Two African-American pastors in D.C. wrote a touching and powerful column on why they support and have even married gay couples in their own church. They also wrote fascinating analysis on why the African-American community is perceived as homophobic, which as they pointed out, is unfair.
I thought their analysis of how different people interpret the bible, based on their culture and upbringing, was brilliant:
When issues of gay rights and gay marriage come up, the first question many black people ask is, “What does the Bible have to say about it?” This seemingly innocent question doesn’t acknowledge that when we approach the Bible, our perspective has been shaped by where we were born, by whom we were raised, what Grandma taught us, where we went to school and what our pastor preached in church — usually conservative ideas on matters such as homosexuality. Therefore, we tend to interpret the Bible not objectively, but through the lens of our cultural and historical context.
The conservative strand of black religion is evident in what Harvard professor Peter Gomes calls “bibliolatry” — the practice of worshiping the Bible rather than worshiping God. It is also found in a “literal” interpretation of the Bible that focuses more on the letter of the text than on its spirit, and concentrates on passages about domination, oppression, hierarchy, elitism and exclusion rather than on the major themes of love, justice, freedom, equality and inclusion that run throughout the Bible.
Anyways, this article is worth a read. In related news, D.C. businesses expect a “windfall” if and when gay marriage is legalized, according to the Post.
If and when?
Didn’t Mayor Fenty sign the bill into law last week?
If and when?
Didn’t Mayor Fenty sign the bill into law last week?
meanwhile, in Iowa
we could really use an African-American spiritual leader speaking out on this issue. The Interfaith Alliance of Iowa has quite a few clergy involved, but as far as I know no one from any predominantly black church. The head of the NAACP in Iowa and Nebraska endorsed a Republican candidate for governor who promises to halt same-sex marriage by executive order on day one of his administration.
And an activist and owner of several African-American oriented publications is planning to run for governor against our incumbent Democrat, Chet Culver. This guy has a lot of complaints, primarily related to Culver’s education and economic policies, but he also slams Culver for not doing enough to protect “traditional marriage” from the gays. Sigh.
should have clarified
that the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa strongly supports marriage equality.
should also have added
that the head of the Iowa/Nebraska NAACP is also pastor at a baptist church. He played a prominent role in public protests against the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling that struck down the “defense of marriage act.”
meanwhile, in Iowa
we could really use an African-American spiritual leader speaking out on this issue. The Interfaith Alliance of Iowa has quite a few clergy involved, but as far as I know no one from any predominantly black church. The head of the NAACP in Iowa and Nebraska endorsed a Republican candidate for governor who promises to halt same-sex marriage by executive order on day one of his administration.
And an activist and owner of several African-American oriented publications is planning to run for governor against our incumbent Democrat, Chet Culver. This guy has a lot of complaints, primarily related to Culver’s education and economic policies, but he also slams Culver for not doing enough to protect “traditional marriage” from the gays. Sigh.
should have clarified
that the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa strongly supports marriage equality.
should also have added
that the head of the Iowa/Nebraska NAACP is also pastor at a baptist church. He played a prominent role in public protests against the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling that struck down the “defense of marriage act.”