One of the things I’ve always thought we have done quite poorly as Christians who live in a political world is to use the tools of the revisionist activists against them.
Let me give you one example among hundreds. In The Episcopal Church you have masses of special-interest groups pretending to be about far far more than the special-interest political group that they serve. So, for instance, you have the group “Anglican Women’s Empowerment,” founded by revisionist activist Phoebe Griswold, wife of Frank Griswold. She and her little group natter about the world purporting to be about “Anglican Women” on a global basis, when in reality it’s yet another Political Activist Group for revisionist Anglican women lobbying for liberal causes, while claiming the mantle of being about “Anglican Women” as a whole. I’ve always wondered where the *conservative* Episcopal woman is out there who creates a mirror group, only for, you know, conservative Anglican women, lobbying for conservative causes.
There are literally *scores* of such groups in TEC alone, all flying the banner of being about this or that big large demographic, but in reality representing a teensy fringe group of activists lobbying for their particular cause serving that teensy fringe group.
At any rate, for decades now, we’ve been treated to the moans and bleats of hapless gay activists who have claimed that their particular minority sexual attraction is special and needs to be accommodated in the form of the church providing acknowledgement, special favor, approval, and blessings for their behavior. They have largely traded on the “lo, the helpless minority victim” mystique, and it’s been fairly successful in the dreadful exhibitionist displays that masquerade as our TEC General Conventions.
For the above two reasons, and for one more, I was thrilled to see a project that Peter Ould [friend of this blog, even though a redcoat] has been working on launched this past week—Living Out. Wow—it is a stunning resource for Christians who experience same-sex-attraction—a big strength is the direct, 5-6 minute video-testimonies from people who experience same-sex-attraction and who are committed Christians, following Jesus.
It completely pulverizes the notion that once somebody recognizes their SSA they must therefore drape the identity of “gay” on their lives and relationships and activities.
As I mentioned above, the set of people it is most going to enrage are the revisionist activists in the Church of England and The Episcopal Church. You can imagine how the existence of such people—and especially their public actions and speech—quite punctures their insistence that the Church *must* change its doctrine and practice in order to be “pastoral” to others. They’ll be spending a lot of time hissing, spitting, and clawing, once they find out about it—because there’s not much else, reasonably, that they can do to respond to it.
But the third reason I like it is because it’s encouraging to Christians—all of us. Each of us struggles with besetting attractions to sinful behavior. There’s not a one of us who doesn’t. When I see other Christians dealing with their own temptations with joy, strength, openness, and courage, it inspires me to do the same. For Christians experiencing same-sex-attraction, this is a great resource because they need to see other people doing what they’re trying to do. It can be lonely thinking you’re the only one.
And for the rest of us who don’t experience same-sex-attraction—well, we struggle to maintain sexual health as well, and struggle with a bunch of other temptations too. We’re lonely too, and wonder if we’re crazy to resist the temptations we face and strive for healing.
My hat’s off to these folks. It’s a great resource, they’re courageous to offer it, and I’ll be able to use this site in my engagement with calm, curious, secular non-Christians who will be interested in it.
Oh yes. They have a Facebook page too—so go like that, if you’re on Facebook.
Let me give you one example among hundreds. In The Episcopal Church you have masses of special-interest groups pretending to be about far far more than the special-interest political group that they serve. So, for instance, you have the group “Anglican Women’s Empowerment,” founded by revisionist activist Phoebe Griswold, wife of Frank Griswold. She and her little group natter about the world purporting to be about “Anglican Women” on a global basis, when in reality it’s yet another Political Activist Group for revisionist Anglican women lobbying for liberal causes, while claiming the mantle of being about “Anglican Women” as a whole. I’ve always wondered where the *conservative* Episcopal woman is out there who creates a mirror group, only for, you know, conservative Anglican women, lobbying for conservative causes.
There are literally *scores* of such groups in TEC alone, all flying the banner of being about this or that big large demographic, but in reality representing a teensy fringe group of activists lobbying for their particular cause serving that teensy fringe group.
At any rate, for decades now, we’ve been treated to the moans and bleats of hapless gay activists who have claimed that their particular minority sexual attraction is special and needs to be accommodated in the form of the church providing acknowledgement, special favor, approval, and blessings for their behavior. They have largely traded on the “lo, the helpless minority victim” mystique, and it’s been fairly successful in the dreadful exhibitionist displays that masquerade as our TEC General Conventions.
For the above two reasons, and for one more, I was thrilled to see a project that Peter Ould [friend of this blog, even though a redcoat] has been working on launched this past week—Living Out. Wow—it is a stunning resource for Christians who experience same-sex-attraction—a big strength is the direct, 5-6 minute video-testimonies from people who experience same-sex-attraction and who are committed Christians, following Jesus.
It completely pulverizes the notion that once somebody recognizes their SSA they must therefore drape the identity of “gay” on their lives and relationships and activities.
As I mentioned above, the set of people it is most going to enrage are the revisionist activists in the Church of England and The Episcopal Church. You can imagine how the existence of such people—and especially their public actions and speech—quite punctures their insistence that the Church *must* change its doctrine and practice in order to be “pastoral” to others. They’ll be spending a lot of time hissing, spitting, and clawing, once they find out about it—because there’s not much else, reasonably, that they can do to respond to it.
But the third reason I like it is because it’s encouraging to Christians—all of us. Each of us struggles with besetting attractions to sinful behavior. There’s not a one of us who doesn’t. When I see other Christians dealing with their own temptations with joy, strength, openness, and courage, it inspires me to do the same. For Christians experiencing same-sex-attraction, this is a great resource because they need to see other people doing what they’re trying to do. It can be lonely thinking you’re the only one.
And for the rest of us who don’t experience same-sex-attraction—well, we struggle to maintain sexual health as well, and struggle with a bunch of other temptations too. We’re lonely too, and wonder if we’re crazy to resist the temptations we face and strive for healing.
My hat’s off to these folks. It’s a great resource, they’re courageous to offer it, and I’ll be able to use this site in my engagement with calm, curious, secular non-Christians who will be interested in it.
Oh yes. They have a Facebook page too—so go like that, if you’re on Facebook.
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