Today the PCUSA became the latest mainline denomination to allow ordination of gay clergy. This just a matter of hours after Evangelical left leader Jim Wallis took a thrashing from his erstwhile comrades in arms for rejecting an ad that asked churches to be more affirming of gays. An example of the reaction can be found here.
Tony Jones thinks opposition to gay marriage is just an excuse for evangelicals to divisively attack those they disagree with, comparing studied opposition to gay marriage with the slaughter of 42,000 in the Old Testament over a mispronunciation of a word. Tony is nothing if not subtle in his utter dismissiveness toward anyone who agrees with 3400 years of Western moral wisdom. But alas, we have much virtual ink spilled by Christians over the topic.
One thing in particular strikes me. Most of the debate, pro and con, over gay unions and gay activity and gay orientation is focused on legal arguments, moral arguments, biblical interpretation arguments. Little is devoted to the health issues.
There was a long footnoted fact sheet at Free Republic published back in 2003 that ought to at least enter into the conversation. I would suggest anyone who reads this summary go and check out the footnotes in the article. Included in the commentary and notes are tidbits like these:
Men with same sex partners are more than six times more likely to attempt suicide. Gay males have three to four times the incidence of depression and other emotional disorders. There is a 20-30% decrease in lifespan for male homosexuals vs the heterosexual population with the median age of death less than 50 years of age. The risk of acquiring AIDS through a single act of unprotected sex is 1 in 165 for gay men as opposed to 1 in 715,000 for the rest of the population. One out of every two men who engage in gay sex will become infected with AIDS. Additional areas of increased health problems include higher incidence of alcohol and drug use.
The hue and cry from the left, including the Christian left, is that persecution of gays by closed minded conservatives is an epidemic to be fought with the resources of federal programs and Google campaigns. The reality is that half of lesbians in a 1991 survey reported having been abused - not by hateful heterosexual fundamentalists - but by a lover or partner. Women were reported as being four times as likely to be abused in a lesbian relationship than in a traditional heterosexual marriage. 46% of gay men and 22% of gay women reported abuse within their relationships.
How does that compare to actual persecution by the straight community? The FBI reported the incidence rate of crimes relative to students in schools and universities is 0.00003%. Yet the hue and cry from champions of fairness and decency like Tony Jones is that the issue that needs to be addressed is churches not being welcoming enough, ignoring the destructive nature of a significant percentage of gay relationships.
As for the issue of gay marriage or unions, it is largely a myth that any such thing exists on any appreciable scale. One study of 156 "long-term" gay relationships found that not a single one of the couples was able to maintain fidelity. Another study of over 2000 gay men found that the typical number of sexual partners of that group ranged from 101-500, and many had more than 1000. Less than 3% of gay men have had a truly monogamous relationship with only one partner.
Interesting point made about homosexuality being in the genes. Genetic disorders are passed along generationally. Gay sex is sterile - there are no natural offspring, hence, the notion of passing a gay gene on to the next generation seems to militate against natural selection. If being gay is genetic, it could not last for more than a generation. "Gayness" seems to be based more on nurture than nature, and domineering mothers and absent fathers seem to play a major role in the susceptibility to homosexual temptation. The gay lobby goes nuts if any suggestion of the possibility of leaving the lifestyle is made, yet Medline databases between 1966 and 1974 include over 1000 articles offering evidence of homosexuals altering their tendencies and behavior with treatment. Yet we are told, even by "Christian" sources that there is no possibility of change because homosexuality is fixed and a "gift from God"
My point is simply this. Arguing scriptural prohibitions with Christians who advocate for full inclusion of gays in society and the church is futile. Secular activists do not care what scripture says and many consider Christianity to be the most oppressive of all ideologies. Liberal Christians embrace an approach to scripture that makes determining the meaning of the text something akin to either decoding a secret cypher or using a Ouija board. The text doesn't matter to them - they only care who controls the interpretation.
Likewise, framing the issue in the emotional realm of "rights" granted or denied is equally futile. In our post-modern society where truth is always culturally determined, there is no standard for weighing the rights of one group against another. Tribal warfare is the ethos of the day - agitation for causes trumps appeal to legal precedent or the long-term greater good that might be gained by the many if the few exercised restraint.
There might be hope of slowing or reversing the erosion of standards in the church if the emotions of personal anecdotal stories can be placed on the back burner long enough to look at some real data. Quibble over the details of this or that study, but for anyone who really wants to be objective, there is overwhelming evidence that folks in gay relationships are on a self-destructive path. And it is very hip to advocate for health related causes. We have anti-smoking campaigns, anti-drug campaigns - very good ideas - that get promoted to our youth. There are campaigns to eat better and watch cholesterol levels, to avoid fast foods, to avoid sugar, MSG, and preservatives.
Where are the calls to avoid intimate behaviors that could shorten one's life span by 30 years? To say nothing of the potential eternal consequences, this is a health issue perhaps far more statistically significant than smoking. Not everyone who smokes gets cancer. I'm sure the stats are a bit out of date, but as of 2003, one out of every two promiscuous gay men was at risk to become infected with AIDS. Who is really loving the gay community - the conservatives who oppose self-destructive behavior or those who give spiritual blessing to it?
Let me frame it this way. The PCUSA, Episcopal Church, United Methodist Church and Evangelical Lutheran church, in the name of being more "Christlike" and less judgmental, have made it church policy to ordain as spiritual leaders and examples those who actively participate in a lifestyle that can wreak havoc on the physical and emotional health of those who participate in that lifestyle. The leaders of those churches are far more responsible for the mental and physical health risks and deaths of gay men and women than any Christian church that upholds the traditional definition of marriage. But in an age where soppy sentiment and feelings of goodwill constantly overrule logic, genuine wisdom, and sane public policy, I expect the evangelical community will accommodate to the trends in the larger culture in a very short time.
Lord have mercy.
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