IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE DODO BIRD

The Dodo bird has been extinct since the mid-to-late 17th century.  It is commonly used as the archetype of an extinct species because its extinction occurred during recorded human history, and was directly attributable to human activity, hence the phrase "going the way of the Dodos."

Now here's a thought.  Will organized religion do to us what we did to the Dodos?

What happens on the day when too many nuclear weapons fall into the hands of Islamic and Christian fundamentalists--monkeys who believe in salvation through suicide and Rapture?

A 19th Century German Jew whose brilliant theories on economics were twisted and perverted beyond recognition by Russian and Chinese fascists referred to religion as the opiate of the people.  Sadly, as a result of this historic corruption of the works of Karl Marx, atheism is now associated with "Communism" while religion is is seen as vital part of democracy.  It's a world turned upside down and strangled by stupidity.

Why hasn't the relentless onslaught of religion-based bigotry on law, democracy, human dignity and the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness taught us that religion, the reliance on the irrational and supernatural, is nothing but dangerous and destructive to a modern, civilized and progressive society?

Why do we persist as an evolving sentient species to cow tow to those among us who would keep us enslaved and ignorant under the tyranny of superstition?

Why did the headlines of last week speak of a Pope pressing our President on issues like abortion and stem cell research.  Why didn't the headlines rather speak of the President of the world's most robust humanist democracy pressing the Pope on the oppression and persecution of gay men and women--or at least the Vatican's role in the spread of disease and famine because of its barbaric stand on sex education and contraception?

So I am flabbergasted by the a new crusade by gay Americans "stepping up efforts to reverse the "gay-as-godless" stereotype.  Gays fighting for their Jesus credentials.  Gay fighting to be recognized as just as ignorant, simple-minded and superstitious as their oppressors.  One must compare this to black slaves fervently embracing the Christianity that was used to justify slavery, segregation and genocide.

Gay churches, black churches--how easily the oppressed and persecuted resort to the very same nonsense that is the very cause of their suffering.

Love us in the name of Jesus.  We are just as stupid, weak-willed and superstitious as you.

A recent Barna survey about the faith lives of gay Americans reveals some very disappointing trends--disappointing for those of us who contend that man can be and do good with having to resort to an imaginary and stern father figure.

Newsweek supported the study--which describes a gay world swept by religious fervor equal to any Evangelical of Islamic milieu--with a profile of Harry Knox.

"Though he was raised in the United Methodist Church, Harry Knox knew he couldn't become a minister in his denomination because it doesn't ordain openly gay members.

He enrolled in a seminary of the more liberal United Church of Christ but was eventually denied ordination anyway. "My whole career as an activist is an accidental ministry," says Knox, 48, who now works at the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights group.

"I would rather be a local pastor."

Instead, since 2005, Knox has built HRC's "religion and faith program," which works to combat the stereotype of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community as anti-religious. "For far too long, LGBT organizations did not put religious allies at the forefront of our efforts," Knox says. "That's a mistake we're making less often now."

One man's mistake would be another man's prayers (tongue firmly planted in cheek as I type that word.)

The Barna Group survey shows that most gay Americans lead pretty robust faith lives.  While 72 percent of straight American adults describe their faith as "very important" in their lives, so do 60 percent of gays and lesbians. Almost as many, 58 percent, say they've made a personal and ongoing commitment to Jesus Christ. And though they are much less likely than straights to share the beliefs of born-again Christians, Barna survey found that 27 percent of gays do hold those beliefs.

"Many in the Christian community assume there's this significant gap between heterosexuals and homosexuals in terms of faith beliefs and activities," says George Barna, the country's top pollster on religious issues, who supervised the survey.

"While there are statistically significant differences, it's the narrow size of the gap that's most surprising."

The poll unleashed a torrent of hate mail, mostly from believers furious with Barna's conclusion: that many gays are Bible-believing Christians.

But more and more gay rights organizations are joining HRC in stepping up efforts to highlight the faith beliefs of many gay Americans, largely through religious outreach programs. And some religious traditions and denominations are taking steps to welcome gay and lesbian members. Gay rights activists say that the 2004 election, when voters in 11 states passed gay marriage bans that were heavily promoted through churches, was a wake-up call. To help counter the image of the gay marriage battle as a fight between gays and religious Americans, HRC, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and other national gay rights groups quickly hired religious outreach staff.

Heaven help us. (Yes, irony.)

Organized religion is nothing more than the core manifestation of the evolutionary struggle between animal instinct and intelligence.  Let us hope that humanity is not just another spectacular evolutionary dead end--which will most assuredly be the case if religion triumphs over reason.  But if a majority of gay men and gay women respond to rape by religion by becoming increasingly religious, we are at best living out our last years in a stylish and rather grand cul de sac.

Last Thursday evening, a gay couple was detained by security guards on the main plaza in front of the Salt Lake City--an American city embraced by Constitutional law--Mormon Temple.

Police were called and the gay couple was fined and cited for a public farewell and kiss on the cheek.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said that the men became argumentative and refused to leave after being asked to stop their "inappropriate behavior."

Matt Aune said he and his partner, Derek Jones, were walking home from a concert nearby on Thursday night, cutting through the plaza near the Salt Lake City Mormon temple.  Aune, 28, said he gave Jones, 25, a hug and kiss and that the two were then approached by a security guard, who asked them to leave, telling them they were being inappropriate and that public displays of affection aren't allowed on the property.   The police were called and the two gay men were handcuffed.

"We asked what we were doing wrong," Aune told The Associated Press.

Church spokeswoman Kim Farah said in a statement Friday that the men were "politely asked to stop engaging in inappropriate behavior — just as any other couple would have been." "They became argumentative and used profanity and refused to leave the property," she said.

On Saturday, I noticed several Mormon missionaries distributing LDS leaflets in front of The Metropolitan Opera House.  They were not stopped by security guards.  They were not handcuffed. They were not fined.

Perhaps they should have been--if for no other reason than in memory of the Dodo bird.

Comments

[Rex]

I grew up with heterosexuals and I miss having them as part of the mix of my life. Until I retired fraternization with the "others" on the job was possible. Now I go to church, the Episcopal Church, and for at least one hour a week I am surrounded by people like my deceased parents who if not entirely understanding are at least welcoming and tolerant. Notice nothing I've said has anything to do with God. Churches are communities that you may or may not want to be a part of. I choose fraternization. My belief may not exactly match that of any one group, but it is nice to find and spend time with people who, while different, share some of my spiritual perspectives. Now if I could just find a political party that did that instead of just conning me!

[Jim m.]

The UCC does ordain openly gay and lesbian individuals as a denomination, however, it is up to an individual congregation / conference when it comes to ordination. Not all congregations of the UCC are Open and Affirming but more are becoming so each year.
Many other aspects are part of ordination please double click on this, I would be suprised if it was only the gay issue.
Many have been at the fore front for years please go to Old South Church in Boston, it's associate pastor is openly gayand he is partnered too. The Sr minister was featured on a video produced my NY Equity responding to those who say that het marriage is doomed looking back at 5 years of gay marriages in Mass.