Vindication of retiring liberationists

by Larry Hallock

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a ground-breaking pastoral letter in the fall of 1997 declaring that homosexual orientation is not freely chosen, that parents must not reject their gay children in a society already full of rejection and discrimination, and that the clergy should support gay people even from the pulpit. The bishops still say sex is sin for homosexuals, but they say celibate gays and lesbians should not only be welcome in the church but given leadership opportunities in it.

"Generally, homosexual orientation is experienced as a given, not as something freely chosen.... By itself, therefore, a homosexual orientation cannot be considered sinful, for morality presumes the freedom to choose."

Folks, this is all I ever wanted our church to say!  Plain and forthrightly. Not as a perfunctory footnote to statements of condemnation, but as an important point of its own. In the 27 years that I (and many others) dialogued with movers and shakers in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, I never asked the church to change its theology. SDA Kinship has always said there is much the church could do even without changing its view that it’s a sin for homosexuals not to be celibate.

But throughout these many years, the church has been reluctant to do much of anything but condemn. To this day it lumps homosexuals with child molesters and adulterers. Meanwhile, “the world” has made enormous changes in its attitudes and behaviors toward homosexuals during these years of scientific and social enlightenment. The U.S. Federation of Catholic Bishops is now doing what the SDA Church is still too cowardly to do (officially, anyway), namely to pro-actively tell its members the truth on this subject. The whole truth. And nothing but the truth. Firings, disfellowshippings, pronouncements (some rather mean-spirited) and numerous editorials in the Adventist press illustrate how much this church has yet to learn from these Catholic clergy—and from clergy of other denominations and religions as well.

Technically, the SDA Church might agree with the bishops’ distinction between orientation and activity; a hint might be the Church Manual’s use of the term homosexual practices (as opposed to “homosexuality”) in its list of condemned evils. Still, if merely being gay (and celibate) is okay with the SDA Church, one would hardly perceive it, given the church’s virtual silence on anything but the activity. Put the Church Manual next to the bishops’ pastoral letter and the difference is night and day. (See side bar.) The church that calls itself “The Caring Church” has never made any official pronouncement, that I am aware of, that remotely approaches the caring demonstrated in the bishops’ letter.

Celibacy

For the record, I believe the Catholic bishops are dead wrong on celibacy for homosexuals. I don’t accept that God doesn’t want gay people to be fully human, never to love or be fulfilled sexually, in the manner natural for them. It seems absurd on the face of it. Who could even believe in a god so arbitrarily cruel? But I can understand how non-gay people would think that way—and even gay and lesbian people who grew up with such ideas—until they’ve had time to ponder the issues and think about the qualities of any God worthy of worship. (I speak for myself, not necessarily for Kinship.)

That’s why I don’t much care whether the church changes its theology on celibacy, given that it likely never will. If a church or a person wants to say it’s fine to be gay but a sin to be what it means to be gay, then surely it is only a matter of time before one begins to see how “dis-integrating” to body, mind and soul such a contradiction is. Could that be why the SDA Church doesn’t want the kind of honesty we see in the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ letter?

SDAs believe in the concept of the “priesthood of the believers.” Each person stands before God individually as “priest,” without the need of a human clerical interface between us and God. That being true, every homosexual man and woman can feel free to question how it can be fine to be gay or lesbian, but not fine to love someone. One can simply disagree with such logic. And there is a sound biblical basis for doing so, even if you read the Bible literally. (Numerous exegetical studies have been done on this, by respected, professional SDA theologians and many others, myself among them.)

So I can live with church leaders saying sexual fulfillment is a sin for anyone different from themselves. When one can see through a sieve, it obviously doesn’t hold water. But I cannot live with the church acting as though it’s a sin just to be gay, condemning me by association with pedophiles and adulterers. I will not accept the Church pretending the distinction between orientation and activity is a mere technicality and the activity is always irresponsible and depraved. I demand at least an inch of truth. That inch will help us see that the mile is ours too.

Are you listening, Church? To the bishops, I mean.

Vindication of retiring liberationists

I am among the Adventist-raised who are now gradually retiring from many years of hard work to get the church to change its behavior toward its gay and lesbian members. The years take their toll on energy and patience. But we retire vindicated. In every major area—medical, legal, social, political, religious, the workplace—we are vindicated.

Here’s how things stood for us on the day I dared to confide my sexual orientation to one of my seminary professors at Andrews University nearly 30 years ago—and how they’ve changed. (Goodness... have church-feet been dragging that long already?)

Medical. We were considered sick and mentally ill. But the professionals listened, studied and then “declassified” homosexuality, formally declaring it not an illness.

Legal. We were considered criminals.  But governments and courts listened, thought about it rationally, and changed the laws. Today the vast majority of U.S. citizens live in the many states that have formally decriminalized consensual sexual activity. [Subsequent to this article, the Supreme Court struck down all remaining state laws that criminalized consensual sex. Marriage is now legal in Massachusetts for same-gendered couples, and civil unions similar to marriage is offered in other states.] Many cities and some states have gone even further, pro-actively prohibiting discrimination against homosexuals.

The workplace. We were routinely fired from jobs. Newspapers exposed people as homosexual, destroying careers and precipitating suicides. But employers listened and today they are increasingly doing the right thing. The list of household-name corporations that now have anti-discrimination policies—and quite a number even extend benefits to partners of gays and lesbians—is so long it would surprise even many gay and lesbian people.

Social. We were utterly pariahs; no one talked about “it,” newspapers wouldn’t print the word “homosexual,” and there were virtually no books on the subject. Schools, churches, landlords, clubs, and even towns simply kicked us out. We were not infrequently beaten or killed by thugs who were patted on the back instead of prosecuted. But once we dared to speak up, people listened, and today homosexuality is understood in every corner of society and the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships is respected by thinking, caring people. Thugs are prosecuted with vigor, businesses advertise in gay magazines and even feature us in TV commercials, and some newspapers even publish our engagements and “weddings” on the society page. [Later note: gay-themed television shows have broken out everywhere, meaning there’s an adequate appreciative audience—and inadequate protest—to make for good business.]

Politics. Toleration of homosexuals in government was not even remotely imaginable. Today gay and lesbian people are not just tolerated in politics, but knowingly elected to offices at every level of government. Several hundred have been appointed by a president who invites gay leaders to the White House to discuss our issues, and who set a historical milestone by being the featured speaker at a the annual dinner of the country’s most prominent gay and lesbian organization. Imagine—a president of the United States, the speaker at a gay dinner! Homosexuals in the military are welcomed by many and tolerated by the rest. Gay marriage is seriously debated, and a national anti-discrimination law is being considered by congress and is sure to pass sooner or later. [In April, 2000, Vermont became the first state to extend all the rights and benefits of marriage to gay and lesbian couples. Massachusetts became the first state to approve gay marriage and call it that. Imagine—gay marriage now legal in the United States!]

Religion. Generally speaking, churches have historically dug in their heals against social justice and equality—slavery, women, equal wages, human rights, integration.... The record is clear: the church has always fought progress, not championed it. But today, while evangelical and fundamentalist churches would still rather die than care, mainstream churches have listened to the testimony of their own children and have taken another look at their theology and practices. They now denounce the old idea that homosexuality is condemned by God and scripture, and some even ordain homosexuals into the ministry. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops joins a long list of those who have responded positively. (I don’t expect the Vatican to change.)

I must have looked pretty pathetic to that professor many years ago at the Andrews University Theological Seminary. And I thought I was pathetic. Today I know I am not, and never was. So does the rest of the world. Now if only those churches that think they could never be wrong would just admit they have been and are. If only they would, in the meantime, at least stop hurting their gay and lesbian children, if they can’t help them.

A large and growing number of movers and shakers in the SDA Church have accepted and supported a more truthful, more caring position on homosexuality, sometimes paying a considerable price for doing so. There is a huge and powerful underground of support. This has enabled a few rays of light to penetrate some of the darkness in the church, in our schools and in the Adventist press. But it is hard for them to have much visible effect in a church that is overwhemingly third-world and increasingly fundamentalist. We can only pray they’ll have the courage to do more, to step ahead of the pack and lead—on this and on other important issues as well.

Perhaps they could issue a North American Division Elders’ Letter.

Larry Hallock lives in Chicago and believes most of the movers and shakers in the SDA Church agree with the bishops, but won’t get the church to say so officially until the day tithes are no longer needed.

© 1997 by Larry Hallock

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