Holy Terror Part 2
This next part covers the sections of the book that expound on the details and history of the fundamentalist fight against the gay community as well as the more hopeful side of things.
What I liked:
-White makes a pretty darn good case for there to be more awareness of what some groups of Christians believe and put forth regarding the gay community.
-One of the best lines in the book comes when White is discussing the 'gay agenda' that many anti-gay groups talk about: "It was fairly obvious from my first days as an activist that a room full of gay men and women could hardly agree on three toppings for a deep dish pizza, let alone lay out an agenda to 'destroy the nations values'".
-I love that Mr. White allowed the non-violent/pro-community teachings of Martin Luther King to influence him when he was turning bitter toward the fundamentalist Christian community who wouldn't even meet with him to discuss the inaccurate information they had been pedaling.
What I didn't like:
Overall I didn't find anything that I didn't like other than learning how messed up the whole situation is. I also have a sick feeling that it is going to take a lot of effort by a lot of people to untangle the giant web of misinformation and assumptions about gay folks that has gotten into the milieu of even non-fundamentalist Christianity. While I probably need to do some more research and hear the 'other side' answer to White's assertions, it seems clear from my own experience as a church-raised Christ-Follower that a whole lot of unnecessary fear has been spread around about this community as a whole.
What I learned/want to learn more about:
- I would be interested in reading the full transcript of the Secret Meeting at Glen Eyrie.
-If it wasn't so scary and sad it would be funny: the 'gay agenda' that people talk about comes from a piece of extreme satire entitled "The Homosexual Agenda" written by a gay writer named Michael Swift that appeared in a newspaper that 'loves to push the limits of political satire' called Gay Community News. So, either the religious leaders who are pushing back against this 'agenda' purposefully failed to mention that the agenda was sarcastic, or they really didn't GET that it was meant to be a humorous piece. And I'm not sure which is worse!
-I wonder, do the leaders and activists who are working so hard to block and fight against gay people realize that they are utilizing the exact same strategies and attitudes that other religions use to impose their religious laws on a nation as a whole? I hear alot of fear about fundamentalist Muslims imposing 'Sharia' law, but why is imposing Levitical Law any better?
-I want to read the booklet by MLK entitled Where do we go from here - chaos or community. In it, he apparently talks about how cutting off attempts to communicate with 'the other' indicates a turn toward violence. Deep stuff!
-Soul Force sounds like a similar, yet more pointed, perhaps, path as the year-long Compassion Course I am taking from the Center for Non-violent Communication based in New York. Good stuffs! I will be studying it further.
The Bottom Line:
I recommend this book to any Christian brave enough to explore the 'other side' of the struggle between the gay community and the church, and to possibly walk away with a whole new point of view.
--
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part 255.
What I liked:
-White makes a pretty darn good case for there to be more awareness of what some groups of Christians believe and put forth regarding the gay community.
-One of the best lines in the book comes when White is discussing the 'gay agenda' that many anti-gay groups talk about: "It was fairly obvious from my first days as an activist that a room full of gay men and women could hardly agree on three toppings for a deep dish pizza, let alone lay out an agenda to 'destroy the nations values'".
-I love that Mr. White allowed the non-violent/pro-community teachings of Martin Luther King to influence him when he was turning bitter toward the fundamentalist Christian community who wouldn't even meet with him to discuss the inaccurate information they had been pedaling.
What I didn't like:
Overall I didn't find anything that I didn't like other than learning how messed up the whole situation is. I also have a sick feeling that it is going to take a lot of effort by a lot of people to untangle the giant web of misinformation and assumptions about gay folks that has gotten into the milieu of even non-fundamentalist Christianity. While I probably need to do some more research and hear the 'other side' answer to White's assertions, it seems clear from my own experience as a church-raised Christ-Follower that a whole lot of unnecessary fear has been spread around about this community as a whole.
What I learned/want to learn more about:
- I would be interested in reading the full transcript of the Secret Meeting at Glen Eyrie.
-If it wasn't so scary and sad it would be funny: the 'gay agenda' that people talk about comes from a piece of extreme satire entitled "The Homosexual Agenda" written by a gay writer named Michael Swift that appeared in a newspaper that 'loves to push the limits of political satire' called Gay Community News. So, either the religious leaders who are pushing back against this 'agenda' purposefully failed to mention that the agenda was sarcastic, or they really didn't GET that it was meant to be a humorous piece. And I'm not sure which is worse!
-I wonder, do the leaders and activists who are working so hard to block and fight against gay people realize that they are utilizing the exact same strategies and attitudes that other religions use to impose their religious laws on a nation as a whole? I hear alot of fear about fundamentalist Muslims imposing 'Sharia' law, but why is imposing Levitical Law any better?
-I want to read the booklet by MLK entitled Where do we go from here - chaos or community. In it, he apparently talks about how cutting off attempts to communicate with 'the other' indicates a turn toward violence. Deep stuff!
-Soul Force sounds like a similar, yet more pointed, perhaps, path as the year-long Compassion Course I am taking from the Center for Non-violent Communication based in New York. Good stuffs! I will be studying it further.
The Bottom Line:
I recommend this book to any Christian brave enough to explore the 'other side' of the struggle between the gay community and the church, and to possibly walk away with a whole new point of view.
--
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part 255.
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