DISQUS

Stacy L. Harp · 3 years ago

I must be very dense, (hold all the comments on that)because when I read D.L.'s post and saw the mustaches on Michael Jackson and the others I thought it was funny, and the Hitler comparison was totally lost on me. I even had someone unsubscribe to the persecution blog because they felt that I was endorsing this whole thing, which is ironic because I just thought the pictures were funny. I guess I should read into everything more deeply from now on, or I could just remain naive and laugh at pictures I thought were and still are funny.
NOT that I'm saying anything about Hitler is funny, because obviously I'm not. I had a stepfather who served under the man,and I saw how it impacted him.
But I do think mustaches on men who you normally wouldn't see a mustache on is funny. I guess I might need to get more serious and lose my funny bone.

Dan Gonzales · 3 years ago

Darn skippy! Love ya Randy.

Alan Chambers · 3 years ago

This thread reads like a page out of a 1998 Bridges Across dialogue....I am glad that when it all boils down that we are all still people who care about people first and activists somewhere down the list.
By the way, Steve B, I wish I had known that was YOU when we met face to face on Saturday. I thought you were just another Steve...not "the Steve B".
Glad you were at LWO and that you felt welcomed.

Joe Brummer · 3 years ago

Randy, You are a good man. My respect for you grows all the time. I have learned so much from you and hope we continue to learn from each other. This is a great post and yes, even when we disagree, some "gay identified" people do love you. Love is what makes a beloved community and that is the goal.
I am happy to see others, especially those on the opposing side of many gay rights confronting the hate around us. Every step towards the beloved community MLK spoke about in his life, is as step towards justice. bravo, my friend, bravo....

kevin · 3 years ago

Hey Randy. You burst my bubble just a bit this morning. :( I don't know Wayne Besen, nor do I read his blog or webpage or whatever else he has (although I might start now). Nor do I know the history that sits behind all of this.
I know you 'won't leave me comfortable for long' but yet I keep coming back. I know what your motivation is (well, as much as I can know) and now that we are being honest and open, one motivation for me coming back is to try and convince you that being gay isn't a bad thing at all. I am happy, comfortable and proud to to be a well-adjusted adult despite what I hear in the media about my 'lifestyle.'
Of course, another motivation is that I do like to be the gadfly occasionally when I think it would be helpful. :)
About bringing me to Christ--I can really and truly appreciate that. Being an historian of the early church and knowing what I do, I just can't bring myself to it. Some can, I can't. But I do love the religion of Christianity--after all, I did my M.A. in Biblical Languages at a Christian seminary instead of going to a secular university. The people I met there were just amazing and it was one of the best times in my life for education and making good friends. And I did just spend five years of my life working on my PhD in early Christian history.
And speaking of being a gadfly--Foster's post on Besen was pathetic, and his refusal to apologize and to do the opposite is prideful. And we all know that pride comes before the fall...

Steve Boese · 3 years ago

I appreciate that, Randy...
I'm trying catch up on a bunch of stuff, and didn't read all of your note, but more importantly I gotta admit that I'm doing everything in my power to ignore folks who seem to be determined to fill the broad gap between reasonable ex-gays and that guy from Topeka whose name I don't want to mention, either!
On a personal note, though, you'll get a kick out of this: Mike caught up yesterday on the post-LWO comments between us. I knew because I heard an exaggerated groan from his office first, followed by, "What... Are you and Randy dating?"

Jonathan · 3 years ago

Randy:
Thanks for taking the time to respond to Reverend Foster regarding this issue. Christians have, in my opinion, a clarion call from the Father to treat others, no matter our level of disagreement, with respect and in fact love. Matthew 5:44 from The Message says - "I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer,"
I wonder sometimes if we don't get so caught up in this "us-against-them" drama - winning the war of public opinion or whatever - that we forget that as Christians we are held to a higher standard of love.
I was recently interacting with DL on another site regarding the words of Gandhi who said "I like your Christ. I don't like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." I mentioned that those words should serve as a warning to we Christians because we are the only Jesus some will ever see and if they can't get past our actions to see Christ then we've failed in our mission.
In grace,
j.

Steve Schalchlin · 3 years ago

Randy, your letter was honest and mature. Now I'm going to have to start liking you again. :-)

Steve Schalchlin · 3 years ago

One of the aspects I enjoyed about Bridges Across, when it was lively, was that we encouraged the people one each side to police their OWN side when it got out of hand, rather than just always criticizing the "other" side. It takes guts to criticize your own side because your own words will be used as fodder by your opponents, and because, as you said, when you DON'T criticize people on your side later, you get flak. People are always looking for a suspicious motive. But when you put yourself squarely into the moral war, you end up getting shot.