Faith Priorities

I was digging around for something to write about for this week's blog, and came across the blog I wrote for the last election cycle. I am not sure if I am happy to have found it.

We have indeed made history by electing the black person to the office of the President of the United States. This President has done more for the LGBTQIA community then the entire previous President's combined, so yes I am happy about that, even excited.

While I am excited about these things, it really appears not much has changed in 3 years since it was written. So here is a re-tread with a few edits here and there to bring it up to date.

This election cycle is historic, and we are behaving like a people caught up in a moment of dramatic change. Things are being said and done that go beyond every day politics. The level of sexism, racism, homophobia, nationalism are at a boiling point, all because more change is coming regardless who wins this election.

I have been an un-apologetic activist for a long time. So when the religious and political right started hammering on the President from day one with quotes like, “I hope this President fails”, or “My job for the next 4 years is to ensure Obama does not get a 2nd term”. I knew the President's desire to bring the county together was in serious trouble.

I also knew the distance between the far right and the middle was as far apart as I have ever seen in my life time. This is also true of the left. In a word “racism” is very much alive and well in our country today despite us patting ourselves on the back for making such great progress. Think I am wrong here?

How about a congressman shouting at the President during a speech to Congress “liar”?

How about commenting publically about the First Ladies posterior?

How about the absolute idiotic claims of the birthers?

How about descriptions of the First Lady as an “angry black woman”?

How about the claims the POTUS is a Muslim, as if that should matter.

How about referring to the POTUS as the “food-stamp” President? Yes, former President Jimmy Carter hit the nail square on the head when he said; there are a lot of “code” words being used in the political world.

Despite the great strides we have made in the LGBTQIA community, “homophobia” is alive and being practiced with great abandon by almost everyone right of center, either spiritually or politically. Think I am wrong here?

How about the Presidential Candidate who said a kid would be better off with a father who is in prison rather then 2 dads who are at home?

How about the Presidential Candidate who has indicated they would put “DADT” back in place?

How about the Presidential Candidate who is so concerned for “family values”, despite having had affair after affair while married and gets pissed off when it is mentioned?

So, as a Pastor I want to say something pastoral, something that will give comfort and peace to folks as they prepare to cast a ballot this fall that will once again has the potential to literally change the course of this country. I was stuck, how to say anything without getting caught in the rhetoric of the political parties, how to teach without exposing my own personal thoughts, preferences and leanings toward one candidate or another?

How does one not vomit over the ignorance, rhetoric and posturing that is so brazenly dressed in theological and patriotic drag?

Then I got into the blog from “08” and see this from Sojourners magazine. This is a weekly e-mail of spirituality, politics and culture. Jim Wallis, who is the editor and is the author of a book called “The Great Awakening”, is very keyed in on the pastoral response to this election.

I have to tell you he put on the screen what I wanted to say but apparently am not gifted enough to come up with on my own. Yet, this is what I hope each of the readers would let sink in during this time in America. So here with his permission is the re-post of pastoral advice he has offered. Not that it matters to him, but I give a loud and excited amen to his article and pastoral words.

Read closely and prayerfully and when you are done come November if you do nothing else that day VOTE. In the mean time do not let yourself be turned back.

My Personal 'Faith Priorities' for this Election

In 2004, several conservative Catholic bishops and a few mega church pastors like Rick Warren issued their list of "non-negotiable," which were intended to be a voter guide for their followers. All of them were relatively the same list of issues: abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, etc. None of them even included the word "poverty," only one example of the missing issues which are found quite clearly in the Bible. All of them were also relatively the same as official Republican Party Web sites of "non-negotiable." The political connections and commitments of the religious non-negotiable writers were quite clear.

I want to suggest a different approach this year and share my personal list of "faith priorities" that will guide me in making the imperfect choices that always confront us in any election year — and suggest that each of you come up with your own list of "faith" or "moral" priorities for this election year and take them into the voting booth with you.

After the last election, I wrote a book titled God’s Politics. I was criticized by some for presuming to speak for God, but that wasn’t the point. I was trying to explore what issues might be closest to the heart of God and how they may be quite different from what many strident religious voices were then saying. I was also saying that "God’s Politics" will often turn our partisan politics upside down, transcend our ideological categories of Left and Right, and challenge the core values and priorities of our political culture. I was also trying to say that there is certainly no easy jump from God’s politics to either the Republicans or Democrats. God is neither. In any election we face imperfect choices, but our choices should reflect the things we believe God cares about if we are people of faith, and our own moral sensibilities if we are not people of faith. Therefore, people of faith, and all of us, should be "values voters" but vote all our values, not just a few that can be easily manipulated for the benefit of one party or another.

In 2008, the kingdom of God is not on the ballot in any of the 50 states as far as I can see. So we can’t vote for that this year. But there are important choices in this year’s election — very important choices — which will dramatically impact what many in the religious community and outside of it call "the common good," and the outcome could be very important, perhaps even more so than in many recent electoral contests.

I am in no position to tell anyone what is "non-negotiable," and neither is any bishop or mega church pastor, but let me tell you the "faith priorities" and values I will be voting on this year:

1. With more than 2,000 verses in the Bible about how we treat the poor and oppressed, I will examine the record, plans, policies, and promises made by the candidates on what they will do to overcome the scandal of extreme global poverty and the shame of such unnecessary domestic poverty in the richest nation in the world. Such a central theme of the Bible simply cannot be ignored at election time, as too many Christians have done for years. And any solution to the economic crisis that simply bails out the rich, and even the middle class, but ignores those at the bottom should simply be unacceptable to people of faith.

2. From the biblical prophets to Jesus, there is, at least, a biblical presumption against war and the hope of beating our swords into instruments of peace. So I will choose the candidates who will be least likely to lead us into more disastrous wars and find better ways to resolve the inevitable conflicts in the world and make us all safer. I will choose the candidates who seem to best understand that our security depends upon other people’s security (everyone having "their own vine and fig tree, so no one can make them afraid," as the prophets say) more than upon how high we can build walls or a stockpile of weapons. Christians should never expect a pacifist president, but we can insist on one who views military force only as a very last resort, when all other diplomatic and economic measures have failed, and never as a preferred or habitual response to conflict.

3. "Choosing life" is a constant biblical theme, so I will choose candidates who have the most consistent ethic of life, addressing all the threats to human life and dignity that we face — not just one. Thirty-thousand children dying globally each day of preventable hunger and disease is a life issue. The genocide in Darfur is a life issue. Health care is a life issue. War is a life issue. The death penalty is a life issue. And on abortion, I will choose candidates who have the best chance to pursue the practical and proven policies which could dramatically reduce the number of abortions in America and therefore save precious unborn lives, rather than those who simply repeat the polarized legal debates and "pro-choice" and "pro-life" mantras from either side.

4. God’s fragile creation is clearly under assault and I will choose the candidates who will likely be most faithful in our care of the environment. In particular, I will choose the candidates who will most clearly take on the growing threat of climate change, and who have the strongest commitment to the conversion of our economy and way of life to a cleaner, safer, and more renewable energy future. And that choice could accomplish other key moral priorities like the redemption of a dangerous foreign policy built on Middle East oil dependence, and the great prospects of job creation and economic renewal from a new "green" economy built on more spiritual values of conservation, stewardship, sustainability, respect, responsibility, co-dependence, modesty, and even humility.

5. Every human being is made in the image of God, so I will choose the candidates who are most likely to protect human rights and human dignity. Sexual and economic slavery is on the rise around the world, and an end to human trafficking must become a top priority. As many religious leaders have now said, torture is completely morally unacceptable, under any circumstances, and I will choose the candidates who are most committed to reversing American policy on the treatment of prisoners. And I will choose the candidates who understand that the immigration system is totally broken and needs comprehensive reform, but must be changed in ways that are compassionate, fair, just, and consistent with the biblical command to "welcome the stranger."

6. Healthy families are the foundation of our community life and nothing is more important than how we are raising up the next generation. As the father of two young boys, I am deeply concerned about the values our leaders model in the midst of the cultural degeneracy assaulting our children. Which candidates will best exemplify and articulate strong family values, using the White House and other offices as bully pulpits to speak of sexual restraint and integrity, marital fidelity, strong parenting, and putting family values over economic values? And I will choose the candidates who promise to really deal with the enormous economic and cultural pressures that have made parenting such a "countercultural activity" in America today, rather than those who merely scapegoat gay people for the serious problems of heterosexual family breakdown.

That is my list of personal "faith priorities" for the election year of 2008 (2012), but they are not "non-negotiable" for anyone else. It’s time for each of us to make up our own list in these next few months. Make your list and send this on to your friends and family members, inviting them to do the same thing.

For me, I would only add a number 7, which is to say I will look for leadership that understands LGBTQIA not as moral alphabet soup from which political hay can be made. But rather, LGBTQIA are Americans who desire to live in a country where the words,

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all … are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”

“A House of Cards”

Let me start by saying there is no one who is running for the Presidency of the United States on the Republican side of the aisle that is going to be helpful to the LGBTQIA community. In fact, the vast majority of them if they get their way are flat dangerous to our community. We will find all if not most of the progress we have made over that last 30 years washed away in an over whelming wave of fundamental conservatism such as we have never seen.

If one listens closely to their rhetoric, we hear that all that is wrong with the world, ethically, economically, and spiritually, can be traced back to the LGBTQIA community. God, almighty is raging God’s wrath upon the earth because of our desire to have life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

They will never admit the problems we face as a nation are due to greed, arrogance, hypocrisy, and the desire for absolute power. Nope-it is too easy to blame us.

Nor will they ever admit homophobia is a sure moneymaker. As long as they preach their fear of the LGBTQIA community, the donations roll in. The politicians use us as a wedge issue while the Christian churches have conferences designed to put God and us in a box. I will say again both groups use each other with one common goal, our destruction.

As long as the “Christian Church” allows the lies about us to continue and even teaches them, then we will continue to die, get killed, lose our best health care, our mental health, our jobs, our kids, our right to visitation, and our property. We will continue to be thought of as “not God’s best”. That last phrase is where the most powerful lie of the church gets its power; “love the sinner and hate the sin.” Damn it folks our love is NOT a sin.

Can we not see this is all connected? Have we not seen that when we as a community continue to support these fools with our presences, our money, our votes and our membership in their organizations and churches, we are only hurting ourselves?

Next month on February 18th here comes the biggest Christian liar in the country, Exodus International. They will arrive in Atlanta to do another one of their “Love Won Out” conferences. Under the guise of love they will tell anyone who will listen how they can help a person who is unhappy and struggling with their homosexuality.

First, if it wasn’t for people like them and their equine fecal matter, most LGBTQIA folks would not be struggling and unhappy. This group flat knows people’s sexual orientation cannot be changed. The great tool they use is something called “reparative therapy”

In order for reparative therapy to work, one must assume that "homosexuality" is a disorder of some kind or a personality defect to be corrected. These assumptions are:

1. We are called to love gay and lesbian people "struggling with sexual orientation"

2. homosexual orientation is chosen or is the result of bad childhood experiences; and


3. people cannot condone this "sinful" behavior that was chosen by their loved ones, and therefore "cannot accept their gay, lesbian and bisexual family members".

These 3 points are countered by:

1. Sexual orientation is not a disease. In 1973. The American Psychiatric Association removed the term "homosexuality" from the list of mental and emotional disorders. Therefore, it does not need to be cured.

2. "Reparative therapy" doesn't work. In 1990, the American Psychological Association stated that scientific evidence does not show that conversion therapy works and that it can do more harm than good.


3. "Reparative therapy" is dangerous. In 1998, the American Psychiatric Association stated it was opposed to reparative therapy, stating, "Psychiatric literature strongly demonstrates that treatment attempts to change sexual orientation are ineffective. However, the potential risks are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior..."

4. According to the American Medical Association, "most of the emotional disturbance experienced by gay men and lesbians around their sexual identity is not based on physiological causes but rather is due more to a sense of alienation in an un-accepting environment. For this reason, aversion therapy is no longer recommended for gay men and lesbians."


5. The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior (2001) asserts that homosexuality is not "a reversible lifestyle choice." (Information supplied from: "Reparative" Therapy or "Ex-Gay" Ministries page of P-Flag website: http://www.pflag.org/education/reparative.html)

I would like to note for the record that "struggling with sexual orientation" is a key card in the "house of cards therapy". To this I will offer this. I am 56-year-old gay man who has been with my partner for 30 years. I also am the Pastor of an inner-city Christian Church, own a home, pay my taxes, contribute to the national economy, vote in every election, and live a full, loving, and exciting life. What struggles I have had are from fighting to have the same rights and privileges of those so-called heterosexuals who think my love is a sin.

It should also be noted this whole idea of "reparative therapy" or conversion therapy is a religious question trapped inside a psychological costume. Since the religious right no longer has a strong theological argument for condemning homosexuality…they have turned to the secular world to help them.

Even Exodus International leader Alan Chambers has been quoted as saying, “The majority of people that I have met, and I would say the majority meaning 99.9 percent of them, have not experienced a change in their orientation or have gotten to a place where they could say that they could never be tempted or are not tempted in some way or experience some level of same-sex attraction.”

"Reparative Therapy" is based upon several religious lies or more correctly "Christian" lies. Examples:

A LIE:
The Book of Leviticus expressly forbids homosexual sex.

THE TRUTH:
The purity laws of the ancient priesthood are a code of ethics rooted in a time and culture that is far removed from today's world. Among other things, it forbids shaving, wearing clothing made of two different materials, eating rare meat, and many other things. The edict against homosexual sex is part of this code, no more or no less important than the verse that forbids harvesting an entire field of grain or piercing an ear. It is important only as a historical document, not as a set of rules to follow in this time.

A LIE:
Sodom was destroyed for the sin of homosexuality.

THE TRUTH
Sodom and homosexuality were not connected until the Middle Ages. In Biblical days it was acknowledged that Sodom was destroyed for greed and inhospitality. While some believe that it was probable that the men of Sodom were bent on raping Lot's visitors, this was an act of violence, not an indication of the sexual preference of the male population of the city. There are many references of Sodom in the Bible (Ezekiel 16:49; Mark 6:11; 2 Peter 2:6-8, among others) but none of them mention homosexuality.

A LIE:
There are scriptures affirming the Biblical condemnation of homosexual sex.

THE TRUTH
Many of the references to eunuchs in the Bible refer to homosexual men, not necessarily to castrated males. Jesus himself said: "For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:12). The book of Isaiah holds one of the greatest promises to us. "To the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 56: 4-5.)

The Bible is a collection of sacred writings that come from different time periods and are written by different authors trying to explain from their point of view who God is and how we as humans relate to and journey with God. The views of each of these authors are as varied as the authors themselves.

One must always remember that the Bible is a history and guide to a faith. The Bible is not the end- all and be-all on any subject of faith. It may be divinely inspired but hardly divinely written.

One's psychological sanity and safety should never be set aside for the sake of a particular religious belief, particularly when there is on going evidence for one's sexual orientation being formed at an early age and having far more to do with genetics then religion. The "religious right" and Exodus International have spent so much time trying to eliminate the LGBTQIA community; they have missed the vast majority of people in the community who lead wonderfully wholesome lives.

If today’s post seems especially cranky, I apologize. However, I am very tired of having to justify my love for my partner. I am in agony over watching people in my community spiritually beaten into submission because of the church’s lack of courage and its sexual insecurities. I hope on the 18th of February there will be many who will express the same thing.