<html>
<head>
<style>
P
{
margin:0px;
padding:0px
}
body
{
FONT-SIZE: 10pt;
FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
I, too, applaud Kurt Queller for his essay in the Daily News. Kurt and I are friends, and I'm proud to know someone as insightful and reasonable as he is. Kudos to him for his article . . . and I'm eager to read what the Kirk has to say. But of course none of them will reply on Vision, and I doubt anyone will write a letter to the editor of the DN. Nonetheless, Kurt reveals himself to be a scholar and a gentleman in pointing out the twisted theology of those who pretend to have great wisdom but instead have patched together a theology that makes it necessary that straight white men remain at the center of every debate.<br><br>My dear friend Rose Huskey calls it "wanting to be the bride at every wedding." I call it pseudo-intellectual posturing, and I think Kurt called it absolutely as it is.<br><br>keely<br><br><blockquote><hr>From: deco@moscow.com<br>To: vision2020@moscow.com<br>Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 08:35:27 -0700<br>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] HIS VIEW: What Christians should repent of (and why)<br><br>
<div>Those curious:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The article by Kurt Keller passed on to V 2020 by Ms. Lund illustrates how
easily crackpotism* can be birthed and accepted. This comment is in
reference to the crackpotism of Cultmaster Douglas Wilson and his
ghostwriter/enforcer/snoop Douglas Jones.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Keller references an article in <em>Credenda/Agenda</em> (aka
<em>Crudinto/Adumpster)</em> entitled "Owning the Curse: Rethinking Same-Sex
Marriage." {<a href="http://www.credenda.org/issues/16-2memorandum.php" target="_blank">http://www.credenda.org/issues/16-2memorandum.php</a>}</div>
<div> </div>
<div>In this prime example of crackpotism Wilson and Jones assert among other
things:</div>
<div> </div>
<div><font color="#0000ff">"Homosexuality is a judgment from God."</font></div>
<div><font color="#0000ff"></font> </div>
<div><font color="#0000ff">"Homosexuality is primarily a judgment against the
Church."</font></div>
<div><font color="#0000ff"></font> </div>
<div><font color="#0000ff">"Christian fathers are a primary cause of the curse of
homosexuality."</font></div>
<div><font color="#0000ff"></font> </div>
<div><font color="#0000ff">"Homosexuality will only pass when Christian fatherhood
is pleasing to God."</font></div>
<div><font color="#0000ff"></font> </div>
<div>
<div class="EC_indent"><font color="#0000ff">"The destruction of our civil order:
</font></div>
<div class="EC_indent"><font color="#0000ff"></font> </div>
<div class="EC_indent"><font color="#0000ff">In true
repentance, we should invert as many contemporary categories as we can—own the
curse of homosexuality upon our parenting, grant the science, and explicitly
embrace God's transformation of our civil order. True repentance in the Church,
not trust in civil coercion, will either restore that order or establish a
different order. So we openly accept homosexual marriage in the civil realm as
God's means of undermining that civil realm, and we accept that He has done this
in judgment for wicked fathering within the Church."</font></div></div>
<div> </div>
<div>What makes this and thousands of other biblical views of homophobia,
etc crackpotism is its lack of any kind of verifiable evidence, and what is
especially clear from the article reference above, Jones and Wilson's support of
their view with a mishmash and exaggerated interpretation of select,
contextually unrelated biblical passages. Almost crackpot with the
motivation can take a few scattered biblical passages and build an argument
supporting almost any nonsensical thesis.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Such tactics are used by the bereft preachers on the corners of urban
tenderloins and other screechers and dividers. That's why such are called
crackpots. Take away the wealth that Wilson and Jones have amassed from
their credulous followers and take away their fancy robes and clothes, it would
be hard to distinguish them from the half dozen sky pilots found at the corner
of 3rd and Main Streets in Los Angeles at almost any hour of the day.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Although I am a nonbeliever, it is clear that Jones, Wilson, and others of
their ilk have thoroughly perverted the urgings of Christ and have derailed
their ovine, caught-in-a-cult followers from the central message of Christ found
in <em>Matthew 25:36 et seq.</em></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="FrutigerLinotype-Roman" size="4">
</font><p align="left"><font face="FrutigerLinotype-Roman" size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">31 "When the Son
of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with </font><font face="Times New Roman">him, then he will sit on the throne of his
glory.</font></font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font face="FrutigerLinotype-Roman" size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">32 All the
nations will </font><font face="Times New Roman">be gathered before him, and he
will separate people one from another </font><font face="Times New Roman">as a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, </font></font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font face="FrutigerLinotype-Roman" size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">33 and he will
put </font><font face="Times New Roman">the sheep at his right hand and the
goats at the left. </font></font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font face="FrutigerLinotype-Roman" size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">34 Then the king
</font><font face="Times New Roman">will say to those at his right hand, 'Come,
you that are blessed by my </font><font face="Times New Roman">Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of </font><font face="Times New Roman">the world; </font></font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font face="FrutigerLinotype-Roman" size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">35 for I was
hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and </font><font face="Times New Roman">you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you
welcomed</font></font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font face="FrutigerLinotype-Roman" size="4"><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman">me, </font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font face="FrutigerLinotype-Roman" size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">36 I was naked
and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took </font><font face="Times New Roman">care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.'
</font></font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font face="FrutigerLinotype-Roman" size="4"><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman">37 Then the righteous
</font></font><font size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">will
answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave </font><font face="Times New Roman">you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?
</font></font></font></p></div>
<div>
<p align="left"><font size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">38 And when
</font><font face="Times New Roman">was it that we saw you a stranger and
welcomed you, or naked and </font><font face="Times New Roman">gave you
clothing? </font></font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">39 And when was
it that we saw you sick or in </font><font face="Times New Roman">prison and
visited you?' </font></font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">40 And the king
will answer them, 'Truly I tell </font><font face="Times New Roman">you, just as
you did it to one of the least of these who are members of </font><font face="Times New Roman">my family, you did it to me.' </font></font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">41 Then he will
say to those at his left </font><font face="Times New Roman">hand, 'You that are
accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire </font><font face="Times New Roman">prepared for the devil and his angels; </font></font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">42 for I was
hungry and you gave </font><font face="Times New Roman">me no food, I was
thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, </font></font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">43 I was a
</font><font face="Times New Roman">stranger and you did not welcome me, naked
and you did not give me </font><font face="Times New Roman">clothing, sick and
in prison and you did not visit me.' </font></font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">44 Then they also
</font><font face="Times New Roman">will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw
you hungry or thirsty or a </font><font face="Times New Roman">stranger or naked
or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' </font></font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">45 </font><font face="Times New Roman">Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you
did not do it to </font><font face="Times New Roman">one of the least of these,
you did not do it to me.' </font></font></font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="4"><font color="#0000ff"><font face="Times New Roman">46 And these will
go </font><font face="Times New Roman">away into eternal punishment, but the
righteous into eternal life."</font></font></font></p></div>
<div>The above words of Christ are simple and direct. Upon hearing and/or
reading them one cannot be struck by how far the dribble from Cultmaster Wilson
is not only at variance with them, but totally inconsistent with them. If
by some remote chance the words of Christ are true, then Wilson's followers have
bought expensive tickets for the most unpleasant destination on their afterlife
voyage as a result of their folly.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>One can only hope that the congregants of the Christless Church Cult
will grow tired of depriving themselves and families by financing Wilson's
vanity enterprise, Canon Press.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>If that Happens, do not worry about Jones and Wilson being out of
jobs. Jones would be a perfect fit for the editorship of <em>American
Rodent Monthly</em> and Wilson a prime fit for <em>Expediting Trailer Court
Evictions Journal.</em> And of course, their hack Ed Iverson could
amass wealth by becoming a prolific contributor to <em>Pulp Science Fiction</em>
magazine.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><br>Wayne A. Fox<br>1009 Karen Lane<br>PO Box 9421<br>Moscow, ID
83843</div>
<div> </div>
<div>(208) 882-7975<br><a href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</a><br></div>
<div> </div>
<div>*Previous post about crackpots and their followers:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><b style="">Fantasy versus Reality</b></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><b style="">It is one thing</b> for Cultmaster Douglas
Wilson to write about what he interprets his alleged God has allegedly said or
what his alleged God demands.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">In these cases there is no way to
verify or empirically falsify his claims.<span style="">
</span>They can be falsified by finding internal contradictions and
contradictions with his other writings.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">His claims in these matters are
like the claims of those insisting that unicorns exist.<span style=""> </span>No one can prove that they don't.<span style=""> </span>That is the so-called beauty of fantasy
-- religious or otherwise.<span style="">
</span>Wilson can blather on and on about what the
Bible means and what God demands without fear of falsification, save
inconsistency.<span style=""> </span>Any crackpot can;
any crackpot can even partially convince him/herself that their blather is the
"real truth."<span style=""> </span>Street corners in the
tenderloins of large cities teem with such eccentrics, each shouting their own
particular religious fantasies, some harmless, others toxic.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><b style="">However, it is quite another thing</b> for
Wilson to make
claims about ordinary reality, especially where there is massive, clear, cogent
evidence that makes his claims highly improbable, if not delusional.<span style=""> </span>Such is the case with Wilson's writings on
antebellum slavery.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">The latest post from Juanita
Flores aptly demonstrates that when the Cultmaster ventures into the realm where
professional scholarship, knowledge, acumen, and methodology matter, his extreme
egomaniacal arrogance and his abysmal ignorance really shine for all to
see.<span style=""> </span>Wilson's views on antebellum slavery put him irretrievably
into that "special" class that includes the Holocaust deniers and those that
think flying saucers are going to land to rescue the "Chosen" at end times.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">Not unsurprisingly, there are
some that accept Wilson's highly unlikely views on antebellum
slavery and his other equally or even more dubious claims and
pronouncements.<span style=""> </span>That this belief in
the wildly improbable has occurred in our community and other places despite
Wilson's transpicuous egomania and megalomania is, among other things, a tribute
to Wilson's personal charisma, which causes those enthralled to suspend the use
of their critical judgment, his appalling but highly effective manipulative and
planning skills, and his singular personal persistence in the face of
consistently being shown up as a charlatan.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">Whatever the case, Wilson's claims about the
nature of antebellum slavery give further clear evidence that he is on the
crackpot fringe of the crackpot fringe.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><b style="">But why does the Christ Church Cult Flourish?</b></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">When evaluating the actions,
utterances, and writings of Christ Church Cultmaster Douglas Wilson and its
appeal to some, perhaps it might do well to consider the carefully and
professionally referenced research and writings found in <i style="">Feet of Clay:<span style=""> </span>A Study of Gurus</i> [spiritual leaders]
by Anthony Storr.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: blue;">"Confidence tricksters </span>[who are spiritual
leaders]<span style="color: blue;"> are successful at deception because they are
more than halfway to believing in their own fictions." ... "</span>[and]<span style="color: blue;"> who have no hesitation in deceiving other people and
extracting money from them..."</span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: blue;"> </span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">[With such individuals]<span style="color: blue;">… "We hover on the borderline between confidence trickery
and psychosis."</span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: blue;"> </span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: blue;">"A
contemporary described him </span>[the Bhagwan]<span style="color: blue;"> as
being very bright, but also being a habitual liar."</span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">Many people ask:<span style=""> </span>"If Wilson is really so far off, why does he have a following,
especially in a community like Moscow, Idaho,
where the intelligence and educational level of the populace is likely much
higher than that of the average community?"</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">Information from <i style="">Feet of Clay</i> offers more than just a
hint.<span style=""> </span>In the chapter on the
Bhagwan, we read:</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">In 1985 the Bhagwan's
north-central Oregon settlement had 2,500 permanent
residents and another 2,000 long term visitors.<span style=""> </span>The educational profile of this
group:</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: blue;">83%
were college educated,</span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: blue;">64% had
college degrees,</span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: blue;">36% had
advanced degrees, and</span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: blue;">12% had
doctorates.</span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">Storr refers to research into the
people in the Bhagwan's commune that describes them as being "very
needful."<span style=""> </span>Their strong needs seemed
to be strivings for discovering some deeper "truth" of the universe and/or a way
to escape the contingencies of worldly life, a life which they found
insufficiently rewarding.<span style=""> </span>They
believed that the Bhagwan could deliver them to the "truth" and the way to a
"higher state of being."<span style=""> </span>Thus these
needful people overlooked or forced themselves not to see the Bhagwan's many
obvious failings and dishonesty, nor did they critically question the truth of
his teachings, but swallowed them whole. <span style=""> </span>For example, they were induced to plan
acts like poisoning the municipal water supply of The Dalles, the residents of which city the
Bhagwan had declared their enemies.<span style="">
</span>They even ran a successful test poisoning in one small area of The Dalles by infecting
several salad bars with salmonella.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">Clearly then, <b style="">being intelligent or educated is not an
effective prophylactic against being deceived and taken on an expensive ride
into a toxic fantasy by a predatory, power and wealth-hungry confidence
person.</b><span style=""> </span>[It is useful to
realize that the Bhagwan at one point had accumulated 83 Rolls Royces.<span style=""> </span>His Oregon settlement was described as being run
like a concentration camp.<span style=""> </span>It
abounded with intrusive spying devices and agents to root out possible
dissenters and doubters, alleged dissenters and doubters who were subsequently
treated to very harsh measures should they not repent of their dissent and
doubt.<span style=""> </span>The structure and operation
of the Christ Church Cult ward system comes to mind in this regard.]</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">In his assessment of successful,
but manipulative spiritual leaders Storr is in sync with a large body of
research by psychologists and mental health professionals:</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">Short term, limited in scope
fantasies are generally normal and mostly healthy coping mechanisms people use
to deal with immediate problems of various kinds.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">However, long term, large in
scope fantasies, raise the question of pathology.<span style=""> </span>This is especially so of long term,
large in scope fantasies which are not subject to verification or to
falsification.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">The question of pathology depends
on the effects a particular long term, large in scope fantasy has on its
believers' ability to function and on the effects that the believers' actions
have on society.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">Long term, large in scope
fantasies which are merely palliative and/or inspirational and which inspire no
or little harm, or which might even promote generally accepted secular good for
society are <b style="">not</b> generally considered
pathological by many professionals in the field.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">However, other such fantasies
which advocate or bring unjustifiable harm or depletion of assets to the
believers, advocate or bring harm to selected targets of the believers, or
advocate or bring harm, sometimes massive harm, to society, are rightly
considered <b style="">pathological</b>.<span style=""> </span>Current newsworthy examples of believers
in long term, large in scope <b style="">pathological </b>fantasies would include
members of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">For the sake of saving words,
henceforth such<b style=""> pathological</b>, long
term, large in scope fantasies will simply be called<b style=""> toxic fantasies</b> for the purposes
hereinafter.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">The fantasy promulgated by
Cultmaster Douglas Wilson includes plans for a instituting a theocracy to govern
all of the world's inhabitants, and which theocracy would result in the
execution of most of such inhabitants.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><a href="http://www.credenda.org/old/issues/vol3/magi3-11.htm" target="_blank">http://www.credenda.org//old/issues/vol3/magi3-11.htm</a></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><i><a href="http://www.credenda.org/old/issues/vol3/magi3-9.htm" target="_blank"><span style="">http://www.credenda.org/old/issues/vol3/magi3-9.htm</span></a></i></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">Wilson's long term, large in scale fantasy is
certainly pathological as defined above, and thus is a toxic fantasy.<span style=""> </span>It is toxic in other well known
ways.<span style=""> </span>For example, its toxicity
shows in the justification of his and other cult members' otherwise
unjustifiable, dishonest, sometimes illegal actions by the Doctrine of
Covenantal Dishonesty.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">Those falling prey to toxic
fantasies promulgated by a manipulative leader suspend their critical evaluation
tools with respect to these fantasies.<span style="">
</span>They do this because they are in situations where such toxic fantasies
may offer escape from pain and distress, were something deeply implanted into
them in childhood, appeal to other deeply felt needs, may give satisfaction not
easily found in other ways, and/or seem to offer the promise of realizing
something "far better" than is afforded by ordinary, worldly life.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">The needs of those captured by
toxic fantasies are so strong that they make such needful, many times naďve,
uncritical, and/or submissive people, easy prey for unscrupulous, exploiting
flimflamers, some of whom may even partially believe their own hooks and lines
of deception.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">It is important to remember this
about these toxic fantasies:<span style=""> </span>They
are neither verifiable nor falsifiable, save for logical inconsistency.<span style=""> </span>If any were so, there would not be
nearly so much room for disagreement, and hence, there would not be the great
variety of such incompatible, competing toxic fantasies.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""><b style="">There are a minimum of tens of thousands of
these toxic fantasies, each different from and inconsistent with the others,
each with followers who "know" they have found the "truth," and who have made
the "leap of faith" to one particular toxic fantasy.<span style=""> </span>This disconcerting, but telling fact
apparently neither occurs to, bothers, nor mildly stirs the critical faculties
of those committed to one of these particular toxic fantasies.<span style=""> </span></b>Such is the power of strong needs
and the usefulness of knowing how to exploit these strong needs for gains of
personal wealth and power by egocentric, megalomaniacal, sociopathic, and/or
psychopathic spiritual leaders.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">Occasionally, one of the
followers of a particular toxic fantasy promulgated by an unscrupulous exploiter
awakens from their acritical, submissive state and realizes the ignominy of the
situation they find themselves in.<span style="">
</span>When this happens, they become pariahs from the point of view of the
remaining believers of that particular toxic fantasy.<span style=""> </span>The remaining believers often go to
great lengths to discredit and to harm the apostate, often dishonestly with
little or nor remorse, and whether such vengeful tactics are prohibited by
beliefs found in their particular fantasy or not.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">Sometimes, however, the escapees
from a particular toxic fantasy are successful at opening the eyes of some of
the still committed and still exploited, and thus an exodus occurs despite the
security and control measures of the organization promulgating the toxic
fantasy.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">Will this happen in Moscow, Idaho?</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="">Stay tuned.</p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style=""> </p></div></div>
<div> </div>
<div>----- Original Message -----
<div>From: "Saundra Lund" <<a href="mailto:sslund@roadrunner.com">sslund@roadrunner.com</a>></div>
<div>To: <<a href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</a>></div>
<div>Sent: Monday, April 09, 2007 5:54 PM</div>
<div>Subject: [Vision2020] HIS VIEW: What Christians should repent of (and
why)</div></div>
<div><br></div>> HIS VIEW: What Christians should repent of (and why)<br>>
<br>> By Kurt Queller<br>> <br>> Monday, April 9, 2007 - Page Updated
at 12:00:00 AM<br>> <br>> <br>> A good deal has been printed on these
pages of late, purporting to reflect a<br>> bold countercultural witness to
the truths of Christianity. The litany<br>> includes screeds against
homosexuality, complaints about perceived<br>> persecution of Christians, and
scornful dismissals of consensus scientific<br>> views in biology and
climatology as merely reflecting alternative<br>> "religious"
perspectives.<br>> <br>> Lost amidst all the contentious culture-war
rhetoric is any clear testimony<br>> to the saving power of Christ in a
suffering world. Some find the continual<br>> chest-thumping and
finger-pointing entertaining; others find it repulsive.<br>> Either way, the
effects on Christian public witness are profoundly<br>> destructive.<br>>
<br>> As an evangelical myself, I have two simple pleas for my
co-religionists.<br>> First: can we stop whining? American Christians are not
a persecuted<br>> minority. Pretending that we are, while luridly invoking
the Roman emperor<br>> Nero's torture of Christians, might give us a
delicious sense of vicarious<br>> participation in the early martyrs' heroic
witness. In the public square,<br>> however, such self-indulgent foolishness
can serve only as a tool for<br>> counter-evangelism.<br>> <br>> Listen
up, brothers and sisters: Christian witness isn't about you. Nor is<br>> it
about those mean, intolerant secularists who supposedly persecute you.<br>>
It's about bringing the good news that Jesus preached and embodied to
people<br>> who don't know it. This absurd rhetorical posturing, with its
mingling of<br>> delusional self-pity and complacent self-celebration, in no
way serves that<br>> purpose.<br>> <br>> Second: can we stop bashing
gays? They aren't responsible for our family<br>> values issues. Infidelity,
child abuse, failure to be responsible parents -<br>> all (as Douglas Wilson
grants) are fundamentally heterosexual problems.<br>> <br>> But what are
we to make of attempts to turn Paul's letter to the Romans into<br>> an
argument that gays reflect God's wrath against American Christians,<br>>
because of our heterosexual sins? Only by "owning the curse" of<br>>
homosexuality and repenting of our own heterosexual sins, Douglas Jones
and<br>> Wilson argue (Credenda/Agenda 16:2), can American Christians turn
away<br>> divine wrath. Tactically conceding a possible genetic basis
for<br>> non-heterosexual orientation - the Almighty may after all choose any
means,<br>> including genetics, to smite a nation - Jones and Wilson urge
American<br>> Christians to abjure gay-baiting and accept their own
chastisement. Only so,<br>> they argue, may the homosexual curse be averted,
and America restored.<br>> <br>> In short, gays exist so that they may
cease to exist. It's not about them;<br>> it's all about us. Such
self-absorption might be laughable - if it didn't<br>> exact a real human
toll. Can't we worry a bit less about our own exalted<br>> role in God's
plans to redeem America, and more about the effects of our<br>> rhetoric on
simple human persons? Suicide rates among our gay teenagers are<br>>
inordinately high. Grandiose theological arguments about a need to expiate
a<br>> homosexual "curse" are not entirely responsible. But they don't
help.<br>> <br>> What about public witness? When Christians continually
fulminate in the<br>> public square over how the "deviant" among us might
provoke - or reflect -<br>> divine wrath against the community at large, it
offers an image of<br>> Christianity that non-Christians can only understand
as profoundly<br>> Pharisaical. What sort of evangelical witness is
this?<br>> <br>> Paul's letter to the Romans indeed began with a
condemnation of gentile<br>> sexual depravity. Heterosexual men were
routinely betraying their wives with<br>> boy prostitutes and slaves. Such
behavior was widely and justly condemned in<br>> antiquity. But that wasn't
Paul's real point.<br>> <br>> Like the prologue in Amos, Paul's prologue
in Romans is a set-up. Having<br>> played upon believers' righteous
indignation over characteristic gentile<br>> sins, Paul turns to address
their own hypocrisy. In chapter two of Romans,<br>> he scathingly critiques
the covenant people's proclivity for<br>> self-congratulation and
judgmentalism. Our public witness, he says, causes<br>> God's name to be
blasphemed among non-believers. Why should they care to<br>> know about the
sort of God to which our rhetoric purports to bear witness?<br>> <br>> If
we do concede that nonheterosexual orientation is for some persons<br>>
biologically given, we should also concede that Paul, who was unaware of<br>>
this phenomenon, probably never addressed it. But his primary point,<br>>
regarding the harm done by believers through self-righteous
finger-pointing<br>> and querulous self-absorption, addresses us
unambiguously. This, says Paul's<br>> prologue in Romans, is the
characteristic sin of the faithful. Let's repent<br>> of it now, before we do
any further damage.<br>> <br>> Kurt Queller holds a doctorate in
linguistics from Stanford University and<br>> teaches in the English
department at the University of Idaho. He is a member<br>> of Emmanuel
Lutheran in Moscow (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America).<br>> <br>>
<br>> <br>>
=======================================================<br>> List
services made available by First Step Internet, <br>> serving the
communities of the Palouse since 1994.
<br>>
<a href="http://www.fsr.net" target="_blank">http://www.fsr.net</a>
<br>> <a href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com</a><br>>
=======================================================<br>>
</blockquote><br /><hr />i'm making a difference. Make every IM count for the cause of your choice. <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/MSN/go/msnnkwme0080000001msn/direct/01/?href=http://im.live.com/messenger/im/home/?source=wlmailtagline' target='_new'>Join Now.</a></body>
</html>