Part   I - Firmness in Truth - Nonviolent Response

Part  II - Jerry Falwell's friend Michael Johnston

Part III - Love Your Children,  Love Won Out

Part  IV - Matthew 5:38-48, Romans 12:14-21

Part   V - SoulForce Principles & Bridges-Across

Epilogue - From a Ministry Director to Chuck Colson
 
 

In May 1994 there was an anti-gay-agenda conference at which John Eldredge of Focus on the Family's opening remarks, "Cultural Presuppositions, Our Goals and Principles of Engagement for Rolling Back the Militant Gay Agenda" laid the groundwork for a change in approach by the political Religious Right. 

These excerpts are from a transcript by Cindy Beal of Justice and Peace Consulting. The set of tapes from the conference may be purchased from the Institute for First Amendment Studies. 

Eldredge: 
We must never attempt, we must never appear to be attempting to rob anyone of their rights, of their constitutional rights. We must be shrewd to build a consensus for our position by appealing to shared values and concerns, issues of fairness and justice. ...

I think the gay agenda (I would not say this as frankly as I will now, in other cultural contexts) I think the gay agenda has all the elements of that which is truly evil. It is deceptive at every turn. ... It deceives those who are drawn into it, who embrace it, it presents an extraordinarily deceptive face to the public at large. That is one of the primary marks of something that is truly evil, because while it is offering all of the pleasures and liberties of happiness and autonomy and personal fulfillment, it is destroying the souls and lives of those who embrace it and it has a corrosive effect on society which endorses it. ...

The challenge to us is not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good. This is the greatest challenge that you personally face. Because I think we can be overcome by evil in a number of ways. ...

There is another way that we can be overcome. We can be overcome by evil when we let it get the best of us. When we let it shape our response to it. When it draws us to condescend to its level, to its strategies and tactics. ...

The culture is watching more how we handle this than what we say. And it will destroy our credibility and we will lose eventually if we let ourselves be overcome by evil in this particular regard, that we condescend to its level. ...

What we do and say will be shouted from the rooftops. '... be not overcome, therefore by evil, it will be evident to all men, but overcome evil with good.' Seek the moral high ground. In all our tactics and strategies as well as our goals we must seek the moral high ground. The homosexuals are trying to capture it desperately, we must not let them have it.

In Matthew 5:38-48 Jesus tells his disciples that if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also. He says love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect. 

In Romans 12:14-21 Paul tells the church if it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. If your enemies are thirsty give them drink, if they are hungry, feed them, do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. 

These passages in Matthew and Romans are foundational both for conservative Christians in their approach to evil and also the basis for SoulForce theory on nonviolent response. With diametrically opposed views on where sin lies, both traditional and progressive Christians are faced with the scripture which was foundational for Ghandi in the development of Satyagraha

John Eldredge's speech, which I have read in its entirety, comes across to me, as it clearly has to others, in a way that makes mention of Jesus' principles sound like lipservice and the real intent to be contrived political manipulation. It may not have been what was in Edredge's heart, but that is how the speech has been understood by those who support full equality for gay and lesbian people. 

Joe Dallas, who self-identifies as political Religious Right, expresses a good for evil approach but in a way that I hear as authentic and consistent with his religious convictions. 

I believe that it is spiritual renewal, not political manipulation, that is in the hearts and minds of the Lynchburg200 who are following the teaching about loving enemies, which is eloquently put forth in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." 

I can assure you that contrived political manipulation is not in the hearts and minds of those on the either side of the Bridges Across dialogue as we seek to understand the other and to embrace their humanity, coming together in friendship and fellowship with those with whom we disagree.

Turning the Other Cheek

Saturday evening, the Lynchburg200 were informed that Michael Johnston would preach at the 9:45 service and Jerry Falwell would preach at 11:00. The question before the group was how to respond in the event that Michael were given an opportunity to speak at the 11:00 o'clock service. Stand? Walk out? The group was angry at being blindsided at the afternoon press conference and in no mood to listen to Johnston preach about the depravity of "the lifestyle."

Nuances of Johnston's message were probably not noticed by the angry group. Johnston doesn't believe in the psychological theories that Exodus International teaches. In Lynchburg, as in his recent appearance in Greeley, CO, Johnston never claimed that he had experienced a shift in same-sex attractions, only that he was under conviction that homosexual behavior is a sin and had changed his behavior.

Most of the Lynchburg200 are leaders in their faith communities. Most are Christian, but about a dozen were Jews who who explained that, just as ambulances run in Israel on the Sabbath, they were obeying, not violating, Jewish law by participating in the Saturday event. Saturday morning we had been trained by two veterans of nonviolent response, a woman from the American Friends Service Committee who identifies as a as a Buddhist-Quaker and a gay black man who was young in the 60's when he was on the front lines of the civil rights struggle.

During the discussion of what to do if Johnston were given the opportunity to speak at the 11 o’clock service, a woman in the back stood up and explained that in the Middle East one never extends the left hand toward another person because this is the "potty hand." When one turns the other cheek, one is showing willingness to be struck by the left hand. Nonviolent response to physical assault is to submit, moving lower than the opponent in order to absorb blows and make it clear that there will be no retaliation.

In the moment it was decided. Even if Johnston were given the opportunity to say something at the 11:00 o'clock service, there would be no sign of protest.

I arrived at the church about a quarter to 11, went in and heard the last half of Johnston's sermon. He is a good speaker, with a colorful story of decadence and redemption, but I would rather have been listening to the strong message to the conservative church which Joe Dallas gives at the close of the Love Won Out conferences.

Johnston stayed on the platform throughout the 11 o'clock service. Although he didn't speak, Falwell referred to him several times and promoted his video which was for sale in the church lobby.

After the service I listened as Mel was being interviewed about Johnston. He said he believes that there are exgays who are happy with their life choices and we don't need to get into debates about whether they were always bisexual. 

I consider that statement as significant a step toward lowering hateful rhetoric as anything that Falwell said.

In his message about the weekend Falwell explained, "With 200 homosexuals staring me in the face last Saturday, I accentuated the biblical position that homosexuality is sin." 

He certainly did. 

He also treated Mel White with respect, referring to him as "Reverend White" during the worship service. He asked us to stand and be acknowledged by his congregation. This week he wrote to his Falwell Confidential list "It is my sincere hope that, through this meeting, we will positively affect this violent culture in which we live."

Amen, Reverend Falwell, Amen. 

next ... Bridges-Across and Soulforce Principles