I often complain about the "good Christians" who do little or nothing to stand up to and/or counter the incessant anti-gay hate and vitriol that is disseminated by others who wrap themselves in the mantle of Christianity. In my view, such behavior although on a far lesser scale is akin to the "good Germans" who did nothing to stand up to or halt Nazi atrocities. Thankfully, some in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are beginning to understand that being welcoming to same sex couples and partnered LGBT clergy is not enough. The hate merchants need to be confronted directly. And that is precisely what Rt. Rev. Herbert Chilstrom (pictured at left), the retired presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has done in blasting Minnesota Archbishop John Nienstedt in a op-ed in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Here are some excerpts:
Having served as a Lutheran bishop in Minnesota and then as the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), I write as one who stands on level ground with you. Like you, I have a deep sense of call to the ministry of the Gospel.
On the marriage amendment, you are described in the media as having "drawn the line." In my judgment, you have drawn the line at the wrong place.
I recognize your authority in formulating positions for your own flock in Minnesota. That is one thing. But for you and others to campaign for an amendment that imposes your stance on all citizens in Minnesota, including other Christians, believers of other faith groups and nonbelievers, is overstepping your bounds.
History is our teacher . . . . The genius of America is that we separate church from state. As we say in our Pledge of Allegiance, we are committed to our flag "and to the republic for which it stands." As any dictionary will tell us, a republic is "a nation in which citizens elect representatives to manage the government." By placing the marriage amendment on the November ballot, our legislators in St. Paul have ducked their responsibility. They have already enacted a statute that forbids same-gender marriage. Attempting to embed it in the Constitution is simply wrong.
By word and action, you leave the impression that there is little room for dissent in your church. Yet many of us recall that Raymond Lucker, your predecessor as bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm, challenged your church to begin thinking about the need for married men and, yes, even women, to be ordained as priests. He clearly understood that one could be a good Roman Catholic and still be open to change.
This raises the question: If there were a call from Roman Catholic members in Minnesota to vote on an issue of significance, would you allow for such a vote? And if a simple majority voted in favor, would you accept that vote as final? It's clear that such a vote would not even be permitted in your church.
Why then have you worked so hard and spent so much of your church's resources to bring this issue to a vote in Minnesota, where the vast majority of us are not even members of your church?
There is evidence that many in your church will vote "no" on this amendment. I stand with them and with all who will vote "no."
I have stated many times on this blog and elsewhere that thinking Catholics and particularly LGBT Catholics and their friends, family members and allies need to walk away for the Catholic Church and join one of the viable alternative churches such as the ELCA. This would hasten the much deserved coming future of the Catholic Church if it doesn't let go of its backward thinking 12th century "natural law" mindset: It will be a that becomes centered in the most ignorant and uneducated areas of the world. This latter trend is already occurring as the Catholic Church's only real growth is in the most backward countries of Africa. Personally, the demise of the Roman Catholic Church in its current morally bankrupt and child rapist protecting form cannot come about soon enough.
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