MARRIAGE WARS (PART THREE): THE EMERGENCE OF THE GAY CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT

PART THREE: The Emergence of The Gay Christian Movement

Stuck in the middle of this great conflict between the Christian Church and the Gay Rights Movement are people who consider themselves hybrids… “Gay Christians”.  Many “Gay Christians” have joined the Gay Rights Movement but instead of fighting against the Christian Church, they seek to embrace Christianity and change it from the inside.

The main issue of change revolves around the opinion of whether or not homosexual sex are sexual sins or if they have been done away with in the New Testament.  In 1972, Rev. William R. Johnson, became the first openly self-avowed homosexual to be ordained by a major denomination: the United Church of Christ.  Many more followed after him.  This issue has even risen to the point where many major American denominations (such as the Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, United Methodists, etc.) are divided over this issue or have completely accepted the “pro-gay” theological position.

The great influence of the Gay Christian Movement can also be seen in creation of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches.  This fellowship boasts well over 30,000 members.  According to the Joe Dallas book Desires in Conflict, “The Advent of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), founded in 1968 sparked a new approach to homosexuality and religion.  The UFMCC, attended largely but not exclusively by self-identified Gay-Christians, claimed there was no conflict between homosexuality and Christianity.  The initial precepts that the church (and budding Gay Christian movement) was founded on were rather general:  God loves gays as much as He loves anyone else, the gospel invitation is extended to everyone regardless of orientation, and since gays found little refuge in the Christian church at large, a new fellowship was needed to welcome them and affirm their total personhood, homosexuality included.”

It is interesting to note that Christianity is not the only religion that has gay members or seeks to be influenced by the Gay Rights Movement. In New York City, Beth Simchat Torah (The House of Joy) and Beth Chayim Chadashim (The House of New Light) of Los Angeles are both large homosexual Jewish synagogues that are very active in establishing gay synagogues across the country.