From the United Church of Christ

[kslib]

I'm not a member (in fact I'm agnostic and belong to no church), but a friend's mother sent this to me, and I thought that it was worth posting. I know it's longer than usually allowed, but I don't have a link, just the forward. I'm sure I'll get some anti-Xtian flame, but here goes....

By The Rev. William Sloane Coffin
>
>At my age, I harbor far fewer illusions than I did in younger years.
>Still, I was shocked by the refusal of NBC and CBS to air a TV ad by
>the United Church of Christ. The UCC is a mainline, Protestant
>denomination of 1.3 million members who gather in some 6,000
>congregations across the country.
>
>There was nothing unseemly or hateful about the ad; quite the
>contrary. In effect, it said that there are no outsiders to a God
>who created all humankind, and as Christ himself was the soul of
>hospitality, a faithful church strives to be inclusive. Pictured
>among a variety of people who have been hurt by exclusion were two
>men walking hand in hand.
>
>Inevitably, in a homophobic society, many people feel uncomfortable
>with displays of same-sex affection. But their comfort is not the
>issue. At issue is the discomfort of gays and lesbians who for years
>have been isolated, silenced, abused, and killed. The image of
>Matthew Shepard hanging on a Wyoming fence still burns in many
>American minds and hearts.
>
>So NBC and CBS were guilty not only of censorship but also of
>insensitivity to considerable suffering. No doubt, the networks
>feared a right-wing backlash. It is true that such leaders of the
>Religious Right as Jerry Fallwell, Pat Robertson, and Gary Bauer
>repudiate violent forms of homophobia. But to deplore the violence,
>while continuing to proclaim the ideas that undergird it, strikes
>thoughtful people as hypocritical. Seeds of disrespect all too often
>blossom into hatred and violence.
>
>The UCC properly implied that millions of American Christians are at
>odds with the Christian Right. They know that the Biblical book of
>Leviticus forbids homosexual relations. They are also aware that the
>same book condemns barbequed ribs and Monday Night Football for it
>is "toevah" - an abomination - not only to eat pork but merely to
>touch the skin of a dead pig.
>
>In reality, there are no biblical literalists, only selective
>literalists. By abolishing slavery and ordaining women, millions of
>Protestants have gone far beyond biblical literalism. It's time we
>did the same for homophobia.
>
>Homosexuality was not a big issue for Biblical writers. All told,
>there are only seven verses in 66 books that refer to it. Nowhere in
>the four gospels is it ever mentioned. Not everything Biblical is
>Christ-like, and verses involving more hate than love have no place
>whatsoever in the human heart. For Christians, the problem is not
>how to reconcile homosexuality with the scriptural passages that
>condemn it, but how to reconcile the rejection and abuse of
>homosexuals with the love of Christ. The UCC ad claims that it can,
>and must be done.
>
>In a Washington, D.C., cemetery, on the gravestone of a Vietnam
>veteran, it is written, "When I was in the military, they gave me a
>medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one."
>
>Is a man loving another immutably immoral? Cannot Hamlet once again
>persuade a reluctant Horatio that "there are more things in heaven
>and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy?"

[IrateCitizen]

1. WSC is an example of the postive influence possible from religion

He is a tremendously flawed man in his personal life, but he was one of the figures primarily responsible for getting Northern whites involved in the Civil Rights movement while chaplain at Yale.

And I think he's spot-on WRT this flap.

[kslib]

3. I'd never heard of him.

but thought the writing was inspired!

[IrateCitizen]

5. He was head pastor at Riverside Church in NYC...

from 1977-1987. He's a big figure on the "religious left". One of the good guys.

[mwb970]

2. Very interesting, thanks for posting this... (n/t)

[Extend a Hand]

4. you can see the banned add and sign a petition

protesting the banning of this add here.

http://www.accessibleairwaves.org/

[kslib]

6. Thanks! n/t

[ktowntennesseedem]

7. Great post! Thank you for sharing it.

Makes some very strong arguments for the "pick-and-choose" theology that those on the right are so notorious for. We all do to an extent, IMO; but they make such grand proclamations for believing all of the bible, the level of hypocrisy rises every time they open their mouths.

[kslib]

8. As a non-believer

it's really hard to remember that the fanatical RWers are not speaking for the whole faith. It's really easy for me to tune out or get in defense-mode every time I hear the word "Christ" or "God" come out of someone's mouth. Also equally easy to immediately dislike someone who has a Jesus-fish. Guess this was a reality check for me, and really made me examine my inner-workings. :think: