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Who are these fundamentalists and why do they hate us?
Trick or Treat?
Roman Catholics (-)
Pope recently reasserted doctrine
that homosexuality is "intrinically
evil"; has declared celibacy the
only hope for gays/lesbians.
Church has officially opposed gay
rights laws.
GAY ORGANIZATION
Gay Catholics of GA and Friends
PO Box 14342, Atlanta GA 30324
(404) 409-0203
The Fundamentalists
Now that Communism has virtually disappeared as a living ideol
ogy, it is arguable that the most threatening force on earth is one similarly
based on uncritical faith and conversion by the sword—the worldwide,
multicultural phenomenon known as fundamentalism.
It’s a term far more commonly used than understood. All Christians
who accept conservative theology are not fundamentalist, anymore than
all Republicans who are conservative economically are homophobes or
opposed to the right of legal abortion.
Fundamentalism began early in the century when a number of
ultraconservative Protestants became upset by reinterpretation of the
scriptures by theologians, by the apparent conflict between science and
traditional religious belief, and by an increasingly educated and sophisti
cated society that had come to regard them with amusement.
There is an essential difference between those Christians who are
merely conservative and those who make up Fundamentalism and the
Religious Right. It might be said that conservatives think that what they
believe is in the Bible because it is true, while fundamentalists believe it’s
true because it’s in the Bible. Or, to put it another way, conservatives want
to share the Good News that has made such a difference to them with a
“lost” world, while fundamentalists see the world as in rebellion against
God and deserving of conquest and subjugation to make it “righteous.”
Both employ the same rhetoric of love, drawn from the New
Testament. For conservatives it’s a reason; while for fundamentalists, it’s
an excuse.
Another important point—not all charismatics (or “holy rollers”) are
fundamentalists, although almost all are theologically conservative. Here
the difference is readily apparent. Charismatics see their faith as a source
of emotional ecstasy—of frank spiritual pleasure and catharsis. They have
fun at church. Fundamentalists, on the other hand, tend to be humorless,
censorious, judgmental—the authentic if not direct descendents of the
Puritans of Massachusetts Bay, or of the dour Calvinists of 16th Century
Geneva or Edinburgh. It’s as if Protestant religion, like drama, came with
two masks—one for comedy, one for tragedy.
Gays Become the Enemy
Considering their fondness for making themselves and others
suitably miserable, it is hardly surprising that the special wrath of
fundamentalists should be reserved for a people who call themselves
“gay." Theologically, however, creating a special category of sinners for
particular persecution is a recent phenomenon for conservative Protes
tants. In time past they would have objected to the “Catholic” concept of
mortal and venial sins, arguing that all sin was equally reprehensible in the
eyes of a perfect God.
The rise of homophobia as a litmus test issue for fundamentalism
probably has less to do with theology than with politics and with the
psychology of the fundamentalists themselves. By definition, their move
ment is a tear-guard action against social change and evolving values. They
see an entire world arrayed against themselves—bent on destroying their
faith, breaking up their families, turning their children and their women
against them, and all the while propagating the worship of Satan. This
Satan-worship many fundamentalists see everywhere, and they regard all
of us as, of course, adherents of the Devil. Even those fundamentalists not
obsessed with finding Satanists under every bed have demonized gays and
lesbians as the universal metaphor for all the changes that frighten them
so.
But homosexuals are hardly their only demons.
iNNER CITY CHURCH WITH
LESBIAN PASTOR CLOSES
MILWAUKEE (AP)—New Hope United
Church of Christ, which named an avowed
lesbian as its pastor in 1990, has closed its
doors, citing financial problems and a
diminishing membership.
About 200 people gathered Sunday for the
final service.
Robert Horst, minister and registrar of the
Southeastern Wisconsin Association of
United Church of Christ, said New Hope
was one of only two among 63 United
Church of Christ parishes in southeastern
Wisconsin to openly welcome homosexual'
and bisexual members.
The Rev: Margarita Suarez, who became
New Hope’s pastor in 1990, estimated that
50 percent to 60 percent of the congregation
was homosexual.
Neither Horst nor Suarez cited her
sexuality for the church’s decline. Suarez
said the root of the decline was urban
transition.
“It’s very hard in the city; you’re struggling
with crisis all the time,” Suarez said. “We
didn't have enough resources to do
everything. No one group could do it.”
New Hope was dealt a major blow when
the Head Start program, Which was paying
the church about $8,000 in rent per year,
moved out last summer, Horst said. ▼
Presbyterians (±)
Subject under intense debate, but
in past has opposed both homo
sexuality and homophobic laws.
GAY ORGANIZATION
. Presbyterians for
Lesbian/Gay Concerns
PO. Box 8372, Atlanta GA 30306
(404) 373-5830
God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.
Anita Bryant (much plagiarized)
Page 8 Fall 1993