Allies and Adversaries
This most recent electoral campaign has brought to light all sorts of allies and adversaries of the LGBT community. It seems to me, and to many others as well, that our political arena is getting more polarized than ever before. Now we have a Congress that will soon be Republican-controlled in both the House and Senate. Is that a good thing, or not? How will they work with, or work against our Democratic President?
Just reviewing this list of adversaries makes me want to sit down with a box of tissues and have a good cry. Not only have we gotten more polarized in our politics, we have lost all sense of civility in the public forum. In gratitude to the Huffington Post, check out this “rogues gallery” from this election cycle:
- Jody Hice (R-GA), won his state’s 10th Congressional District. Hice has gone on record as saying that Islam is not a real religion and does not deserve 1st Amendment rights, that legal abortion is worse than the Holocaust, and that the gay community is trying to seduce and sodomize children.
- Former Navy SEAL Ryan Zinke (R-MN) easily won a seat in Congress, in spite of his controversial opinions on a number of items. While later claiming that his comments were a joke, he referred to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the “Anti-Christ.” Zinke has also stated that he would support impeaching Obama, if given the option when he gets to Congress. I wonder what he would think of Hillary being elected as President in 2016?)
And then on the religion front, Westboro Baptist Church is getting left in the dust by these pseudo-Christians:
- James Manning, leader of the vehemently anti-gay Harlem ATLAH Missionary Church, is claiming that Starbucks is “ground zero for Ebola” after their recent LGBT commercial. Now Manning has stated that Starbucks has been using the “sodomite’ semen” in their flavored coffee drinks. (Trust me, you do not want to see his video or read the text of this outrageous claim!)
- The Creator’s Rights Party accuses homosexuals of being guilty of murder, because they “destroy the definition of manhood, removing from that work any distinctive that would separate it from other words. If nobody does what the man is supposed to do, then the man is literally destroyed. (It gets worse from there. But you know what? I know a number of gays who are the essence of manhood.
OK, enough of the LGBT Adversaries! Let’s get on with the LGBT Allies! If you have not heard about any of these folks, you need to know that they are out there, making the world a better place for all of us.
- Rabbi David Wolpe, Senior Rabbi at the Conservative Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, announced last year that if California approved same sex marriage (they did), he would officiate such at the Temple (he did). This 107-year-old congregation had a split in its membership, but Rabbi Wolpe pushed forward with his decision. He wrote a letter to his members, which argued that Jewish law not only permitted such unions, it should also embrace them. Wolpe states, “As we have modernized the role of women and many other practices, the demand on the part of our brothers and sisters who are gay to be able to live in a sanctified relationship is a call to our conscience and our responsibility as Jews.”
- Retired Mennonite pastor Rev. Chester Wenger, 96 years old, of Lancaster, PA, lost his clergy credentials after having officiated at his son’s gay wedding. He says, “I know persons will accuse me for my transgression, but my act of love was done on behalf of the church I love, and my conscience is clear.” Wenger wrote that he and his wife “grieved deeply” after a church leader excommunicated his adult son 35 years ago, without talking to him or his parents. Wenger said he is at peace with the action, but he prays for greater church acceptance of gays and lesbians.
- David Gushee, a Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University in Georgia, announced recently that he now affirms same-sex relationships. Mercer is a Baptist college and divinity school. Gushee writes, “I will henceforth oppose any form of discrimination against you. I will seek to stand in solidarity with you who have suffered the last of countless Christian rejections. I will be your ally in every way I know how to be.” Gushee says his journey to his current position has been a long one. A former student wrote Gushee that his teachings had contributed to the painful struggle of understanding sexual identity, and scientific data suggesting that same-sex attraction is a naturally occurring form of human diversity sent him back to the Bible. Years later, he concluded that the Bible doesn’t actually teach what he previously assumed. Thank you to the Religion News Service for this story, John Merritt on Faith and Culture.
I could spend much more space and time with these LGBT allies. But these glimpses into their journeys will serve as a springboard for you to explore and find their stories for your own edification. We will always have adversaries waiting in the shadows to pounce upon us to deliver their vindictive diatribes of judgment. Thank God, we will also have our allies to stand beside us as we face the onslaught of those who are ill-informed or just downright hostile.
May this approaching season of joy and peace find you in a place where you are welcome, in a place where you are loved, in a place where you belong.