The Church Fights Back in the Culture War on Homosexuality
Image via WikipediaWritten by Dr. David Kyle Foster
What possible story could have won the prized cover of one of the nation's largest news magazines the same week that terrorist bombs ripped through two US embassies? John Paulk is the new "Homosexuality & Gender Analyst" for the Legislative & Cultural Affairs department of Focus on the Family.
Wife Anne's picture had already dominated a full page ad in the July 13 New York Times, declaring, "I'm living proof that truth can set you free" (from homosexuality). They have been at the center of a freshly ignited debate over homosexuality from both inside and outside the church.
Para-church groups, such as Focus on the Family, have finally considered the issue of homosexuality important enough to create a staff position specifically to address it.
The Center for Reclaiming America, associated with Dr. D. James Kennedy's Coral Ridge Ministries, became the linchpin for a coalition of more than a dozen evangelical ministries that have united to finance and produce a series of full page ads in newspapers around the country, including USA Today (July 15), The Washington Post (July 14), The Washington Times (July 21), The San Francisco Examiner (August 16), The Chicago Tribune (July 28), The Los Angeles Times (July 27), The Miami Herald (July 29), The New York Times (July 13) and The Wall Street Journal.
Pro-gay activist groups responded with ads of their own, charging that the conservative ads were politically motivated and harmful to homosexuals.
In defense of their actions, Campaign Coordinator Janet Folger says the ads were designed for two purposes: "1> To express a message of hope for change for homosexuals, and 2> in response to the animosity from gay activists over remarks made by Reggie White and Senator Trent Lott that homosexuality was a sin, to make a statement that the First Amendment of the Constitution is not just for the 'politically correct'."
Steve Schwalm, Senior Writer and Policy Analyst for the Family Research Council (one of the sponsors of the ads) added: "The reason for the focus on homosexuality is not because it is worse than other sexual sins, but because this behavior has an aggressive lobby of activists trying to influence public policy and ultimately redefine the family."
Yvette Cantu, a former gay activist with Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the ACLU now serves as a policy analyst for FRC. She comments: "I had thought that religious moral convictions were repressive, something which served to impose some people's beliefs on others. That is the homosexual activist view, and it is increasingly the view of modern America. It is also completely wrong. Only much later did I come to realize that the moral law as expressed in almost every major religion is to protect us, not repress us."
Frank Worthen, one of the founders of Exodus International, (a Seattle parachurch organization that for more than 20 years has offered help for those who want to be healed of their homosexual confusion), says he's never seen anything like it. "60 Minutes", "Nightline", "Good Morning America" - the list of national programs featuring the story goes on and on. When asked to comment on what he thought God was doing in all of this, Frank said: "We (ex-gays) have been ignored by the church and the culture for 25 years, so it's about time we are being allowed to let the world know that Jesus Christ can transform the homosexual. The media, in particular, has had a conspiracy of silence about the presence of ex-gays. This recent firestorm may also be the last call - God's final attempt to return our nation to moral Christian values."
The Gay Activists
For years, homosexual activists in most of the nations largest denominations have been insinuating themselves into doctrinal discussions and governmental decision-making processes in order to overturn the idea that homosexual behavior is a sin - a standard that has lasted for at least four millennia. Relentlessly pressing for change, and recklessly dividing the flock, gay activists have marched forward like General Sherman did in the waning moments of the Civil War, destroying anyone and anything that gets in their way.
Armed with a position tailored to the postmodern world, this new "thought police" has been at work redefining morality, values, love, the family and the Biblical text itself so as to cloak homosexual behavior with the respectability of religious culture and trappings.
In Canada, they have made it a crime to speak against them. In the U.S., they have made an attempt to pass a resolution in the American Psychological Association that would make it malpractice to counsel a homosexual that he or she can be healed. [For an excellent description of what really went on in the 1970-1973 American Psychiatric Association meetings, when homosexuality was removed from the list of psychiatric illnesses, see Dr. Jeffrey Satinover's excellent book, Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth (Baker, 1996)].
This is no shrinking violet, impoverished or defenseless movement. Their moves are orchestrated as cleverly and predictably as a presidential photo-op. Their leaders are intolerant, authoritarian and often Orwellian. Though they are loathe to admit it publicly, they have no intention of settling for equal treatment under the law. The goal is special rights, the imposition of officially sanctioned immorality both inside and outside the church and the silencing of all opposition.
In a 1997 editorial in the Honolulu Advertiser, Mike Gabbard quoted the policy director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights (Paula Ettlebrick), as having declared: "Being queer means pushing the parameters of sex, sexuality and family, and in the process, transforming the very fabric of society. . . . We must keep our eyes on the goals of providing true alternatives to marriage and of radically reordering society?s views of reality."
You can read more about this hidden agenda in Norman Podhoretz's article in Commentary Magazine - November 1996, entitled, "How the Gay-Rights Movement Won". You can also read about it in writings published by the gay community itself (most notably from Marshall Kirk & Hunter Madsen's book, After The Ball.
Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, in his book, Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth writes: "Such disinformation seems to arise partly from a deliberate campaign, especially given the willingness of some to use 'any means necessary' to convert public opinion. 'Any means necessary' is no exaggeration. Eric Pollard formerly belonged to the prominent homosexual organization ACT-UP and founded its Washington, D.C., chapter. In an interview with The Washington Blade, a major homosexual newspaper, he stated that he and other group members learned to apply 'subversive tactics, drawn largely from the voluminous Mein Kampf, which some of us studied as a working model.'"
In the gay magazine Christopher Street - Issue 95, six principles for the persuasion of "straights" were described that starkly reveal how calculated and manipulative the images of gay people are in our culture:
"1> The first order of business is desensitization of the American public concerning gays and gay rights. To desensitize the public is to help it view homosexuality with indifference instead of with keen emotion. . . . . The principle behind this advice is simple: almost any behavior begins to look normal if you are exposed to enough of it. . . . . The way to benumb raw sensitivities about homosexuality is to have a lot of people talk a great deal about the subject in a neutral or supportive way. . . . . Where we talk is important. The visual media . . . . . (is) a gateway into the private world of straights, through which a Trojan Horse might be passed. . . . . The National Gay Task Force has had to cultivate quiet backroom liaisons with broadcast companies and newsrooms in order to make sure that issues important to the gay community receive some coverage. . . . When conservative churches condemn gays . . . we can use talk to muddy the moral waters . . . . we can undermine the moral authority of homophobic churches by portraying them as antiquated backwaters, badly out of step with the times and with the latest findings of psychology. . . . .
2> Portray gays as victims, not as aggressive challengers. In any campaign to win over the public, gays must be cast as victims in need of protection so that straights will be inclined by reflex to assume the role of protector. . . . . We must forego the temptation to strut our 'gay pride' publicly whenever it conflicts with the Gay Victim image. . . . . The mainstream should be told that gays are victims of fate, in the sense that most never had a choice to accept or reject their sexual preference. . . . . .
3> Our campaign should not demand direct support for homosexual practices, but should instead take anti-discrimination as its theme. . . . .
4> Make gays look good. In order to make a Gay Victim sympathetic to straights you have to portray him as Everyman. . . . . the campaign should paint gays as superior pillars of society. . . . . In no time, a skillful and clever media campaign could have the gay community looking like the veritable fairy godmother to Western Civilization.
5> Make the victimizers look bad. . . . To be blunt, they must be vilified. . . . . we intend to make the anti-gays look so nasty that average Americans will want to dissociate themselves from such types. . . . . The public should be shown images of ranting homophobes whose secondary traits and beliefs disgust middle America. . . . . (include) bigoted southern ministers drooling with hysterical hatred to a degree that looks both comical and deranged.
6> Solicit funds. . . . those gays not supporting families usually have more discretionary income than average." The piece speaks for itself.
In the past, when a denomination has failed to give them a voice, gay activists have raised up their own organizations, given them righteous sounding names (-e.g., Reconciling Congregations, Integrity, Dignity, Affirmation, etc.), and have positioned themselves as though they were a part of the denominational matrix. They have mastered the art of striking tragic poses, as an "oppressed minority", or "deprived victim underclass" in order to win concessions. It is an emotion-laden posturing that is often done as a tactic of obfuscation, in order to turn the debate away from the real issues of brokenness and morality.
The Denominations
The battle within the denominational church continues to rage. This summer has been a hot one in more ways than one. Some denominations have finally taken stands against normalizing homosexual practice, while others have stood firmly on positions taken long ago.
Perhaps as a result of gay political strategies coming to light or the result of being pressed too far to make exception for sinful lifestyles, church leadership has finally begun to step up to the plate and answer the Spirit's call to prevent further moral compromise in the body of Christ. Although the language of "respecting homosexuals as persons that Christ died for" and "welcoming them into the church" rightly remains, the previous reluctance to take a definitive stand on gay sexual practice as being sinful, homosexual marriage as being unbiblical and the ordination of practicing homosexuals as unlawful has recently emerged in some communions.
The Anglican Communion
Pressed into a corner by the relentlessness of the Nicolaitan onslaught, the mainline church has finally begun to draw up serious and pointed lines of defense and has come out fighting. Most dramatically has been the Kuala Lampur Report on Human Sexuality drawn up by Anglican bishops from around the world, and presented at the 1998 Lambeth Conference this summer.
The report condemns the liberal American trend toward appeasement and the incorporation of practicing homosexuals in the clergy. Calling for the church to remain faithful to the scriptural admonitions against homosexual behavior (Lev 18:22; Rom 1:21-28; 1 Cor 6:9-11, etc.) the statement was backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. George Carey) and 88% of the bishops who voted. Abp.
Carey said, "I see no room in Holy Scripture or the entire Christian tradition for any sexual activity outside matrimony." The statement itself declares in part: "This conference, in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in life-long union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called for marriage. . . . (and) cannot advise the legitimizing or blessing of same sex unions or ordaining of those involved in same sex unions."
The notoriously pro-gay American bishop, John Spong, was unable to get enough signatures to release a minority report against the resolution. Though the resolution was nonbinding, it did carry the moral authority of the numbers who voted for it and the affirmation of the head of the worldwide Anglican
Communion - the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA)
Whether the Episcopal Church USA will honor the mandate remains to be seen. (ECUSA is a member of the Anglican Communion). Several American bishops have already indicated they will not. Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold has already published a statement reminding bishops that the Lambeth Conference "is not a legislative body", taking exception to its conclusions about "what is compatible with Scripture" and recommending another round of the "dialogue" that liberals continually cry for until they get their way.
Hopefully, the church has finally caught on to that tactic. But if not, there is hope in the fact that membership in ECUSA is quite small in comparison to the Anglican communion worldwide. She has, for example, less than one third the members found in the small African nation of Uganda.
A look at other denominational decisions over the past few years shows a similar trend toward a more aggressive, Biblical stance. The gains of pro-gay activists have, for the most part, been brought to a screeching halt - at least for now.
The International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church (ICCEC)
The second largest "episcopal" denomination in the United States (known in America as the "CEC") stands firmly on the witness of Holy Scripture in the matter. While no formal positional statement has yet been made, church spokesman Bishop Douglas Kessler stated that, "all of our churches concur that Scripture forbids homosexual practice and that God offers not only cleansing and forgiveness but also the power to heal and to change."
Kessler added, "The Charismatic Episcopal Church does not and never will ordain practicing homosexuals." Philip Zampino, Bishop of the Mid-Atlantic Diocese and a primary contributor to the development of a future canon on marriage and human sexuality agreed, saying, "The church would be opposed to any form of sexual activity outside of marriage. I would not ordain a man who was practicing immoral sexual behavior whether he was heterosexual or homosexual. Sexual behavior should be confined to a Christian marriage between a man and a woman."
The United Methodist Church (UMC)
The United Methodist Church has recently emerged from the turmoil created when a UMC pastor in Nebraska conducted a same-sex union ceremony. The Judicial Council (UMC's "Supreme Court") decisively concluded that the vote by the 1996 General Conference to prohibit pastors from conducting same sex union ceremonies, having been added to the Social Principles section of the Book of Discipline, was binding on all UMC pastors.
(The denomination has held a firm position against affirming homosexual behavior since its General Conference passed a prohibitive statement by a strong vote in 1966).
According to the United Methodist News Service, "the recent decision indicated that pastors who perform homosexual marriage ceremonies can be brought before church court and risk having their clergy credentials removed. A prohibition against clergy performing homosexual unions or having such ceremonies in United Methodist churches has the status of law and is not merely advisory, the council ruled."
Rev. Robert L. Kuyper of Bakersfield, Calif., was pleased. Rev. Kuyper is founder of the "Transforming Congregations" movement, which considers the practice of homosexuality a sin and helps people with a homosexual orientation find healing and transformation through Christ. UM News Service quoted Kuyper as saying: "I think the church wants to be compassionate to people trapped in homosexual lifestyles, but they don't want to endorse it.
My real fear is this decision will be ignored by many in the church and will continue to cause controversy and will detract us from doing ministry with people who are suffering."
The pastor who held the forbidden ceremony (Rev. Jimmy Creech) is calling for ministers to defy the court and to hold homosexual covenant ceremonies in disobedience to the ruling.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA)
The Evangelical Lutheran Church took a conservative stand against homosexual marriages at its 1993 Conference of Bishops. The statement that passed said in part, "We, as the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, recognize that there is basis neither in Scripture nor tradition for the establishment of an official ceremony by this church for the blessing of a homosexual relationship. We, therefore, do not approve such a ceremony as an official action of this church's ministry."
Vision and Expectations is a document providing a statement of expectations for the ordained ministers of the ELCA. Its purpose is to: "set forth what we expect of those who are in positions of trust and responsibility in this church." In the section on "The Ordained Minister as Person and Example", it reads: "Ordained ministers who are homosexual in their self-understanding are expected to abstain from homosexual sexual relationships."
A 1996 "Message on Sexuality" adopted by the ELCA Church Council, making clear that it was not establishing new policy, but rather building upon previously adopted policy positions said: "Marriage is a lifelong covenant of faithfulness between a man and a woman."
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS)
The more conservative LCMS has issued a pamphlet entitled, Homosexuality, written by its president, A.L. Barry. In the document, Barry writes: "Our church has declared that homosexual behavior is 'intrinsically sinful'. . . . (and) a sinful distortion of (God's) desire that one man and one woman live together in marriage as husband and wife. . . . .
Homosexuality is but one of many sinful situations human beings encounter in this life. . . . We all need God's mercy in Christ for our salvation. . . . . The church's most important message to homosexuals is the promise of forgiveness and eternal life through the person and the work of Jesus Christ. . . . . The Church must exhibit understanding and sympathy for the homosexual, show love and pastoral concern, being ready to give help and encouragement in whatever way possible."
The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
The traditional, Biblical stand on homosexual practice was affirmed in 1993, by the Foursquare Church in a denominational statement regarding human sexuality, which reads: "The Biblical record shows that sexual union was established exclusively within the context of male-female relationship and formalized in the ordinance of marriage. In the New Testament, the oneness of male and female in marriage pictures the relationship between Christ and His Church. . . . The Scriptures identify the practice of homosexuality a sin that, if persisted in, brings grave consequences in this life and excludes one from the Kingdom of God."
The Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA)
The "mainline" Presbyterian church has once again taken a strong stand against homosexual unions and the ordination of practicing homosexuals. (A recent judicial case that let stand the ordination of an elder who is a practicing homosexual was based on procedural mistakes rather than denominational moral directives. In fact, the judicial commission admonished the ordaining body to "refrain from future irregular ordinations").
In a 1985 statement by the Permanent Judicial Commission, "definitive guidance" was cited as already having been given in 1978 and 1979 decisions by the General Assembly, to the effect that, "it is unconstitutional for the Church to ordain any self-affirming, practicing, and unrepentant homosexual as elder, deacon, or minister of the Word."
The 1991 General Assembly published a pastoral letter saying, "We have reaffirmed in no uncertain terms the authority of the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. We have strongly reaffirmed the sanctity of the marriage covenant between one man and one woman to be a God-given relationship to be honored by marital fidelity."
"A newly added amendment to the Book of Order, coming from the 1996 General Assembly reads: "Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and to conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament."
The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)
In a statement passed during their 1977 General Assembly, the PCA declared that "both the act and the desire" of homosexuality is a sin and that "a practicing homosexual continuing in this sin would not be a fit candidate for ordination or membership in the PCA." The stand against the sanctioning of homosexual practice was reaffirmed in a 1993 "Declaration of Conscience on Homosexuals and the Military".
The Church of God in Christ (COGIC)
A spokesman for largest black denomination in the country (est. 7.5 million members) stated simply: "We don't condone or sanction homosexuality in any form or fashion. We don't have to make any resolutions on it. It is formally declared in the Word of God in which we stand."
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)
The position of the Southern Baptist Convention (that homosexuality is a sin) is universally acknowledged and in no danger of being compromised. The constitution of the Southern Baptist Convention, in listing the requirements for affiliation with the SBC says: "Among churches not in cooperation with the convention are churches which act to affirm, approve or endorse homosexual behavior."
This requirement was firmly brought home a year ago when two Southern Baptist churches in North Carolina were refused further fellowship by their local association for taking actions contrary to SBC beliefs (one church ordained a practicing homosexual and the other held a same sex marriage ceremony). More recently, a SBC church in Texas was similarly expelled from fellowship for ordaining a practicing homosexual.
While there is no official outreach to the homosexual within the SBC, Rev. Tim Wilkins operates an Exodus-affiliated ministry (Cross Ministry) in Raleigh, N.C. and is now helping to produce a tract and an interactive study guide designed to teach Southern Baptists how to help homosexuals find freedom in Jesus Christ. Former SBC president Jimmy Allen wrote a book, Burden of a Secret about his personal tragedy in having four family members contract AIDS, (one through homosexual activity and the others via blood transfusions).
The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA)
The "E Free Church" holds a similar conservative line on the issue as outlined in the still unchanged resolution entitled, "Homosexuality" which was adopted by the General Conference in 1978. The resolution is clear that neither ministers or congregants who are involved in the practice of homosexuality will be allowed in the fellowship and that no one may "urge or concede that the state should give special protection or approval to this practice or promote it as a matter of personal taste, free choice or 'sexual orientation'." In 1993 the EFCA strengthened its position with a resolution opposing homosexuals in the military.
The Assemblies of God (AG)
One of the fastest growing denominations since anyone can remember has weighed in heavily on traditional biblical values. Their 1979 General Presbytery adopted a report that said, in part, "A nation's tolerance or intolerance of homosexuality is one indication of the nation's spiritual condition. . . . Since the Bible speaks to the issue of homosexuality, it must be considered the authoritative rule by which a position is established. . . .
Scripture considers it a sin against God and man. The church's concern about this problem is not a matter of discrimination against a minority group. This is a moral issue. . . . Homosexuality is a sin
1> because it is contrary to the principles of sexuality which God established in the beginning. . . . .
2> because the Bible refers to it as evil. . . .
3> (and because) it comes under divine judgment. . . . . The homosexual who wants to be delivered from the penalty and power of sin must come to God in the same way other sinners come to God. . . . through repentance and faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour."
The Roman Catholic Church (RCC)
The Roman Catholic Church remains an immovable bastion of faithfulness to Holy Scripture on this issue. The amended version of the 1994 edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: "Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that 'homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered'. . . . Under no circumstances can they be approved. . . . (Homosexuals) must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. . . . (and) if they are Christians (are called) to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. . . . . Homosexual persons are called to chastity."
In 1986, Pope John Paul II approved and ordered published a pastoral letter to the Bishops of the Church which, in part, says: "Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder. . . . . There is a clear consistency within the Scriptures themselves on the moral issue of homosexual behavior. The Church's doctrine regarding this issue is thus based, not on isolated phrases for facile theological argument, but on the solid foundation of a constant Biblical testimony. . . . .
A person engaging in homosexual behavior acts immorally. . . . When they engage in homosexual activity they confirm within themselves a disordered sexual inclination which is essentially self-indulgent. . . . . The Church . . . is really concerned about the many who are not represented by the pro-homosexual movement and about those who may have been tempted to believe its deceitful propaganda. . . . The proper reaction to crimes committed against homosexual persons should not be to claim that the homosexual condition is not disordered. . . . .
The conformity of the self-denial of homosexual men and women with the sacrifice of the Lord will constitute for them a source of self-giving which will save them from a way of life which constantly threatens to destroy them. . . . . This Congregation wishes to ask the Bishops to be especially cautious of any programmes which may seek to pressure the Church to change her teaching, even while claiming not to do so.
A careful examination of their (gay activists) public statements and the activities they promote reveals a studied ambiguity by which they attempt to mislead the pastors and the faithful. . . . . The neglect of the Church's position prevents homosexual men and women from receiving the care they need and deserve."
The United Church of Christ (UCC)
The darling of the gay community is the UCC and understandably so. It is the only American Christian denomination that permits the ordination of practicing homosexuals. In fact, many resolutions by their national body of delegates and church councils stretching back to the 1970's have vigorously encouraged opposition to the prohibitions against homosexual practice found in Holy Scripture and church dogma for the past 2,000 years. In 1994, their denominational president even took part in a homosexual march in Washington, D.C.
And so, with only one exception, Christian denominations in America not only continue to stand firm against the relentless onslaught of manipulation, cajoling and intimidation by gay activists, but have actually "come out" more publicly and firmly than ever before to declare that homosexual practice is a sin and that the homosexual is a person that Christ died to save, redeemed and transform. The stormy ecclesiastical seas of this "summer of our discontent" have given rise to a new commitment by the people of God to the call to holiness that echoes from every page of God's Word.
Dr. D. James Kennedy, pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, recently said, "An unholy world is never going to be won by an unholy church." Is God preparing us to be effective instruments in a new and great outpouring of His Spirit for the salvation of souls? Frank Worthen believes this could be the final hour for the Church. Or is God simply "purifying for Himself, a people that are His very own" (Titus 2:14), "a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." (Eph 5:27) Let it be done unto us even as You have said, dear Lord Jesus.
