“The Issue” is Not Going Away

March 27, 2014

If you don’t know about the sad turn of events at World Vision, see Tony Jones’ blog for more info
and Rachel Held Evans’ (who launched something really positive in response to their original decision that was then overturned).
– be sure to read comments too. One of Rachel’s readers commented:

I often feel like Charlie Brown when he tries to kick Lucy’s football when engaging evangelical Christians and this is no exception.

In my On Being interview with Krista Tippet, around minute 35, I mention that I hear from a surprising number of Evangelicals who privately affirm a progressive stand on gay equality, and are figuring out when and how they can go public … Recently, two of them took that step:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tonyjones/2014/03/06/evangelical-mega-church-pastor-turns-pro-gay/#more-9854
More here:
http://www.readthespirit.com/explore/interview-ken-wilson-letter-congregation/
A Tikkun article predicts the Religious Right is on its last legs:
http://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/2014/02/25/those-sounds-you-hear-they-are-the-death-pangs-of-the-religious-right/
But many churches – like the SDA — appear to be doubling down on their stance on homosexuality:
http://www.adventist.org/information/official-statements/statements/article/go/0/homosexuality/
A Seventh Day Adventist wrote me recently about his denomination.

Here are all the official stats of our church. How large we are etc.
http://www.adventist.org/information/statistics/article/go/0/seventh-day-adventist-world-church-statistics-2011/
This is the conference that is happening:
http://ingodsimage.adventist.org/
It is taking place in March in Cape town. There were rumors that it was going to be held in Nigeria but then the laws happened.
REALLY look at the breakout sessions. One is titled: “Alternative sexualities a disorder or a choice”
It’s incredible that those are the only two choices. This is suppose to have 300+ delegates from around the world. It is being put on by the General Conference of our world wide church. They’re including two ex-gay people that i’ve continually critiqued in articles.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eliel-cruz/seventhday-adventist-yout_b_4741048.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eliel-cruz/gays-in-the-family-seventh-day-adventist-presentation_b_3071156.html
This being held in Africa, and my church being as large as it is, it is surely going to affect the already homophobic climate here.
There are three (unofficial/not recognized) organizations that work in LGBT world. At least the ones that aren’t ex-gay groups. We have the documentary Seventh-Gay Adventists at sgamovie.com. There is also IAGC (we’re student run etc facebook.com/iagcadventist). And there is the longest running organization hat has been around for 30+ years that works more as a support group but releases statements concerning the church and LGBT stuff their website is sdakinship.com.
… We get away with so much because not many people know about us—even though we’re a big church.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eliel-cruz/seventhday-adventist-anti_b_4942615.html

Thankfully, there are voices that reflect a “non-doubling-down” attitude, like this one:
http://savingmyreligion.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-gaze.html
Quotable: