Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Gay and Christian but not at a Christian School


David Gushee of RNS reports on "eruptions" on evangelical higher education campuses 3 December 2019.

In the story he refers to Reid Arthur who came out as gay at George Fox University and Joanna Maxon who is in a same-sex marriage and involved in a law suit at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena California.

A professor, Karen Swallow Prior at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has been the target of Southern Baptists for comments she has made, which have been interpreted as supportive of same-sex attracted Christians.

Here are links to the stories mentioned above

Arthur Reid https://www.teenvogue.com/story/christian-college-student-came-out-gay-taylor-swift-lip-sync

Joanna Maxon https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/11/25/former-student-sues-seminary-claiming-she-was-expelled-after-officials-obtained-tax

Karen Swallow https://founders.org/2019/11/23/a-follow-up-about-the-karen-swallow-prior-kerfuffle/

As we see in recent news, the rights of same-sex minorities are in focus for people who do not identify as heterosexual and for those Christians who wish to challenge the "gay agenda" or disallow sexual minorities from sacred rites like a Christian marriage or ministry.

See related posts

January 2020 Decision Magazine

January 4 post on Methodist House Divides over Sexual Minority Beliefs








Decision Magazine and Divided Christians 2020




Not long ago, the conservative evangelical magazine, Christianity Today (19 December 2019), received considerable press coverage for its call for the U.S. president to be removed from office on moral grounds. The January 2020 issue of Graham’s Decision magazine proclaims a decidedly different conservative political message, which notes the accomplishments of the Trump administration.

Decision magazine is the flagship publication of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). The association is celebrating 70 years (1950-2020) of “Proclaiming the Gospel.” Decision’s subtitle is The Evangelical Voice for Today.

The theme for the current issue is “America on the Brink: What’s at Stake in 2020.” The photo suggests America is dangerously close to falling off a cliff.

Franklin Graham kicks off the featured articles with “2020: A Nation on the Brink.” Two accomplishments of the current president are noted in the second and third paragraphs—appointment of conservative judges and protection of religious liberties. 

Other concerns of Graham include LGBTQ issues (“Will the ungodly sexual agenda of the LGBTQ lobby be forced down the throats of our schools and our children?”) and the decline of the percentage of Americans who identify as Christian.

Next, Jerry Pierce wrote “2020: A Year of Decision.” His list of items includes religious liberty related to concerns about the LGBTQ movement and abortion.

“In eight years under the previous administration, a rash of White House executive orders, directives and bureaucratic rules were used to press the hobnail boot of the LGBTQ movement and the abortion lobby against people with sincere Biblical convictions.”

Mat Staver’s article, “Living in a Parallel Universe” opens with the case of Sandra Merritt and Planned Parenthood.

I could to on, but I won’t. My point is simply that politics and religion are married for conservative Christian Republicans. 

As was evident in our research findings (JPT, 2019), a dual identity is present for American Christians who identify as evangelicals and Republicans. This Decision magazine issue illustrates the committed relationship of evangelicals to President Trump and the Republicans.

Instead of a separation of church and state, there is a separation between Republican Christians and non-Republican Christians when it comes to the laws that govern Americans. 

The salient sabres are support for life or death of the unborn and support or lack of support for the rights of sexual minorities. These are not surprising issues, which is why I included both of  them in A House Divided: Sexuality, Morality, and Christian Cultures and why I pay attention to such topics.

There are other concerns in the magazine, but I was struck by the cover and the lead articles focusing on political decisions and those limited to the USA in contrast to possible articles about Christians living out their faith in other dimensions of life and in various parts of the world. 













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Saturday, January 4, 2020

Methodist House Divides Over Sexual Minority Beliefs



The proposed split of the United Methodist Church (UMC) is a cultural marker of the power of deeply held belief to divide religious people. The split is over sex and morality. Specifically, the desire of one group of Methodists to lift the denomination's ban on same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy.

Christians have been divided over moral issues since the time of Jesus. Fortunately, this split does not appear carved in blood as Christian divisions sometimes did centuries ago. Instead, a proposal refers to respecting differences. Here's a quote from USA Today (Jan 3, 2020)
"The undersigned propose restructuring The United Methodist Church by separation as the best means to resolve our differences, allowing each part of the Church to remain true to its theological understanding while recognizing the dignity, equality, integrity, and respect of every person," the proposed agreement states. "
The story has been widely circulated; however, the proposed split has not happened yet. In May 2020, the UMC will meet in Indianapolis where any official action would take place. Comments in the story reflect irreconcilable differences (e.g., "polarized sides") and the language of subgroups (e.g., "conservative," "centrist and progressive").

Millions of dollars are at stake thus, the group also addressed ways to deal with the division of money if a new Methodist denomination is created.

The whole presentation in the news media appears to show a friendliness between the groups and a thoroughly modern view of divorce as a good solution. The divorce analogy makes sense, but serves as another reminder that many Western Christians have changed beliefs about acceptable relationships.

Here's a link to a news video on the proposed split from Chicago's WGN




Thoughts on The Deep Divide

In my reading of works by religious scholars, it has been common to see inclusive language suggesting respect of people with diverse opinions about Christian beliefs and practices. Unfortunately, this benign language obscures the deep divisions and palpable differences that barely keep acrimonious remarks unspoken among congregants who ostensibly desire to love their neighbors.

Scholars appear to revel in their embrace of diversity and "different voices." Sometimes the revelry appears superficial as in ensuring discussion groups have people from this or that subgroup of humanity are represented. I say it's superficial because no group can ever represent all the possible subgroups in a large society or organization. 

The discussion in the media about the UMC split seems quite benign as I suggested above. Nevertheless, such a divide would not occur unless there is some driving force. Holding beliefs is one thing, acting on them is quite another. In general, human emotions are the driver of behavioral action. It would be hard to imagine one group splitting from another by simply saying something like, "You know what, we can't seem to agree on this issue so why don't you go this way and we'll go that way." I'm not suggesting this did or did not occur. I have no present connections with the UMC. 

I am suggesting that all Christians ought to pay attention to the powerful feelings linked to statements about morality and the actions Christians take to persuade others to live according to their moral sentiments, if people want to understand what's happening at a deeper level. I understand that other ideas of depth may be theological, philosophical, sociological, and anthropological, but my focus is on the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality though I consider what scholars write in other disciplines.

From the research on moral foundations theory, matters of same-sex relationships, appear driven by concerns for sanctity and the sacred and fit well with the intratextual fundamentalism theory related to how different Christians read the sacred text, that is, the Bible.


For more on how Christian groups wrestle with the morality of same-sex marriage and relationships, see A House Divided: Sexuality, Morality, and Christian Cultures. 

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