1 Boring Old Man

After all that Rekers business, I got to wondering where this Christian anti-homosexual business came from. Surprisingly, all but one reference were from the Torah, the only New Testament reference being from one of Paul’s [letters rather that the Gospels]. The letter seems to be about promiscuity, but does include the "effeminate."

It would be absurd to mount an argument with the ex-gay community about this topic, particularly on biblical grounds. It’s hardly strict adherence to biblical standards that drives to opposition to homosexuality or gay marriage. Nor would it be reasonable to focus opposition on NARTH or other such programs if they stuck to what they say they are doing – offering some kind of counseling to people who wanted to try to live "straight." But that’s not what they’re doing. They are saying that homosexuality is a mental choice, and a sinful choice at that. Likewise, they say that homosexual people are recruiting others [children] to join them in choosing to be gay. The arguments against gay marriage are even further afield – reducing down to passages from Genesis – God’s joining Adam and Eve. But again, those arguments transcend any scriptural reference.

What is it that has American ripped apart by this seeming war against "the other?" Homosexuals, African Americans, Latinos, Liberals, non-Christians. Has it always been this way? I think so, actually – at least during my time in grade. It was in the 40’s and 50’s in the town where I grew up in the South. Then the world exploded in the 60’s and early 70’s with the Civil Rights Movement and the anti-war movement. Then came Reagan and the rise of the Religious Right, and White flight, and Gated Communities. And now here we sit with the TEA Party, Fox News, and Hate Radio.

One might think that our little experiment is something of a flop – diversity isn’t working out so well as our founders thought it might. So much for ‘give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, longing to be free.’ As a friend and I talked about this the other day, we both felt we were much more bothered by the discord than when we were younger. In those salad days when the Ku Klux Klan was more a part of life, and churches were being bombed, and people were being assassinated, and people were marching in the streets, we both felt more hopeful than we do now. He wondered if it’s because we’re older. I thought about the ‘information age’ bombarding us with examples.