Apocalypse Now
I’ve given up on listening to the evening news. As a friend noted, “The Evening News is where they start with ‘Good Evening,’ and then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.”
I’m about to give up on the morning news as well. At our home we get the New York Times and the South Florida Sun Sentinel delivered to our door daily. They arrive at five, or six, or seven a.m. depending on the activities of our carrier the night before. Guaranteed, at Christmas time the papers are on our threshold by five, along with the envelope for a carrier tip. My reason for giving up on the morning news is that it’s a constant regurgitation of the evening news, which I didn’t listen to in the first place. To add spice, a few murders, motorcycle deaths and other forms of mayhem are included in the headlines to brighten my day.
As a young person trying to understand who I was sexually, I was an avid reader of the New York Times. I read because I hoped, in vain, to gain some insight into my interest in men. But this was in an era when the Times would not print the word homosexual. Instead, there was an occasional clip about a bar being raided and closed by the police because its clientele were deviants and perverts. Even Gore Vidal, Andre Gide, Truman Capote, in the reviews of their books, were noted to be deviant.
Now it’s difficult to pick up a paper in any U.S. city without finding one or more articles about gays—gay marriage, gays in the service, the gay agenda, you name it. I was intrigued by an article in this morning’s Times by Laurie Goodstein, “Presbyterians Approve Ordination of Gay People.” After thirty-three years of discussions, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will allow openly gay people in same sex relationships to be ordained as ministers, elders and deacons. The moderator of the General Assembly, the elected body which governs the church, said, “Everyone was civil. There was no applause, no cheering. It was just reflective of the fact that we are moving forward one other step.”
Big Whoop!
Big Yawn!
Why is “no cheering, no applause,” seen as a mark of merit? Why did it take thirty-three years of discussion to come to a conclusion that other bodies of faith accepted years ago—that gays and lesbians are God’s creatures and deserve equal treatment within as well as outside the church? Why does the church, in this case the Presbyterian church, consistently fail in their responsibility to proclaim God’s love to ALL people. Why do they hang onto the tail end of social change rather than lead the parade?
There was a time in my youthful more religious life when I would have been excited by the action of the Presbyterians. Now my feeling is, “Who cares?” It’s a beautiful example of too little, too late. In fairness, however, I must admit the Methodist Church, the largest mainline Protestant denomination and the one in which I held membership for many years, is still struggling with the issue of ordination of gay and lesbian clergy. Perhaps, in another decade or so, Methodists will follow the Presbyterians in wondering why their dramatic action of acceptance provoked a huge yawn from the American public.
On a brighter note, our local paper this a.m. had a front page story, “World to End May 21, According to Beliefs of Family Radio Followers.” Family Radio, a network of Christian Radio Stations, has sponsored five caravans—groups of three or four vans full of followers who have been traveling the United States passing out fliers proclaiming the end of the world on May 21, 2011, since October, 2010. Additionally, they have sponsored 1,200 roadside billboards nationally and 2,000 overseas to get out their message of apocalypse now. In a 2010 poll by the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, 41% of Americans think Jesus will return before 2050. I’m convinced that if those 41% are correct, the first action Jesus will take is to head to the court house and have his name changed. He’ll not want to be associated with what we call Christian.
By the time this issue of Letters comes out, the apocalypse question may be answered. And the good news of the apocalypse is that, if Family Radio is correct in their prognostication, I’ll no longer have to listen to or read about Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, the budget deficit, Donald Trump, or American Idol.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Clause—and there is a good side to the apocalypse.
John Siegfried, a former Rehoboth resident, lives in Ft. Lauderdale. Email John Siegfried