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At Amistad we value
diversity and are Open & Affirming
of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Persons in all areas of our
church life and ministry.
See the Center for
Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry
for comments on
the death of the Rev. Jerry Falwell on May 15, 2007.
The following exchanges
took place on the editorial pages (print and online) of
The
Reporter and are © Copyright, The Reporter, Vacaville, California, 95688.
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"More to it than reproduction"
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June 2, 2007
Reporter Editor:
One of your letter writers ("Legislation can't change
nature," The Reporter, April 21) notes that male and female
reproductive organs fit together and are able to reproduce. I
myself have noted this same fact.
But the fit of female and male
genitalia does not lead me to conclude, as she does, that nature
only smiles on heterosexual relationships, marriages and families.
Reproduction is not the only value
that matters when it comes to blessing marriages and celebrating
families.
The Hebrew Bible notes that God created humankind in the divine
image, male and female, and blessed them and said to them,
"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue
it" (Genesis 1:27-28a).
But reproduction run amok threatens
our very life on this planet. I believe the still-speaking God has
recently said: "Stop! Enough of filling the earth and
subduing it. Mission accomplished! Now start taking better care of
the Earth and of one another."
If marriage must of necessity lead
to a baby carriage, as the old song would suggest, then of course
we would never bless or sanction the marriage of couples who
choose to remain childless, or to adopt their children; we would
never legalize marriage between people past the age of
childbearing.
Such a suggestion is offensive. So,
too, is the suggestion that same-gender couples are not entitled
to the civil rights and privileges of marriage simply because
their genitalia don't fit together in a certain way.
Assembly Bill 43 - the Religious
Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act - is indeed a civil
rights issue. I urge your readers to consider it as such.
Marian Conning, Vacaville
The author is pastor of Amistad
United Church of Christ in Vacaville.
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"Christians can't
live as gays"
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June 15, 2006
Reporter Editor:
In response to Karen Nolan's article ("Sharing His
Story," The Reporter, June 10) about former National
Football League player Esera Tuaolo, the article correctly
states three truths. Tuaolo was an NFL player. He is an
"out of the closet" gay man. And he is a man of faith.
The only false statement made is
that his faith is a "Christian" faith.
In my view, Mr. Tuaolo is a
believer in the church of godless liberalism, which is
absolutely Christ-less and which makes it absolutely
non-Christian in every sense of the word. It is a faith and hope
in an idea that we can live any way we choose without any
consequences of our sin, and it refuses to see sin as God sees
our sin.
Its false prophets, such as the
pastor of the church where Mr. Tuaolo was invited to speak, defy
the truth of God's word and call it a lie.
The entire purpose of this faith
is to cause people whom God truly loves to die in their sins
believing in its shameful lies so that they never enter into the
promise of abundant and eternal life.
The rainbow was God's promise to
mankind. It was never intended to be a source of
"pride" and defiance for any act of sin or rebellion.
God does love Mr. Tuaolo. He
loves him so much that he sent his son to die on the cross for
Mr. Tuaolo's sins and for the sins of the rest of mankind.
The death of Jesus made it
possible for every sinner, no matter what our sins are, to be
freed from those sins so that we all may live lives that bring
glory and honor to God.
Steve Hausler, Vacaville
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| Another
way to look at gays and Christianity |
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June 17, 2006
Reporter Editor:
A letter writer ("Christians
can't live as gays," The Reporter, June 15) outlines his
Christian faith: Scripture as the literal word of God and the
crucifixion as a blood sacrifice for human sin so that we may be
forgiven and live forever with Jesus in heaven. I think that is a
clear summary of what many Christians believe.
Progressive Christians, however,
believe that the Bible, while filled with wisdom and
divinely-inspired story, is a collection of human documents
reflecting the ancient cultures out of which they came - thus the
biblical biases against women and in favor of slavery.
We believe that it is our
responsibility to use our God-given intelligence to take the Bible
seriously through study and interpretation, but not necessarily to
take it literally. (And let me note that as we study and
interpret, we notice that the Bible says much more about what we
should do with our money than it does about what we should do with
our sexuality.)
We believe that the ongoing
presence of Jesus among us calls us to work for justice within
families, communities, nations, social structures and the
environment.
We believe that the Holy Spirit
enlivens our work for justice and peace.
Most of us believe that eternal
life has more to do with a dimension of life, rather than with its
duration.
As for Christians living as gays,
we believe that a godly sexual ethic has more to do with how one
treats one's partner than with the gender of the partner.
And finally, we believe that God is
still speaking.
Marian Conning, Vacaville
The author is pastor of Amistad
United Church of Christ in Vacaville. |
| 'False
prophet' defends views |
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June 17, 2006
Reporter Editor:
Sigh ... As the "false
prophet" cited in a recent letter to the editor
("Christians can't live as gays," The Reporter, June
15), I would like to respond.
I couldn't help but think when
reading this letter that its author would have fit right in with
the Pharisees who condemned Jesus for eating and drinking with
sinners.
As our church's guest speaker,
Esera Tuaolo, said in his recent autobiography, "Alone in the
Trenches, My Life as a Gay Man in the NFL": "Jesus loved
everyone. He died on the cross for everyone not just for straight
people, but for all people. Some Christians try to exclude some
groups from the blood of Christ, but Jesus didn't."
One of the dictionary definitions
of "liberal" is "kind, open hearted and
generous." Oh for a world where those were the first words
one thought of when hearing the word "Christian."
The God I know is in the words of
the psalmist, "a compassionate and gracious God, slow to
anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." If that makes me
a false prophet, so be it.
As we say at my church,
"Whoever you are, where ever you are on life's journey, know
that you are welcome in this church. Jesus welcomes you and so do
we."
Jerry DeJong, Vallejo
The author is pastor of the
First Samoan and Suisun Congregational United Church of Christ in
Suisun City. |
| Sad
comment about Christianity |
| June 20,
2006
Reporter Editor:
The letter "Christians Can't Live as Gays" (The
Reporter, June 15) written in response to Esera Tuaolo, a former
NFL player who is a gay Christian, is sad and full of
narrow-minded hate.
In the 2,000 years since the death
of Jesus, we still don't get his message.
What possible difference could it
make for two men, two women, or a man and a women to have a
relationship and raise a family, such as the one Mr. Tuaolo
describes.
His children are being raised
learning love and respect for people of all faiths, sexual
orientations and cultures. Isn't that the message Jesus brought
us?
I don't think Jesus died for our
sins. I think he died because the authorities in those days feared
his message of love and respect.
I think he died hoping we would
learn to live together no matter our status or position.
And in our world, if it takes
legalizing marriage for all so all families receive equal
protection, then let's do it.
I would much prefer to attend Mr.
Tuaolo's church than the letter writer's.
John Working, Vacaville |
| Who gets
to decide who can live as a Christian? |
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June 23, 2006
Reporter Editor:
In response to the article about former NFL football player Esera
Tuaolo ("Sharing his story," The Reporter, June 10) and
subsequent letter to the editor, ("Christians can't live as
gays," The Reporter, June 15): Evidently, the letter writer
sees himself as the self-appointed expert on who can live as a
Christian. He should examine his attitude about who can express
Christian faith and realize that he is not the expert here and
that no such person exists.
His self-righteous, fundamentalist
attitude is the bane of Christianity.
Homosexuality has been with the
world forever. It crosses every culture, race and religion, which
only shows - as does reliable scientific data - that homosexuality
is not a choice. It is who people are and the way God made them.
Think about it. What masochistic
person in his right mind would choose to be gay in our homophobic
world? And what day in the letter writer's life did he wake up and
say to himself, "I think I'll choose to be a straight
heterosexual man"? I doubt he ever did. It's simply who he
is.
Many homosexuals are very gifted,
artistic, sensitive people (think Cole Porter, Truman Capote,
Elton John), which also proves God's love and blessings on them.
We should all try to remember that
Christianity is about is non-judgmental love and acceptance for
all of God's diverse people. And, by the way, I am a heterosexual
female, although I can't for the life of me remember when I chose
that for myself.
Joan Freer-Thor, Vacaville |
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