"Should believers work to prevent government from foisting the homosexualist agenda on the population? Yes, very definitely so. The withholding of governmental incentives for homosexual practice is as much a civil issue as society's prohibition of incest and polygamy (even of an adult, consensual sort)." -- Prof. Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon
Are Americans hearing the Truth via Christian witness (from the church to the culture), or have Christians abandoned the lost to be led astray by the loudest voice?
Concerning the Newsweek cover story "Our Mutual Joy: Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scripture. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side."
-- From "Newsweek's Heresy" by Laurie Higgins, DSA Director -Illinois Family Institute 12/9/08
I suppose Illinois Family Institute and numerous other pro-family organizations could respond to this heresy, but why should we when there are scores of church leaders and biblical scholars far better suited to the task than we are? Why are they not correcting the errors in exegesis and logic that permeate this article and will likely prove persuasive to not only the unchurched but the Body of Christ also? Why do we so rarely read editorials in our local press and national media from orthodox biblical scholars? Is it because they submit op-ed pieces that are summarily rejected, or do they simply not bother to submit them? Who better to correct the misinformation or disinformation being propagated at every cultural turn and in every cultural context than those whose vocation is studying Scripture?
An urgent plea to church leaders and theologians should go forth. Church leaders and theologians should be asked by pro-family organizations and Christians to respond to this article in their local press outlets and in major news publications. Orthodox scholars should flood media outlets with responses to this outrageous piece of sophistry. . . . These orthodox theologians and church leaders should then post the letters they send to the press on their church websites and/or personal blogs.
. . . we need an army of church leaders and theologians to leave their pulpits and ivory towers for just a moment and take their wisdom and knowledge to the culture.
From "Turning the Bible on its Head -- Newsweek Goes for Gay Marriage" by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. 12/8/08
The national news media are collectively embarrassed by the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Gay rights activists are publicly calling on the mainstream media to offer support for gay marriage, arguing that the media let them down in November. It appears that Newsweek intends to do its part to press for same-sex marriage. Many observers believe that the main obstacle to this agenda is a resolute opposition grounded in Christian conviction. Newsweek clearly intends to reduce that opposition.
From "More than 'Mutual Joy': Lisa Miller of Newsweek against Scripture and Jesus" by Prof. Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon 12/10/08
Religious proponents of gay marriage routinely ignore or twist the major arguments in Scripture and philosophy against homosexual practice. The cover story by Religion Editor Lisa Miller in the Dec. 15, 2008 issue of Newsweek, wholeheartedly endorsed by Managing Editor Jon Meacham, is a perfect case in point.
Miller’s strategy is to argue three things: first, that the image of marriage in Scripture is so alien to anything that would be acceptable to us today that we should run as fast as we can from any appeal to Scripture against “gay marriage”; second, that Scripture has little if anything to say against caring homosexual relationships; and, third, that Scripture contains “universal truths” (concerning “what the Bible teaches about love” and family) that are serviceable for promoting “gay marriage.” In a statement that can only be regarded as delusional in the extreme, Miller arrogantly declares as if she were some sort of expert on the subject: “Scripture gives us no good reason why gays and lesbians should not be (civilly and religiously) married—and a number of excellent reasons why they should.”
To arrive at her ideological objective Miller makes a number of bad moves. She exaggerates discontinuity and downplays continuity between marriage values in Scripture and our own values. . . She engages in a distorted form of analogical reasoning that elevates distant analogies like slavery and haircuts over close analogies, with far more points of correspondence, like adult-committed incest. She shows little or no understanding of the historical and literary contexts of the texts that she treats. She ignores just about every major argument against the positions that she espouses. And she extrapolates, from certain “universal truths” in Scripture, illogical conclusions that would have appalled the scriptural authors, like assuming that generic love is a sufficient prerequisite for sexual relationships.
Lisa Miller’s article is so poorly researched and so badly (and arrogantly) argued that the editors of Newsweek should be ashamed of themselves for publishing it. But they are not ashamed.
The question must be asked: What is it with the “elite” newspapers and newsmagazines over the past decade? Are they so obsessed with promoting the homosexualist agenda that they have now given up even a pretense to objectivity, balanced research, and good sense? Do they care nothing for destroying their reputation, built up over many years, as credible sources for news and commentary? These news sources are more and more resembling a homosexualist Pravda—a different agenda but the same style of propaganda “news” reporting that would make the old Kremlin leadership proud.
