July 2, 2013
Christians v. Gays: The Damage Done
After last week’s Supreme Court decisions overturning the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8, Rev. Dr. David Gushee, a minister and professor, wrote an article for Religion Dispatches about the harm done by those who claim to be the true representatives of Christianity while displaying outrage at the Court’s decisions and declaring a kind of war of “Christians v. gays.” Gushee wrote: “Many are already arguing about the great damage that will be done to marriage with today’s decisions. I would suggest that a more important damage to Christian witness in American culture has already been done, not by the Supreme Court but by the Christian activists; and not just today but for a generation or more. And that damage will intensify in proportion to the Christian outcry in days to come.” He is using the word Christians (as, unfortunately, many in the media are using it also, but without the definition or qualification he provides) to actually refer to conservative, “heterosexual, activist traditionalists,” who “have become identified with actively pursuing the denial of rights and benefits to others that they themselves enjoy.” Read his list of the kinds of damage being done.
