Gay Church Programming Essay

438 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Christians and homophobia

Will You Watch Gay Church Programming? The vast number of evangelical Christians are opposed to homosexuality because it is a sin as defined by the Bible. While fewer than half of Americans say homosexuality is sinful, according to Lifeway research, "two-thirds of evangelicals say sex between two people of the same gender remains sinful, whether it is legal or not." That number rises to nearly 90 percent if the evangelical is a member of the clergy. Surprisingly, according to the Washington Post, blacks are even more likely to resist the homosexual agenda than with whites, even black democrats. In an effort to sway the minds of the masses, Lyanla Vanzant has "devoted three episodes of her popular series, "Iyanla Fix My Life" to help two gay pastors reveal their sexuality to their family and their congregation," as reported in an article on Hello Beautiful. BET is also getting on the gay bandwagon and is promoting a new documentary which will air on November 2 called “Holler If You Hear Me: Black and Gay In The Church”. One of the homosexual congregants interviewed on the show was thankful for the opportunity to be heard. “I’m thinking …show more content…

For example, Adam Thomason, CEO/co-founder of Collision Records, wrote "5 Reasons Gay is not the new Black" for the Fourth District. In his article, he penned, "Though perceived hypocrisy and inequality has affected homosexual men/women and Africans–and continues to–their effects on homosexuals will never compare to their effects on African-Americans. The displacement of African lives to American soil had one purpose—economic progression through slavery. To compare the struggle of homosexual men/women to that of African Americans is more than offensive. It’s wiping out 300 years of historical fortitude that saw a people fight to maintain the identity-legacy that was stolen from them on day

Show More
Related

  • Pat O Hara Case Study

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    In addition to lobbying politicians, Pat wanted to change local attitudes so, taking advantage of her popularity as a guest speaker at Rotary, Lions, Toastmasters and other local groups, she made gay equality her subject at every meeting she spoke at, and convinced many locals previously unconcerned by the matter, of the injustices faced by the gay and lesbian communities. “I was so angry that gays were treated differently. We are all equal and should be treated the same. It is unfair and unjust to be judged as a person on your sexuality” she said.

    Read More

  • The Homosexuality Debate: Conference of United States Religious Leaders and Ministers

    2080 Words  | 5 Pages

    On May the eighth of this year, the Conference of United States Religious Leaders and Ministers was held in Chicago, Illinois. The conference is an annual event coordinated by church leaders who each send a representative to take part in the discussions. Father Gregory McAllister of the Diocese of Arlington traveled to Chicago to attend the conference and share his knowledge. He spoke on behalf of the Catholic Church, while ministers and clergy from various religions from across the country also shared their views on the topics discussed.

    Read More

  • The Stonewall Riots

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    The media considers the1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City the spark of the modern gay rights movement. This occurred after the police raided the Stonewall bar, a popular gay bar in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. Allyn argues that the new energy and militancy generated by the riot played a crucial role in creating the gay liberation movement. Arguably, the Stonewall Riots have come to resemble the pivotal moment in gay rights history largely because it provided ways for the gay community to resist the social norms. In fact, the riots increased public awareness of gay rights activism (Allyn 157). Gay life after the Stonewall riots, however, was just as varied and complex as it was before. In the following era, ho...

    Read More

  • The Role of the Church in Gay Harlem

    1775 Words  | 4 Pages

    Christian leaders have often written about homosexuality in a negative manner. Throughout the majority of Christian history most theologians and dominations have viewed homosexual behavior as sinful and immoral especially in African-American churches. Certain orthodox interpretations of Christian morality have led the overwhelming majority of African-Americans who attend church to consider homosexuality a sin and thus same-sex marriages as wrong. Black liberation theology, especially in the context of the black political church, has led a minority of African-Americans to be inclusive of homosexuals and to permit their churches to serve as a political resource for those receptive to lesbian and gay rights (Shaw). However, in the past century some African-American Christian religious groups and churches have espoused a wide variety of beliefs and practices towards homosexuals, including the establishment of some 'open and accepting' congregations that actively support queer members. The Abyssinian Baptist church is one of these institutions. By comparing the preaching’s of early 20th century pastor Adam Clayton Powell Jr, to present day pastor Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III, there is strong evidence to show the evolution of churches position on homosexuality in the Abyssinian Baptist Church.

    Read More

  • The Stonewall Riots Analysis

    605 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mattachine, an activist group in New York, called for a meeting July 16 to organize around gay liberation. Dick Leitsch, an old time leader, tried to lead the meeting. “ Acceptance of gays and lesbians would take time,” he explained, but one young man shouted, “we don't want acceptance, we have got to radi...

    Read More

  • The Stonewall Riots

    1946 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...protest movements throughout America and the world.” Among the gay community Stonewall has become the word for freedom, for fighting, for equality. It became a turning point in Gay history, so much so that most books on the subject refer to “pre-Stonewall” and “post-Stonewall” as the lines of demarcation. Of course the journey is still long and fight has not been won. At the turn of the century there were still 20 states that made homosexual sex illegal , any only a few states would recognize the love and companionship of gays through marriage or civil unions. The military policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is still active and prejudices continue to exist. But, as exemplified by any other civil rights movement, it is through the constant grind of activists and lay-people constantly protesting and educating, that change occurs, even if only one person at a time.

    Read More

  • Why Black Churches Oppose Gay Marriage

    607 Words  | 2 Pages

    Boykin believes that if a gay or lesbian from their community addressed the fact that they are apart of both groups, then it could add compassion to the ministers that have many gay and lesbian members of their congregation. There is a bigger debate underlying Boykin’s article, which seems to be the fact that there are many correlations and consequences to Blacks not supporting same sex marriages. If 48% of blacks support the Marriage Protection Initiative, then that means in November they will be voting for the Bush ticket on these initiatives, and the Democratic party will lose the support of several swinging states. The separation of opinion on this particular Initiative in the polls will make it hard for Kerry to win, thus making the issue on Gay rights overcast what may be more important to the Black community. This separation between supporters of Kerry will weaken his ticket, and allow Bush, and all of his other not so minority concerned bills, to win. The disagreement on this topic will exceed the fact that the Democratic Party is in their favor on issues that effect the entire community, proving that there is something greater at stake.

    Read More

  • The Causes Of The Stonewall Riots

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Stonewall Riots marked the start of the gay rights movement, and inspired members of the gay community to fight for their rights instead of being condemned for their sexuality. Even today, gay people in the US use the incident at Stonewall to educate younger members of the gay community. "The younger generation should know about Stonewall so that they will realize it is possible to make change. It is possible to overcome entrenched, institutionalized prejudice, discrimination, and bigotry. And that they can live full equal lives." (Frank Kameny, aarp.org) This is the message that many members of the gay community continue to spread after the incident at the Stonewall Inn.

    Read More

  • Portrayal of Gays in the Media

    636 Words  | 2 Pages

    This addition of multiple different depictions of same-sex couples and gay and lesbian people by television is being widely praised by the LBGT community. It makes the idea of homosexuality more common and representative of the actual community.

    Read More

  • Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and the Media - Lesbians on TV

    3592 Words  | 8 Pages

    When television first appeared back in the 1940's, times were very different.  What we would consider completely normal today would have seemed quite taboo just a few decades ago. For example, in 1953, Lucille Ball was not allowed to say the word "pregnant" while she was expecting baby Ricky and it wasn't until the 1960's show Bewitched, that we saw a married couple actually sharing the same bed.  Considering how conservative the television networks were back then, it is not hard to deduce that something as controversial as homosexuality would be far from discussed or portrayed at any level.  It was only in 1973 that television premiered its first homosexual character.  Over the next three decades the emergence of gay and lesbian characters in television has increased and decreased as the times have changed. Due to the resurgence of conservatism that came back in the early 1980's, homosexual topics were again reduced to a minimum.  Since that time though, as many people can see, there has been a rise of gay and lesbian characters on television. One might think after a first glance at the previous sentence that there has been progress among gay and lesbian communities to have a fair representation in the media.  However, if one looks hard at the circumstances surrounding their portrayal, many people may start to believe that if there has been any progress then it has been quite minimal.

    Read More

  • Gay and Lesbian Visibility in Movies and Television

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1990s saw a surge of gay characters in both television and movies. From Ellen Degeneres and her character Ellen Morgan coming out under much scrutiny on the TV show ‘Ellen,’ to Julia Roberts and Rupert Everett comedically playing off each other in the motion picture ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.’ Sure, gays and lesbians have been around forever, especially in Hollywood. But never has there been a time to be more out. With the popularity of shows like Will and Grace, which feature leading gay characters, as well as Dawson’s Creek

    Read More

  • Gay Marriage and Asian Culture

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    The history of gay marriage is short but not liked as much. From the history of gay marriages there are an estimated number of 250 million people who live in places which accept gay marriage; this is about 4% of world’s population. In the 2nd century in Rome, men of the same age were legally allowed to marry where they were considered to be pagans and the marriages were conducted by the Mother Goddess (Celeste 2010). On April 16, 106, the first Gay marriage was documented in which two men, Pedro and Vandilaz were married in a chapel witnessed by a priest. In the United States, majority of Christians are very active in opposing same sex marriages both vocally and politically. Why is it so? This is against the convectional purpose of marriage and also marriage is defined as union between two people of opposite sex, (Norton, 2004)

    Read More

  • Should Gay Marriage Be Legal?

    1954 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...onal than $50,000 support such unions. Assistance is lesser, simply over six in ten, amongst non-whites and those with lesser incomes. Six in ten evangelical Protestants oppose same-sex marriage, while around six in ten Catholics, non-evangelical Protestants and eight in ten with no spiritual affiliation support it. Three-quarters of Americans younger compared to thirty support same-sex marital relationship, while less compared to one-half of senior citizens share the very same.

    Read More

  • Church Reform Essay

    1340 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Catholic Church’s corruption during the late Middle Ages further enabled church reforms due to the ever-increasing view of the loss of credibility within the church by both the laity and clergy. Thus implementing the ideas of reform. Martin Luther is considered the father of the reformation where he instigated the challenging for the church, papal authority, and changed how the people were allowed to worship. Carlstadt and Zwingli, much like Luther, practiced Evangelical traditions, however, they expanded further than Luther in regards to doctrine and practice. John Calvin on the other hand challenged some of the Evangelical and Reformed Traditions by various religious changes politically and socially. Lindberg examines the Evangelical

    Read More

  • Pastoral Counseling Essay

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    The shepherd and sheep relationship is the best illustration for the relationship between pastor and parishioners. When Jesus asked Simon Peter does he love him three times and said to him “Feed my sheep”, the shepherd and flock relationship has been set. Since Jesus is our good shepherd (Jn. 10:11a), he laid out a good example for us to follow - to lay down his life for the sheep. (Jn. 10:11b) Thus, the wellness of both in and out of the parishioners should always be the concern in the pastors’ hearts. Soul care for the people is essential. Christian friendship is the foundation of Christian soul care. Pastoral ministry including preaching, teaching, and worship forms the broad context of pastoral counseling. Pastoral care is within pastoral ministry but broader than pastoral counseling. God’s love is the source and motivation. Within the pastoral care, there are spiritual direction and pastoral

    Read More

More about Gay Church Programming Essay

Open Document