The National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People passed a resolution supporting gay marriage at a meeting of its board of directors in Miami, saying it opposed any policy or legislative initiative that “seeks to codify discrimination or hatred into the law or to remove the constitutional rights of LGBT citizens.”

This is the right move for the country’s oldest civil rights organization and it follows closely behind President Obama‘s support of same-sex marriage.

But the NAACP was quickly criticized by many church leaders in the black community. Many were already angry with Obama for his comments and now they’ve turned their focus on the NAACP as well.

Rev. Anthony Evans, with the National Black Church Initiative, opposed the president’s and the NAACP’s endorsements of same-sex marriage. He warned that Obama and the NAACP will lose support among black churches for their stand.

“We love our gay brothers and sisters, but the black church will never support gay marriage,” Evans said. “It is and always will be against the ethics and teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

But not all black churches are opposed to gay marriage. Rev. Enoch Fuzz of Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church used Sunday’s sermon to explain why he, too, supports gay marriage. Like the President, he had a change of heart after long reflection.

“I know many in the black community have trouble accepting gay marriage,” he said. “But all of us have gay friends or family, and we love them.”

Enoch Fuzz preaches to his congregation Sunday at Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville. (Joe Imel – USA Today)

The tide is changing bit by bit in the black community regarding marriage equality.

In Columbus, Mayor Michael Coleman is confident black churches and voters will stick with the president, even if they disagree over gay marriage. The four-term African-American mayor made the same conversion himself on the issue of gay marriage — for the same reasons — this year.

“I had to evolve on the issue and think it through, too, and I came to the conclusion it was the right thing,” said Coleman, a Democrat who supports Obama. “When it is the right thing to do, politics is irrelevant.”

And it is the right thing to do. Love could never be a sin, even if their god did exist.

Here’s the backstory: A husband and wife attended a place called North Point Church in Atlanta. They had a daughter together. At some point, the husband started having an affair with another married man. (Scandalous!) It was serious, too, and the men wanted to be together. Not only that, but they also wanted to attend the same church as the wife. That understandably made her upset. So the gay couple attended another North Point church in a different location. They even began volunteering there. During all this, the husband and wife got divorced. However, his partner’s divorce was not finalized.

When North Point’s head pastor Andy Stanley found out about all this, he asked the men to step down from their posts. He could not condone the in-your-face adultery that was going on within his own church. The partner and his wife were still technically together, after all!

Some time passed. The wife began a new relationship. The gay couple was still together. All of them were very civil (even friendly) with each other. They now all attend the same church together. Isn’t that special…?

So why is any of this news?

Because Stanley told this story at his church a couple of weeks ago. And at no point in Stanley’s story did he mention that he ever told the couple, “YOU’RE GAY AND THAT’S A SIN!” How *dare* a pastor not use a perfectly good opportunity to bash gay people?!

Here’s president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Albert Mohler:

The most puzzling and shocking part of the message was the illustration and the account of the homosexual couple, however. The inescapable impression left by the account was that the sin of concern was adultery, but not homosexuality. Stanley clearly and repeatedly stressed the sin of adultery, but then left the reality of the homosexual relationship between the two men unaddressed as sin. To the contrary, he seemed to normalize their relationship. They would be allowed to serve on the host team if both were divorced. The moral status of their relationship seemed to be questioned only in terms of adultery, with no moral judgment on their homosexuality.

We can only hope that Andy Stanley and the church will clarify and affirm the biblical declaration of the sinfulness of homosexual behavior…

And here’s Biblical Studies professor Dennis Burk:

“His message was troubling,” said Dennis Burk, professor of biblical studies at Boyce College. “It was ambiguous at best. It was a total capitulation to the spirit of the age at worst.”

…

“He mentions adultery as a sin,” Burk said. “But he never calls homosexuality a sin. When he issues the sanction from leadership, it’s only about adultery. That just sends a message.”

Yes, a message that you might be a little too tolerant…

Pastor Rick Warren was upset that Mohler questioned megachurches as a result of Stanley’s omission:

Christians talk all the time about hating the sin, but loving the sinners. Here’s we have some Christians getting upset because someone didn’t hate the sinners enough.

For what it’s worth, I’m sure Stanley’s still on the side of bigotry. The fact that he didn’t bring it up in this portion of his sermon is hardly tacit approval of homosexuality.

But how awful of a human being do you have to be to get upset at a pastor for not condemning others hard enough?

You can hear the relevant story from Stanley’s sermon starting at the 24:30 mark here.

He’s in the news because of a sermon he delivered in conjunction with “Marriage Sunday,” an initiative intended to get out the vote for a proposed same-sex ban. He had some thoughts about gender roles and parenting that deserve a closer look [emphases mine].

So your little son starts to act a little girlish when he is four years old and instead of squashing that like a cockroach and saying, ‘Man up, son, get that dress off you and get outside and dig a ditch, ’cause that’s what boys do,’ [laughter] you get out the camera and you start taking pictures of Johnny acting like a female and then you upload it to YouTube and everybody laughs about it and next thing you know, this dude, this kid is acting out childhood fantasies that should have been squashed [shouts of "amen"]. Can I make it any clearer? Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist [several in audience: "amen"]. Man up. Give him a good punch [laughter]. Ok? ‘You are not going to act like that. You were made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male.’

And when your daughter starts acting too butch, you rein her in. And you say, “Oh, no! Oh no, sweetheart. You can play sports. Play ‘em. Play ‘em to the glory of God. But sometimes you are going to walk like a girl, and talk like a girl, and smell like a girl. And that means that you are going to be beautiful; you’re going to be attractive; you’re going to dress yourself up.”

Say, “Can I take charge like that as a parent?” Yeah, you can [laughter]. You’re authorized. I just gave you a special dispensation this morning to do that.

Harris disavowed portions of the sermon in an interview with the Fayetteville Observer.

“If I had to say it again, I would say it differently, no doubt,” Harris said Tuesday. “Those weren’t planned words, but what I do stand by is that the word of God makes it clear that effeminate behavior is ungodly. I’m not going to compromise on that.”

…

From within the church, Harris said, “the response was, ‘Pastor, we know you didn’t mean that.’ “

“We know when you’re saying something seriously and when were supposed to just understand the intent and not the application,’ ” Harris said.

Even if he was just joking, it was a tasteless and easily misunderstood joke. And, as he continues to make clear, he has an essentialist view of male and female roles, and thinks that it is sinful and contrary to the will of God to stray outside of them.

He’s dead serious about that.

Bishop Daniel R. Jenky (John Kringas - Chicago Tribune)

Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care.

In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama — with his radical, pro abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on following a similar path.

…

This fall, every practicing Catholic must vote, and must vote their Catholic consciences, or by the following fall our Catholic schools, our Catholic hospitals, our Catholic Newman Centers, all our public ministries — only excepting our church buildings –- could easily be shut down. Because no Catholic institution, under any circumstance, can ever cooperate with the [intrinsic] evil of killing innocent human life in the womb.

So… yeah… totally a sane guy and everything…

No doubt, though, there’s a connection between calling Obama “pro-abortion” and then telling the Congregation to vote against the “killing [of] innocent human life.”

Americans United, in a brilliant move, is now asking the IRS to investigate the Church (PDF).

The implication is clear: Obama is engaged in acts so evil they follow the pattern of Hitler and Stalin, and faithful Catholics must vote against him. In fact, Jenky goes on to assert that the situation is so serious that a failure to vote against Obama could lead to Catholic institutions being closed.

To be sure, Jenky never utters the words, “Do not vote for Obama.” But the Internal Revenue Code makes it clear that statements need not be this explicit to run afoul of the law.

The IRS needs to be more pro-active about punishing Churches who don’t pay taxes but who feel they’re above the law and can tell the congregation how to vote.

If the Diocese of Peoria agrees to pay taxes, they can say whatever they want. Their relevance is fading, anyway, so I wouldn’t care if they did. But if they want special privileges other non-profit groups don’t get, they have to forego their tax-exempt status.

Or, you know, the Catholic Church could do something more useful.

(via Religion Clause)

The first was a Palm Sunday service at the United Methodist church I attended from ages 9 to 18.  The second was a Saturday night Easter service at a megachurch in which I had never before set foot.

The Methodist church has an annual Palm Sunday tradition — all the children walk down the aisles of the sanctuary waving palms, in imitation of Jesus’ welcome to Jerusalem, and sing with the adult choir.  I did this when I was younger, and this year, my 3- and 4-year old nephews were participating. They sang the same hymn I did as a child: “Hosana, Loud Hosana.”

Hosanna, loud hosanna, the little children sang;
Through pillared court and temple the lovely anthem rang.
To Jesus, who had blessed them close folded to His breast,
The children sang their praises, the simplest and the best.

I feel a little queasy about this tradition now. There’s an underlying message about innocent children having an innate understanding of spiritual matters that adults lose due to all that corruption and knowledge the world pushes on them later in life. Remember, Adam and Eve were “as children” in the Garden of Eden until they ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

I was surprised by by the sparse attendance. When I was active in the church, both of the Sunday services filled the pews. Now it’s only half full the week before Easter.  I was also surprised that the kids did not wear robes. When I did this as an upper elementary student, I was in an actual choir with weekly rehearsals and uniforms for the performances. But with the lower attendance, and perhaps a lack of volunteers, an established children’s choir is harder to pull off. Instead, they just let the kids carry palm branches down the aisles in their regular Sunday clothes, and most of the older boys had their hands in their pockets while they sang.

The sermon was preached by one of the assistant ministers, and it was pretty dry. The reading was 1 Corinthians 14:26-33.

²⁶ What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. ²⁷ If anyone speaks in a tongue, two — or at the most three — should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. ²⁸ If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God. ²⁹ Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. ³⁰ And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. ³¹ For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. ³² The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. ³³ For God is not a God of disorder but of peace — as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.

I was more interested in what was unsaid.  The selected passage conveniently stops right before the Apostle Paul says something offensive to most modern ears.

³⁴ Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. ³⁵ If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

I have seen these two verses before, but I had forgotten the context. This is a New Testament text laying out the rules for an orderly Christian congregation that is pleasing to God — and it explicitly includes instructions about silent, submissive women. The United Methodist denomination clearly does not follow that particular dictum — they ordain women, and it was a female minister who gave the reading.

A denomination that ignores the parts of the Bible they don’t like is preferable to the alternative, but the way my former church approaches the issue leaves a lot to be desired. It would be nice if they could explain why they reject that particular excerpt, or how lay people can tell which parts of their holy book to ignore. I don’t think any such standards exist, though.

…

The mega-church Easter service was a different animal. This church owns a massive campus, with numerous facilities. There are four services most weeks in the main auditorium, and six on Easter weekend. I sat with about 2,000 worshipers at service number three.

The auditorium has a large stage, theatrical lighting, and arena-quality video screens. The senior pastor, who is a much better speaker than anyone employed at my old Methodist church, gave a sermon about being raised by an abusive addict.

Naturally, the religious messages rang hollow for me. He said that while he would never wish a childhood like his on anyone, he was somewhat lucky because he realized how much he “needed God” at a young age. He attributed his mother’s spiral into alcoholism and sleeping pill addiction to Satan, and her decades-later recovery to God. I have profound problems with these ideas, but I expected to hear them. I did not expect to hear some interesting observations on relationships between abusive parents and their adult children. He discussed the guilt he felt about no longer loving his mother the way he knew he was supposed, and said he understood that those in the audience with similar backgrounds were likely to have similar feelings.

Because of there were portions of the sermon I liked, I was more disappointed by the way it ended then I had a right to be. He pointed his finger at the crowd and said he wanted men to fulfill their roles as “spiritual leaders” of their families by guiding their wives and children to a baptism station set up outside the auditorium. Demonstrating his great consideration, he also assured the women that there was a makeshift salon set up as well, so that they wouldn’t have to worry about how their hair would look afterwards. I suppose he believes more of what Paul wrote than Methodist clergy do.

…

These two church experiences combined to give me further insight into how Christianity is taught and practiced on a weekly basis. Of course, I had a lot of experience with church as a child and teenager, but I’m able to observe more clearly now that I’m an acknowledged atheist. I certainly won’t be making any affirmations of faith or taking communion, but I think I might make a habit of church visits.

I previously posted about how Patrick Greene had received donations to alleviate his poor vision from atheists and Christians, then told reporters he had been helped by Christians (and not atheists), then told reporters he had converted to Christianity.

Patrick Greene

Now, Greene says he has changed his mind. He’s not a Christian after all. He writes in an (unedited, verified) email:

I am sorry to tell you , that I announced that I had become a Christian much too soon. It was out of the entire hype that surrounded all the loving, kindness, compassion and warmth of my relationship with Jessica Crye and Rev. Graham. After reading all the messages and emails from dozens of people, I realized that, after 50 years of being an atheist, I cannot continue this. I have examined my conscience thoroughly over this past weekend. I cannot go on thinking and feeling that I have changed my heart and mind. I haven’t. It goes against everything I have spent my life accomplishing. Especially since I cannot change my attitude toward gay rights and abortion. I spent many hours looking at the sight for the gay baptists and realized my error. Thank you very much for all your help.

So he’s not a Christian after all. (Though I’m sure many will be quick to point out that you don’t have to change your mind about abortion/gay rights in order to become a Christian — you only have to accept Jesus.)

Now, let’s see if the places that were all too eager to report on his conversion follow up with this postscript. (Christian Post, I’m looking at you.)

Meanwhile, everyone else can stop taking him seriously, regardless of the message. I apologize about posting anything about him in the first place.

…

That’s the message on the church sign outside Rose City Park United Methodist Church in Portland, Oregon. It’s getting a lot of press, too.

“It is my hope from our little sign board in Portland, Oregon that perhaps some good discussion will take place among those of all faiths and no faiths. It is my hope in this world that treasures violence over gentleness, the love of power over the power of love, that we might behave a bit more kindly toward one another. God knows, the Christian church these days is taking a beating and needs to have some good publicity,” [Rev. Tom] Tate wrote on Facebook.

Well, I’ll give him credit for acknowledging that there are kind atheists as well as hateful Christians. Now, I’d like to hear some examples of “hateful Christians”: Rick Warren with his anti-gay bigotry? Mark Driscoll with his men-are-superior attitude? Westboro Baptist Church makes for low hanging fruit. The pastor’s platitude is nice, but let’s hear him call out some of these “hateful Christians” who always seem to be praised for their goodness.

…

The headline goes “Patrick Greene, Longtime Atheist, Announces Conversion to Christianity”. Hmm… what is this new lock-tight argument for Christianity that has converted an atheist? Apparently a few hundred dollars in donations to help him with his vision made the difference. I could say these funds bought his soul, but it’s more inspiring to say the true-Christian show of support opened his heart. Where were his fellow atheists and humanists in his time of need? This is not a rhetorical question — because we seem to have been right there with him all the way.

Patrick Greene

Medical issues and life stress such as those Greene has faced is exactly what a supportive community is for. This is exactly why the Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers seeks reform in the military. Greene is a veteran, so I take a special interest in stories like this. Greene is suffering the onset of blindness from glaucoma, and that will take away his already meager livelihood as a cab driver. He’s applying for VA benefits as well. The military offers daily stress of training, combat, and tragedy, just to name a few. A recent Pew study also reiterated the need for community, correlating a 24% improvement in post-war reentry from the combat theater. Greene, other veterans, other atheists, and people in general shouldn’t have to go it alone.

Greene was known as a long-time atheist and atheist activist. After considering legal action regarding a local nativity scene, he was approached by a local church. In a show of support, the church took up a collection to “kill him with kindness” (a nice contrast from the simple “kill him” death threats I and many atheist activists receive). He says Christian kindness caused him to reconsider his beliefs. In his reconsideration, he came to believe, “you just had to accept on faith without doubting every period and every comma.” So he decided blind faith is good? Secondly, he stated that he couldn’t reconcile “the vast difference between all the animals and us.” I’m not sure if he means the majority of DNA, skin, bones, hair, eyes, ears, four limbs, capacity for love, pain, shame, and empathy, or maybe he just meant the human propensity for war. I know he didn’t mean the capacity for reason.

If I’m harsh, it’s because all this seems very fishy (…get it?). He has received donations, has a site for donations, and plans to transfer his new beliefs into work as a minister. Why so quick to go to the Christians? Atheists and humanists have come to the rescue of Jessica Ahlquist, Nicole Smalkowski, Damon Fowler, and Constance McMillen in their struggles. Organizations like Atheists Helping the Homeless in nearby Austin, the Foundation Beyond Belief, and the charitable arms present in nearly every atheist and humanist organization show that we atheists are concerned and capable of helping.

So what is his background with our community? Patrick Greene was featured on The Atheist Experience in 2008. At that time he was protesting a bumper sticker being sold by evangelist Ray Comfort. His legal grounds? People might think bumper stickers are facts. The Atheist Experience essentially excoriated Greene for counter-productive litigiousness. That year he also spoke at a Church-State Rally in Austin. One local atheist suggested Greene start the online fundraising campaign he has now begun and also coordinated to send financial aid. Greene’s most recent effort was to prepare a lawsuit against a local nativity scene on public land, but it’s unclear what the merits of that suit may have been as it was never filed. It seems he has been involved with the atheist movement to a small extent, but his actions seem to have alienated from atheists to the point that he has sought refuge in the Christian movement.

Arguably, this is a black eye for the atheist community because we couldn’t properly help one of our own. On the other hand, Greene was a member of the atheist community for years and had a bumpy ride at best. He did not endear himself to others and engaged in some questionable activism. Now, he’s embraced a Christian community that is willing to provide some financial support and a livelihood as a preacher. The local Christians in Athens deserve nothing but praise for extending a kind hand to someone who seemed so at odds with their beliefs. Greene, like all people, has worth and dignity as an individual. But all-in-all, I think we in the atheist community shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves for letting him slip away. And the Christian community shouldn’t be too quick to take credit for a saved soul until they really get to know Greene.

A few days ago, there was a rebuttal to the sign put up by Park Street Baptist Church (in the same location as the atheist billboard) with the words “We Still Believe in God & his Son, Jesus.” According to Pastor Sam Catoe, “We thought this would be a clever way to catch attention and it certainly has.”

WLTX out of Columbia interviewed both Catoe and Columbia CoR’s coordinator Dustin Tucker about the placement of the new billboard:

“It’s awesome,” said Dustin Tucker.

Tucker is from the Columbia Coalition for Reason, which put up the other billboard. Friday he saw the new competition for the first time.

“Anytime I see somebody expressing their first amendment right to free speech and free exercise of religion, I’m excited,” said Tucker.

I love Dustin’s reaction. He’s not upset. He’s not irritated. He’s not mocking at all. But he is excited to see the response. Obviously, the church is welcome to express their First Amendment rights and what they believe.

It is amusing that the church seems to think that people may not know “the other side” (as if Christianity’s some well-kept secret). But it sounds enough like playful enough ribbing. There may even be a tangible benefit from the Billboard War: Interfaith work between members of the Columbia Coalition of Reason and Park Street Baptist’s congregation. Dustin and Pastor Catoe have already been in contact about doing community service with each other.

One of the ways the group celebrates God is by having a regular Fight Night.

It’s exactly what you think it is…

They even celebrated their latest event on Twitter:

Ok, so they box for Jesus. The whole point is to do something catering to younger people so they eventually become tithing church members. I have no idea how it’s supposed to make them “better Christians,” but I’m not part of their target demographic, so what the hell do I know.

Anyway, what could possibly go wrong with fighting in the church?

Former Tulsa Golden Hurricane linebacker George Clinkscale died Wednesday night after participating in an unsanctioned amateur boxing match held at Guts Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

…

This was the sixth time that Guts Church had held a boxing event, billed on their website as “Guts Fight Night VI.” According to a tweet sent out by Guts Church pastor Bill Scheer, there were 12 fights set to take place during the event.

In order for an amateur boxing event to be held in the state of Oklahoma it must be sanctioned by USA Boxing, the governing body approved by the State Athletic Commission in 1999. USA Boxing is the only sanctioning body authorized to sanction amateur events in the state of Oklahoma.

Joe Miller of the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission said that after making contact with president of the Local Boxing Committee of USA Boxing Jack McCann, he was informed that the committee was unaware that the event was taking place.

So not only was it a dumb idea, it was an illegal idea… and now someone is dead because of the church’s negligence.

It’s not the only time the church glorifies violent “manhood” like this, either.

Every week, the church gives an award to the local high school football player who makes the biggest hit in a game. It’s called The Ultimate Hitman Program:

The Ultimate Hitman Program celebrates the “Hit of the week” in over 20 local high schools and 4 states around the country.

We send reps to each school every week to give the team a challenging word and award the Big Hitter with a Hitman t-shirt. Each of these teams have scheduled team nights at our GYC services and we culminate the season with the Ultimate Hitman Awards Show.

Over 2,000 people will be in attendance at this years Hitman Awards as we show higlights in 5 categories with over 25 schools in attendance. We are changing the culture of High School football — Hit Hard and Love God.

That’s really the message we want to send to young people. Don’t just tackle someone because it’s one way to help your football team — do it because it’s what Jesus wants.

I don’t get the obsession with violence, as if that’s the best way to bring young people together. Go to any high school in the country and you’ll find students doing amazing things while getting virtually no recognition for them. Celebrate those things, not “fighting for the lord.”

(via Apprising Ministries — Thanks to Beau for the link!)