Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Washington Blade - December 9, 2005
Wayne Besen, Columnist, wbesen@aol.com
They seem to think that love is insulting people with a saccharine smile and phony compassion. May I suggest we buy these folks dictionaries for Christmas so they can understand the true meaning of the word?
Exhibit A is Pastor Rick Warren, author of the best seller "The Purpose Driven Life." On World AIDS Day, he convened a conference of 1,700 evangelical pastors to urge them to minister to people with AIDS.
"The fact is the evangelical realm of the church has failed in this area," Warren told ABC news. "They put it off too long; they didn't care."
"We've been wrong," agreed Kay Warren, his funnel cake sweet wife. "We need to repent, say we're sorry, and open our doors to everyone who's HIV positive and say, 'He loves you.'"
Ostensibly, this sounds promising and a potential bridge to evangelical Christians who have been a major cause of great suffering during the AIDS epidemic. If you dig beneath the surface, however, it becomes clear that this effort is shallow and the love conditional.
"People ask me, is homosexuality evil? I say, it's just not natural," Pastor Warren said.
LET'S FORGET FOR a moment that homosexuality occurs in nature, and is therefore natural. Let's forget that gay people have existed since oxygen. Let's forget that same-sex behavior is quite common in the animal kingdom.
Let's forget that gay people are in every known society, no matter the strictures placed on them. Let's also forget the avalanche of new science that points to biological origins for sexual orientation.
What we will focus on is the impact of Warren's ignorant statement and how it is a catalyst for spreading HIV. Indeed, Warren is not part of the solution, but part of the problem.
While working on my book "Anything But Straight," I had the pleasure of meeting dozens of openly gay evangelicals. I also met so-called ex-gays who were trying to unsuccessfully change their sexual orientation.
When churches made the people I interviewed feel that their love was "unnatural," as Warren suggests, they became depressed and their self-esteem inevitably plummeted. A significant factor in HIV prevention is making people feel they are worthy of living.
People with self worth will usually take the necessary precautions to protect themselves, while those who believe their love is sin or unnatural are less likely to make smart decisions in the heat of the moment.
What is the incentive for a person who believes that God despises the way they experience love to wear a condom?
Many of the "ex-gay" men I interviewed went through what I call the "sin and repentance cycle." They refrained from sex for long periods of time until the dam inevitably broke. Then they would go on wild, guilt-ridden sexual binges where safer sex was an afterthought.
The Warrens can offer all the syrupy "love" they want. But, from my experience, the very people they are most likely to reach, gay Christian closet cases, will only hear their unloving condemnation, which can lead to self-destructive behavior.
IF THE WARRENS really want to
help prevent the spread of HIV, they will recognize the inherent beauty in all relationships, including gay relationships, and celebrate successful same-sex unions.
Encouraging long-term relationships is much more likely to stem the spread of HIV than calling their love "unnatural."
The Warren family can also begin by holding their fellow evangelicals accountable for their anti-gay assaults. For example, the American Family Association is hawking an "ex-gay" video, "It's Not Gay."
On the cover of the video is Michael Johnston, an "ex-gay" leader who left ministry in 2003 after he allegedly had unsafe sex with several men in Norfolk, Va. To make matters worse, Johnston is HIV-positive.
So, it is disgusting for the AFA to continue promoting a product featuring the disgraced ex-gay. They are not only committing fraud, but they are helping to spread HIV.
If Rick and Kay Warren want to be useful, they can call the AFA to demand this garbage be expeditiously pulled from their website.
AIDS has killed millions while evangelicals have been indifferent or judgmental. If they want to get in the compassion game a quarter of a century after the fact, they can at least do so with basic respect for our lives.
051209
WB051210
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