homosexuals went on for close to 300 years before the fall of Rome.

Interestingly, the only flashpoint appears to be homosexuality in general, and the acceptance of homosexuals as bishops specifically. Where is the outrage within the African Church against divorce, or adultery, or any number of other issues where socially accepted standards fall outside a biblical interpretation? This inconsistent position for a literal biblical judgement in one regard, but failure for the same biblical adherence in others, suggests something else at play here.

I wrote yesterday on my other blog, Queer Look at the Bible, about a theological look at transgenderism. Earl, blogging at http://earlbarnett.com/wordpress/ wrote today about a book on theology. There are numerous approaches to theology, and many do not begin with a literal biblical interpretation. These viewpoints may lead to new ways of understanding God and our relationship to the Divine in the light of modern wisdom.

via Monitor Online | Sunday Life | Gay leadership causing a schism in the Anglican Church.

The video linked is also embedded in the Pam’s House Blend story linked below, and she found it at Box Turtle Bulletin from last week. I wanted to post it, but also wanted to consider the context within which to post it, and thanks to Pat Robertson, I found that context.

The idea of “Christian” carries a negative connotation for many folks, and verbal Christian-bashing is as common among some gay people as verbal gay-bashing is among dome Christians. It isn’t much of a stretch to the conclusion that there is a battle between gay people and Christianity.  A few months ago, I called a pastor friend about use of her church for a training session, and she, at first, said no, because something I had said (maybe here on my blog, or on my podcast, Queer Look at the Bible, or maybe just on Twitter or Facebook) ticked her off, and she called it anti-God. Who is fighting with whom- that’s an interesting question.

I don’t believe the battle is really between gays and Christianity, even though some on the Christian right want to portray it that way. I think the real battle is actually within Christianity itself, and standard operating procedure for some, is to use the GLBTQ community as both a weapon, and fuel for the fire of their fight. And this is a critically important distinction to make because “gay as opponent” and “gay as weapon” defines both our role, and their perspective of us differently, and ultimately can influence our response.

The people most brutally damaged in this, are those young queers just coming out, especially those from a very conservative or Christian family. For these young women and men, coming to grips with one part of their “self” while being taught that that “self” is an abomination can lead to much internalized shame. The other group most badly damaged by this, are those gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer folk for whom, religion and their faith play a central part in their lives. These folks often feel betwixt ands between two worlds, alienated on both sides. The gay side sees them as freaky for placing their personal faith experience as central in their lives, and the religious side views them with disgust.

Even where welcome, it can be tenuous. I remember a number of years ago, attending a Methodist church which had a reputation for being welcoming to gays. Not long after starting to attend, a pastor (who is actually extremely supportive of the GLBTQ community) confided in me that when she had looked out that sunday morning, and saw me with a black leather biker jacket, she was a bit frightened. But these personal ramblings are taking me off topic.

The real battle is within Christianity overall, as parts of that faith tradition evolve and others seek to keep things at the status quo. So, watch the video, and then watch the second video of Pat Robertson, who expresses the desire for the Episcopalian Church as a whole to just disappear.

Here is where our (GLBTQ) perception of where we fit in the battle has importance: If we see ourselves as the battled enemy, it is easy to operate from a place of victimhood, where too much emotional energy is lost as individuals work to counter the inner battles for self worth. We also, end up dismantling relationships and community by battling each other. If, on the other hand, we recognize that homosexuality is being used as a wedge issue- as a weapon to try and stop change, we do not have to feel quite so victimized. We hold actually, far more power than we might imagine from that vantage point.

Faith is, at the core, a personal and individual inner experience. Faith is practiced in community for a number of reasons, but the battle we are talking about isn’t really about Faith at all. It is about control, and rigid rules. I would go so far as to say, it is fueled by the refusal to seek and appreciate faith. As long as denominations like The Episcopalian Church continues to seek new understandings of the fullness of God’s covenant with all, those of little faith who need to have rigid rules to feel comfortable will continue to use gays as a weapon, and try and make it be about us- when it isn’t really. It is about their unwillingness explore the bigness of God.

Pam’s House Blend:: Open thread – fundie quote of the day: Scott Lively .

Good read for any activist or others interested in the gay rights movement who have a need to be able to talk about religion and the movement. It often seems as if the gay rights movement for nondiscrimination, hate crimes protections, and same-sex  marriage, that all religious denominations are on one side- against the Equality movement, but this survey presents different data.

Gay Religion: news of religion and GLBT folks: Distortions Aside, Clergy Support Gay Rights in Surprising Numbers Religion Dispatches.

This is a fairly amazing time where the Republican party is either getting ready to implode or explode depending upon your perspective. On the one hand, you have the governor of Texas and crazies like Bachmann calling for cessation or revolution. Very frightful stuff. and on the other hand, you have folks like Schmidt calling for the Republican Party to pull away from it’s fall into becoming a religious sect.

Schmidt is for gay marriage and does not believe that public policy should be based solely on religious views:

“If you reject [gay marriage] on religious grounds, I respect that,” he said. “I respect anyone’s religious views. However, religious views should not inform the public policy positions of a political party because… when it is a religious party, many people who would otherwise be members of that party are excluded from it because of a religious belief system that may be different. And the Republican Party ought not to be that. It ought to be a coalition of people under a big tent.”

Steve Schmidt, McCain Campaign Manager: Religion Could Kill The GOP.

This is a wonderful video that talks about gay marriage, but in doing so discusses in some detail 4 cases that are ofte used by the religious right to attack any form of legislation dealing with GLBTQ issues. All 4 have been cited in terms of the PA HB 300 battle.

My partner Brad and I were just having a discussion about this over dinner last evening. he might characterize me as being “the glass half empty” but my point was we are at a very critical juncture in the battle, and the opposition isn’t going down without an extreme fight. The link below is a good read. Here are my thoughts about it.

It is both extremely exciting to read this and very bothering at the same time. It may be that we have turned a corner. It may be that momentum is moving in the right direction. But, I think it is horribly wrong to announce that the culture war is over. It isn’t over until it is over, and we have a long way to go until that point.

This is one problem with the Marriage Equality issue. On the one hand, it provides an easy issue to wrap your head around. It is easy to determine what marks a win or a loss. But is it the best or only barometer of where we are overall? I don’t think so. We have more states in our country that lack basic anti-discrimination legislation protecting GLBTQ people than that provide these protections. The right to marry in 4 states doesn’t do much for the people in over 30 states who can still be fired, refused housing or public accommodations due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Far too many states lack adequate hate crimes legislation. There is still DOMA to contend with as well as DADT on a federal level, and still no national hate crimes legislation.

Past these basic civil rights, the GLBTQ communities have a lot of healing to do. A rise in HIV infections are the result of the lost battle for clear, honest and effective prevention education over the last decade. During the earliest days of the epidemic, we spoke of eroticizing safer sex. But those messages were stripped from AIDS prevention due to federal funding measures. Generally speaking, today’s young people simply gamble with their lives. And drug use like crystal is ravaging parts of our communities. Being the embattled, during this long and dangerous culture war has indeed taken its toll. With basic civil rights and a stronger sense of general support from all americans, the healing can begin.

But when? Two generations away when evangelicalism is gone?

I’m not a sports fan, but I have endured enough games to know that the period after it looks as if the battle is won, is the exact time when the game is really on. The GLBTQ communities have much reason to feel emboldened and there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have much fighting to do before there is real victory. So, I’d say, no- it isn’t official yet. The Culture War isn’t over, but it may be coming towards an end. We’re doing a great job gaining ground. Don’t give up the fight till we raise the rainbow flag at the top of the hill.

What do you think? Leave comments and let’s get the discussion going.

It’s Official: We Won the Culture War :: EDGE Boston.

Dinah Lord: More Muslim family values:  Father orders daughter killed because of mini skirt.

The high profile marriage equality and anti-discrimination issues highlight the collision of Religion and Civil society. While the arguments used against homosexuality (is are truly the basis under any opposition to same-sex marriage) are based in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the linked story highlights an example from the Muslim faith. Unfortunately, Christians paint this as “all muslims are extremist” which is about as crazy as “all christians are homophobes.”  Truly, a thoughtfl discussion about the collision of religion and civil society has to be found and replace the good/evil shallow verbiage that is being called dialogue. Religions and faith traditions change and adapt over time, and the current battle over homosexuality is one example of the tangible manifestation of that change.

Please do not read the linked story from the perspective of being opposed to Islam. But rather, ask yourself the question, how does (if it does) this story illustrate the dynamics of when religious beliefs collide with our changing world in which we live? and then, tell me what you think- leave a comment and let’s continue the discussion.

Dinah Lord: More Muslim family values: Father orders daughter killed because of mini skirt..

Excellent blog detailing the main talking points of the new National Organization for Marriage (NOM) talking points.  This is good stuff. The only way to combat the lies is by understanding the myths perpetuated and being able to discuss them to get the truth out.

SpookyBlog » Why (Understanding) Marriage Matters… still.

My own involvement with Religion has been complicated, and when Robinson became a bishop, I was happy for him, but have never really given it or him, a lot of thought. I actually overlooked this blog, and didn’t expect to read it, let alone write about it, but here I am.

The first thing I’m struck by is his assertion that things have dramatically changed. He is quoted:

“Some significant piece of the ground has shifted,” he said. “And the world has changed.”

I both, know this to be true and also know that not enough has changed. Or put another way, the need to stop changing hasn’t yet arrived. Reading this, what struck me is how much the Bible is all about what was and what will be, and very much not about what is right now. Even if viewed in the context of liberation theology, it is about a path towards achieving something to come. and this seems difficult for me. I admire his ability to allow this idea as to what will come to serve as his guide. I tend to end up more focused on the now. How things are today, and what the short term of the next year or 5 or 10 may mean.

Bishop Promotes Gay Civil Rights | The Emory Wheel.