[Cross-posted at Daily Kos.]
Perusing my local paper this morning, I happened upon this story. Seems local moderate Christians have decided to follow John Danforth’s example and speak out against their fundamentalist counterparts:
When Laveta heard that a new, progressive Christian group was forming, the Penrods began attending recent meetings of No Longer Silent on Monday nights in the Campus Ministry Center on the NAU campus.
“I think that probably it is a voice for those who have no voice,” said Mike Penrod. “There are so many things against the young gays in their life that it’s wrong for religion to turn its back on them too. Our son was very religious and was dealing with being gay, and he was like ‘I lost my God, too.’ I want them to feel that they’re OK and that’s the important thing. They have enough to deal with without dealing without that too.” …
“The great message of the New Testament is we no longer have to live by law, Old Testament Law,” Koehn [the group’s founder] agreed. “Now we have to live by love, and it’s a lot tougher actually. It falls to you to decide.” …
John Prather, 36, rarely goes to church, although his mother is a minister in the United Methodist Church and he grew up in the church. He shared his viewpoint with the group.
“It really bothers me to see religion used as an excuse for discrimination and war, for environmental destruction, for lots of things I don’t think are part of Christian teaching,” he said.
This local organization is just a month old and already it’s earned a visit from Arizona State Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, who’s going to speak on how the group “can become more involved in the legislative process.”
But this local group appears to be just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a coordinated state organization of such chapters in Arizona, as I found when I visited http://www.nolongersilent.org. In 1998, a group of ministers — primarily UCC and UMC, but also Presbyterian, Lutheran, and even Roman Catholic — wrote the visionary Phoenix Declaration (so named because it was signed in Phoenix, not because of the resurrection of the moderate Christian voice). Here are some choice quotes from the Declaration:
We gratefully affirm our GLBT brothers and sisters, already a part of the church, who have been born, baptized, confirmed – many serving as leaders — and apologize for their ill-treatment by many church leaders. We joyfully welcome GLBT persons, as we welcome all people, into our communities of faith.
We recognize GLBT persons have painfully suffered long enough from social inequality, from religious rhetoric and political leaders. We are tired of appalling, hurting, and violent actions toward GLBT persons. This violence must stop. Let us clear the air and move ahead to begin the healing process for the wounded souls who are victims of this tragic and violent abuse.
Powerful words from a group of Christian ministers! And these ministers even showed the gall to write directly to James Dobson, actually accusing him of being indirectly responsible for anti-gay hate crimes:
Some political and Christian leaders still characterize homosexual persons as inherently more sinful and/or immoral than their heterosexual counterparts. We disagree with these views and feel that interpretations of the Bible made apart from their historical context and used to support such views are fundamentally flawed and inaccurate. We believe that homosexual persons are no more (or less) sinful and are of equal character and personal integrity as any other group of people.
We are appealing to you to meet with us to address our mutual culpability for the continued violence against Gays and Lesbians and the high rate of suicide among homosexuals tormented by the intolerance of family members, the church, and the belief that God hates them. Our task is made more urgent because of those who are literally dying every day because of the Church’s stance on this issue.
I looked in vain for a link to send contributions to the organization, but their e-mail is listed on their website. I think this group is an inspiration for all of us, religious or non-religious.
