Let me preface this post by saying I don't have all the answers and I do not know exactly what Jesus would do in this situation. But, I do know that the love of Christ extends to every individual on the face of the earth because of the shed blood of Christ.
I woke up this morning, ate my vegetarian breakfast, called AppleCare to get a replacement iPhone, and then opened up by my computer to see what was happening on Facebook. Two things caught my eye.
First, the Susan G. Komen Foundation had a 100% increase in donations because it cut ties with Planned Parenthood and then proceeded to reverse its decision and fund Planned Parenthood again because of letters from 22 Democrat Senators. I have so many questions about this that I don't even know where to begin.
Second, One Million Moms, a part of the American Family Association (AFA), sent a letter to JCPenny (JCP) asking them to fire Ellen Degeneres because she is openly gay. They claim she does not represent the traditional family model that the majority of families who shop at JCP represents and therefore most families will stop shopping at JCP because of it. You can read more about the details here.
When I first read this, I was honestly torn. Let me state a few things I believe about homosexuality.
The AFA is an openly Christian organization. I wholeheartedly believe in standing up for what's right, but I can't help but believe that this stance is going to cause more harm than good amongst the gay and lesbian community towards Christianity. The language OMM uses seems condescending, not loving and truth-filled: "Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families. More sales will be lost than gained unless they replace their spokesperson quickly." (http://onemillionmoms.com/IssueDetail.asp?id=436)
The message of Jesus Christ is first and foremost love. Love that includes grace, forgiveness, mercy, hope and purpose; but also judgement, discipline, and truth. You can't have one part of love without the other.
1 John 3: 18-19
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. (biblegateway.com)
For a Christian group like OMM to make a stance that seems arrogant and prideful towards one lesbian, to me doesn't seem like the love of Christ at work. Like I said before, standing up for what you believe is essential, but we must learn to communicate it in a loving way as well. If we (disciples of Christ) can not learn to communicate the love that we have received and undeservedly get to experience on a daily basis, we will always be a stumbling block for those seeking to find the love, hope, salvation, and purpose that is found within our Creator.
What do you think?
Is the language OMM uses necessary to communicate their stance?
Does standing up for what they believe in send a louder, more important message to the American culture?
I woke up this morning, ate my vegetarian breakfast, called AppleCare to get a replacement iPhone, and then opened up by my computer to see what was happening on Facebook. Two things caught my eye.
First, the Susan G. Komen Foundation had a 100% increase in donations because it cut ties with Planned Parenthood and then proceeded to reverse its decision and fund Planned Parenthood again because of letters from 22 Democrat Senators. I have so many questions about this that I don't even know where to begin.
Second, One Million Moms, a part of the American Family Association (AFA), sent a letter to JCPenny (JCP) asking them to fire Ellen Degeneres because she is openly gay. They claim she does not represent the traditional family model that the majority of families who shop at JCP represents and therefore most families will stop shopping at JCP because of it. You can read more about the details here.
When I first read this, I was honestly torn. Let me state a few things I believe about homosexuality.
- I DO NOT BELIEVE HAVING SAME-SEX ATTRACTIONS IS A SIN. Like any other temptation, the sin lies within the thoughts and actions we choose. i.e. Being attracted to a male or female is not a sin, however, lusting is.
- I have the same love for the gay and lesbian community that I have for everyone else who has been created by God.
- I believe the establishment of marriage set up by the Creator God, that I believe in, is very important to the holistic health of society.
- I believe that the practice of homosexuality is a sin along with any other action that goes against the natural order in which God created the world.
- I believe this natural order has been wounded and broken due to the entering of sin and disobedience into the world.
- I do believe that people could be born gay because of the brokenness in our world. I believe we are all born with different levels of tendencies towards certain unnatural desires regarding sexuality, eating, substances, etc.
The message of Jesus Christ is first and foremost love. Love that includes grace, forgiveness, mercy, hope and purpose; but also judgement, discipline, and truth. You can't have one part of love without the other.
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. (biblegateway.com)
For a Christian group like OMM to make a stance that seems arrogant and prideful towards one lesbian, to me doesn't seem like the love of Christ at work. Like I said before, standing up for what you believe is essential, but we must learn to communicate it in a loving way as well. If we (disciples of Christ) can not learn to communicate the love that we have received and undeservedly get to experience on a daily basis, we will always be a stumbling block for those seeking to find the love, hope, salvation, and purpose that is found within our Creator.
What do you think?
Is the language OMM uses necessary to communicate their stance?
Does standing up for what they believe in send a louder, more important message to the American culture?
Good post Pete. I don't think you had to include the disclaimer at the top. I understand why you did, but to me, there's no question that OMM is ridiculous in this case.
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing seems like the classic problem of Christian's singling out homosexuality as the most pernicious and destructive sin in our society. Like you, I understand that they want to protect Biblical values in our country. I respect that, I do too. But is homosexuality in our culture really what is ruining families?
Last I checked, the divorce rate in our country--and our churches!--was over 50%. Ron Sider has said that the biggest failure in the Christians of his generation has been their lack of respect for the sacrament of marriage. What's destroying families is whatever is linked to kids having to grow up in divided homes. If we're going to criticize JC Penny, let's criticize their propagation of materialism and the lie that if you want it, you can have it. That has a bigger impact on our culture's selfishness and tendency within families towards divorce than homosexuality.
But maybe OMM would say that Ellen is a bad example for our kids by promoting an unhealthy lifestyle and that JC Penny shouldn't put her on their platform. Again, is Ellen more likely to lead a kid to think that he/she is gay, or their parent's example of an abusive and selfish heterosexual marriage?
OMM simply has the wrong focus. If homosexuality was the biggest threat to our families, then by all means, protest. But it isn't, it's just the most convenient. Why not come down on JC Penny for the human rights abuses that lead to their low prices? . Because that would require real change and real action? Because that might require OMM to think beyond our borders about the moms and dads and sisters and brothers working in sweat shops to make our plush lives possible? I'm not trying to say that figuring out how to live morally in a privileged economy is an easy thing--but the worst thing we can do is ignore the hard questions. OMM is opting for a simple, easy answer to a complex problem of how to protect families, in our country and the world. They think they're on the front lines, but they show they have no clue where the battles really lie.
I'm right there with you, Peter. As you said, OMM is "well-intended" in this case, or at least they think they are, but they're only fueling a deluded point of view that homosexuality is a greater sin than others. Matthew 7:3-5--who are they--who are WE--to judge?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Will all the way, when he said, "OMM is opting for a simple, easy answer to a complex problem"
ReplyDeleteThere is certainly a "plank in the eye" situation going on with many Christians who make homosexuality the most important "issue". I always become very uneasy when people uses violent language/metaphors to interact with what they see as cultural threats. Not surprisingly to me, in their letter to JCP, OMM asked the company to "stay neutral in the cultural war."
Honestly, to me, OMM's reaction seems like very real discrimination. Going back to some of Will's point, if the spokes person, was an actor who had an extramarital affair, I wonder if they would make such a petition. And although I haven't seen such, if this group is using scripture to support their movement, I would accuse them of a level of spiritual abuse by using the bible to support such an act of discrimination.
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ReplyDeleteCheck it:
ReplyDeleteEllen's response.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/327359/the-ellen-show-ellen-addresses-her-jcpenney-critics