NY Times Gets Gay In Raleigh
It's not often there's a story from Raleigh on the front page of the New York Times, but it looks like Tuesday's edition taps into an anxious vein of North Carolina's evangelical heart.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Justin Lee believes that the Virgin birth was real, that there is a heaven and a hell, that salvation comes through Christ alone and that he, the 29-year-old son of Southern Baptists, is an evangelical Christian. Just as he is certain about the tenets of his faith, Mr. Lee also knows he is gay, that he did not choose it and cannot change it.
To many people, Mr. Lee is a walking contradiction, and most evangelicals and gay people alike consider Christians like him horribly deluded about their faith. “I’ve gotten hate mail from both sides,” said Mr. Lee, who runs Gay Christian, a Web site with 4,700 registered users that mostly attracts gay evangelicals.
As you'd expect the article quickly devolves in a weird version of he-said he-said, with one wing of the evangelical fringe saying the other wing doesn't understand what the Bible really means:
But for most evangelicals, gay men and lesbians cannot truly be considered Christian, let alone evangelical.
“If by gay evangelical is meant someone who claims both to abide by the authority of Scripture and to engage in a self-affirming manner in homosexual unions, then the concept gay evangelical is a contradiction,” Robert A. J. Gagnon, associate professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, said in an e-mail message.
“Scripture clearly, pervasively, strongly, absolutely and counterculturally opposes all homosexual practice,” Dr. Gagnon said. “I trust that gay evangelicals would argue otherwise, but Christian proponents of homosexual practice have not made their case from Scripture.”
In fact, both sides look to Scripture. The debate is largely over seven passages in the Bible about same-sex couplings. Mr. Gagnon and other traditionalists say those passages unequivocally condemn same-sex couplings.
I grew up with this crap and all I can say is this: I hope no one shows up here at BlueNC declaring s/he's not going to vote for somebody for president because the candidate is a gay evangelical. That would be deja vu all over again, and I can't take another flame war anytime soon.
- James Protzman's blog
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I just LOVE this flag
In fact, I have one from Italy that has P A C E embroidered. I fly it alternately with my UN flag.
Our US flag mostly goes up on July 4th and Veterans Day. And every now and then I fly it upside down or at half-mast to make note of particular concerns. Upside down is the international symbol for distress, which is how I've felt for about six years now.
The flag near my old home in San Francisco
18th and Market Rainbow Flag
(not my photo)
The thing is huge.
--
Town Called Dobson - Daily Political Cartoon: Not all is red in rural America!
We recently drove past a large cemetery in Southern Pines
and the flag was flying upside down. It was my 17 year old son who informed me of that significance. How I got to be as old as I am without knowing that is beyond me.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Ghandi
Evangelical Gays seem to trade one hateful dogma for another
As a Reform Gay Jew I don't face the same conundrum as those profiled in this article. The Reform temple in Charlotte is very progressive and gay friendly. I can respect someone who has strong faith but I don't see the point in staying in a group that loathes you. I also have a problem with Evangelicals judging other religions. Especially with Gays that do. They should have the decency to respect Gays of other faiths instead of believing that Jews and Muslims are hellbound. In that sense they are just as bigoted as the homophobic Christians they fight against. NC is lucky to have several gay friendly churches in most major cities. If they are "too liberal" for Evangelical Gays then let them stay and be miserable in unaccepting congregations,their loss.
On the 4th of July in 2005, the shrub asked all to fly the flag
to show their support of the troops. I wanted to fly ours upside down but hubby wouldn't let me and we had a pretty big argument over that! He said it was disrespectful to the troops, I said that it was a sign of distress which is the condition of the troops, then and now...what do you think...was he right?
ps i just decided not to fly the flag at all
No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.
I don't buy all the crap about troops
Many of them, maybe even most, know they've been played for chumps. They know Americans aren't "against" them. They know who the real criminals are. They know the US is, indeed, in distress. Hubby was wrong.
So far we only have a couple of adulterers running
no gay evangelicals....but give the GOP a chance. They're working up to it. :)
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
All That's Gay Is Not Grim In North Carolina
Please note a recent article by Ethan Ribalkin,a columnist in Vancouver Canada, commenting on North Carolina, old time religion and the acceptance of gays.
Sing if You're Glad to be Gay
Every now and then I remember this song by Tom Robinson:
Glad to be Gay. I heard it live in the late 70's and it's still powerful.
This is an mp3 provided free by Tom Robinson: