Newsweek’s Dec. 15 cover story about the Bible and marriage offered readers:

• a comprehensive overview of the Bible’s various conflicting definitions of marriage,
• an observation that Ozzie-and-Harriet couples are absent from the Bible,
• a recognition of evolving Jewish and Christian history and traditions regarding marriage

Religious-rightists have invested decades of effort into cherry-picking a handful of Bible verses, in order to redefine church-goers’ perception of “Biblical” marriage. In the new fundamentalist world order, divorce and serial remarriage are taken for granted. Meanwhile, fundamentalists have effectively suppressed public discussion of Bible verses that forbid divorce, mandate celibacy and non-marriage among Christian men, accept polygamy, and allow husbands — under certain circumstances — to commit honor killings or sell wives and children into slavery.

On Dec. 10 — showing no sign that it had read the Newsweek article — Exodus released a statement that falsely accused Newsweek of “abandoning the truth of the Bible” and “maligning and manipulating Scripture.” Exodus president Alan Chambers falsely described himself as a “former homosexual” and falsely described the Bible’s “teaching” (singular, sic) on sexuality and relationships as one of “freedom.”

Exodus says Newsweek does a disservice “to those looking for spiritual and intellectual honesty.” Despite its claim to defend the Bible, Exodus fails to cite a single Bible verse.

Exodus leaves the impression that it believes readers would be better-served with cherry-picked Bible verses which excuse a social-conservative lifestyle of sex-orientation dishonesty, feigned abstinence, unsafe premarital sex, unwed pregnancy, shotgun marriage, divorce, remarriage, and rigid Protestant rules for husband and wife which disrespect both tradition and individuals’ skills and personalities.

For more information:
Politico.com: Newsweek draws fire on gay marriage

By the Rev. Steven F. Kindle, Clergy United, Inc.

The question is not: Will marriage survive the inclusion of non-heterosexuals into its mix? Of course it will. No, the appropriate question is: Can America be America if it does not end its oppression of gay Americans? Will we become a nation that is willing to endure second-class citizens after two centuries of steady emancipation of other oppressed groups? I suggest to you that America’s soul is at great risk by this moral failure. This is a justice issue that needs to be addressed and resolved in favor of the oppressed. Offering same-sex marriage is the final step in recognizing the full, unencumbered humanity of non-heterosexuals, and their inclusion as fully emancipated American citizens.

Historical progress toward equality

The history of the United States can be summarized, quite accurately, as the slow but sure realization of the vision of its founding document, the Declaration of Independence, that all are created equal.

The same founders who agreed that “All men are created equal” also said, “Slaves shall represent 3/5 of a human being.” They and their successors also denied women the right to vote and upheld “separate but equal” Jim Crow laws, making interracial marriages illegal and restricted immigration to maintain white majority.

The founders had something in mind when they wrote the Constitution, but it’s not the republic in which we now live. In fact, their prejudices went so deep that they didn’t even feel the need to write “all white, landed, protestant, heterosexual, free men are created equal.” Forget about their slaves, forget about women, forget about those without land, forget about gay people-the only ones who had the right to vote, and thus the right to participate in the building of this new republic were people exactly like them.

In the intervening years, slavery has been abolished, women have been fully emancipated and nonwhites have been given the full dignity of the law. The inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans is now the realized dream of that distant day.

There is, however, one exception: non-heterosexual Americans, who are described by Harvard sociologist Byrne Fone as victims of the last acceptable bigotry in America.

It is my contention that withholding marriage rights for non-heterosexuals is unconstitutional, unchristian, and un-American. I will make the case for same-sex marriage being beneficial to America by providing four bedrock reasons why same sex marriage rights deserve to be placed on par with heterosexual marriage rights.

1. Justice
2. Evolution of marriage
3. There’s no downside
4. Social stability

(Read More)

Millions of lives are destroyed, relationships are uprooted, and fortunes are wasted in the false hope of becoming ex-gay, all because of the blatant misuse of one biblical passage.

It is well-known that the ex-gay movement is based on very faulty psychological premises. What is not so well-known is that the biblical basis for their assumptions is equally bankrupt. It may be good to remind ourselves that every time oppressed groups began to make headway in America they were all opposed by those who claimed to have the Bible on their side. Eventually, their arguments were perceived as the rantings of self-serving demagogues and carry no weight today among mainstream Christians and biblical scholars.

So today we should not be surprised that the Bible is trotted out once again to keep another oppressed group under wraps. And just as before, a careful look at their arguments finds this current effort wanting.

(Read More)

Exodus International, the North American network of so-called “ex-gay” activists, is steadily building a network of affiliated churches even as the organization’s ex-gay membership declines.

But, despite a $50 annual membership fee, Exodus appears to offer these churches little besides false promises.

Exodus Church Network director Jeff Buchanan tells Ministry Today:

If we’re honest, the issue of homosexuality intimidates most church leaders. It makes us feel helpless. When someone pulls us aside and confides in us that he or she struggles with same-sex attractions, we diligently put on our “leader face” while we shrivel on the inside, feeling absolutely incompetent to address the situation.

Nothing could be further from the truth. If you believe God’s Word to be true, then you automatically have the needed tools for effective ministry, since all Scripture is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16, NIV). Therefore, we are equipped as the church to minister to anyone who walks through our doors‚Äîhomosexual or not.

With the exception of the introductory, cherry-picked verse that is cited above, the remainder of Buchanan’s article fails to cite a single Bible verse that would provide church leaders with guidance in addressing someone who struggles with their sexual orientation. Buchanan fails to justify the central thesis of his article — the dubious notion that the Bible is all that one needs to become a counselor to a gay individual in distress.

Of the three vague tips offered by Buchanan — that a person needs 1) compassionate truth, 2) discipleship, and 3) community — none has a stated basis in “God’s Word,” nor are any explained with useful examples. Indeed, this trite list of needs is unworthy of serious ministerial discussion: Exodus is touting tips that appear to have been borrowed not from a Bible or a professional guide to pastoral care, but from fortune cookies or a second-rate horoscope. (Read More)