Yes\u00adter\u00adday morn\u00ading Paula and I attend\u00ading the quar\u00adter\u00adly meet\u00ading for rec\u00adog\u00adnized reli\u00adgious pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adals at Stan\u00adford. Our top\u00adic was homo\u00adsex\u00adu\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty, and so I was expect\u00ading a pret\u00adty vig\u00ador\u00adous dis\u00adcus\u00adsion.<\/p>\n
For the record, there was no shout\u00ading. It was all very civ\u00adil (with the pos\u00adsi\u00adble excep\u00adtion of a ques\u00adtion that could be inter\u00adpret\u00aded as hon\u00adest inquiry or a cheap shot depend\u00ading on how much slack you want\u00aded to cut the questioner\u2013I per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adly thought it was a cheap shot and I\u2019ll leave it at that).<\/p>\n
The for\u00admat was sim\u00adple: six rep\u00adre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtives from six dif\u00adfer\u00adent reli\u00adgious tra\u00addi\u00adtions sum\u00adma\u00adrized both their philo\u00adsoph\u00adi\u00adcal stance and their prac\u00adti\u00adcal approach to homo\u00adsex\u00adu\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty on cam\u00adpus. That for\u00admat explains the civility\u2013as you\u2019ll see there were some pret\u00adty dif\u00adfer\u00adent per\u00adspec\u00adtives.<\/p>\n
First up was the Mor\u00admon rep\u00adre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtive (Alon\u00adzo). He took a gra\u00adcious but firm stance against homo\u00adsex\u00adu\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty. Two inter\u00adest\u00ading points: he root\u00aded his atti\u00adtude in the Mor\u00admon con\u00adcep\u00adtion of the fam\u00adi\u00adly as eter\u00adnal, and he was care\u00adful to point out that thoughts and feel\u00adings can\u00adnot be sin\u00adful. I would strong\u00adly dis\u00adagree with him on both points.<\/p>\n
Next was Rab\u00adbi Noa, the Jew\u00adish rep\u00adre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtive. She took a strong\u00adly pos\u00adi\u00adtive stance towards homo\u00adsex\u00adu\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty, and tried to explain all the Old Tes\u00adta\u00adment ref\u00ader\u00adences in terms of for\u00adbid\u00adding pagan rit\u00adu\u00adals. I\u2019m exceed\u00ading\u00adly skep\u00adti\u00adcal, and after the meet\u00ading I asked her for some doc\u00adu\u00admen\u00adta\u00adtion of that claim.<\/p>\n
After that the Catholic rep\u00adre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtive (There\u00adsa) made her pitch. She accu\u00adrate\u00adly recit\u00aded the teach\u00adings of the church (the ori\u00aden\u00adta\u00adtion is not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly sin\u00adful but the prac\u00adtice is intrin\u00adsi\u00adcal\u00adly evil), and then pro\u00adceed\u00aded to tell us why her church was wrong. I thought that was\u2026 inter\u00adest\u00ading.<\/p>\n
Next up was Ron Sanders (Cam\u00adpus Cru\u00adsade for Christ) speak\u00ading on behalf of the evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcals. He did an out\u00adstand\u00ading job, first tear\u00adful\u00adly apol\u00ado\u00adgiz\u00ading for the evils done under the guise of Bib\u00adli\u00adcal author\u00adi\u00adty, and then uphold\u00ading Bib\u00adli\u00adcal author\u00adi\u00adty: homo\u00adsex\u00adu\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty is immoral. Per\u00adhaps peo\u00adple can\u00adnot con\u00adtrol their ori\u00aden\u00adta\u00adtion, but homo\u00adsex\u00adu\u00adals have the same respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty as heterosexuals\u2013>to not engage in sex out\u00adside of mar\u00adriage. He expressed an unpop\u00adu\u00adlar truth in a hum\u00adble and respect\u00adful man\u00adner.<\/p>\n
Then Richard, the Luther\u00adan priest, gave his per\u00adspec\u00adtive. He\u2019s gay him\u00adself, and so it was unsur\u00adpris\u00ading that he very strong\u00adly endorsed the com\u00adpat\u00adi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty of Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty and homo\u00adsex\u00adu\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty. He\u2019s a very dynam\u00adic speak\u00ader.<\/p>\n
Final\u00adly we had a Bud\u00addhist spokesper\u00adson. David had an inter\u00adest\u00ading approach, sug\u00adgest\u00ading that in Bud\u00addhism the goal is to deny desire of any sort. Homo\u00adsex\u00adu\u00adals need to tran\u00adscend their desire for sex in the same way that het\u00adero\u00adsex\u00adu\u00adals do. Inter\u00adest\u00ading. As a Chris\u00adt\u00adian I would respond that desire is not bad if it is a desire for a good thing. Homo\u00adsex\u00adu\u00adal desire is bad because it is a desire for a bad thing.<\/p>\n
Over\u00adall, it was clear that the major\u00adi\u00adty of min\u00adis\u00adters at Stan\u00adford view homo\u00adsex\u00adu\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty as a moral\u00adly neu\u00adtral issue. No sur\u00adpris\u00ades there. I was pleas\u00adant\u00adly sur\u00adprised that the orga\u00adniz\u00ader picked speak\u00aders with a diver\u00adsi\u00adty of per\u00adspec\u00adtives. I was espe\u00adcial\u00adly thrilled that they invit\u00aded the Cam\u00adpus Cru\u00adsade leader to present the evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcal per\u00adspec\u00adtive.<\/p>\n
It was also clear that peo\u00adple hold their views on this sub\u00adject pas\u00adsion\u00adate\u00adly. There were sev\u00ader\u00adal tears in evi\u00addence, and you could sense ten\u00adsion in the room through\u00adout the dis\u00adcus\u00adsion.<\/p>\n
In case any\u00adone is curi\u00adous, the Assem\u00adblies of God (and I as its rep\u00adre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtive) believe that God\u2019s inten\u00adtion is that sex be expressed between one man and one woman in the con\u00adtext of the life\u00adlong com\u00admitt\u00adment called mar\u00adriage.<\/p>\n