This is the third post I have done on this issue because in my view it is symptomatic of the sickness of religion and Christianity in particular. The dishonesty of the statements of St. John senior pastor (pictured at left), that his church does not "want to be seen as anti-gay or against homosexuals," is stunning. It's sort of like a 1930's German saying, I don't want to be seen as anti-Jewish, but I support Adolph Hitler's policies. Sorry, pastor Graham, but you do not get to have it both ways. You and your congregation have shown your true colors and I believe it is you, not gays, who will have a severe accounting to face come Judgment Day. You and your congregation have deliberately chosen to cling to ignorance and bigotry - all because you are too intellectually lazy and self-centered to open your minds. Personally, I believe that the ELCA will be stronger and certainly more morally in tune with the true Gospel message without the pious bigots at St. John Lutheran who seem, based on this vote, better suited to join the snake oil merchants of the professional Christian set. I'd like to know how many divorced and remarried members of St. John's voted for this measure since they represent hypocrisy personified. It is also noteworthy that this mindset in Southwest Virginia is one of the reasons the area continues to be a backwater. Here are highlights from the Roanoke Times:*
One of the largest evangelical Lutheran churches in Western Virginia on Sunday afternoon took the first step to split from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. By a majority of 70 percent, members of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Southwest Roanoke County, voted to separate from the largest Lutheran church in North America.
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Senior pastor Mark Graham said his church does not "want to be seen as anti-gay or against homosexuals," but the ELCA's statement goes against the church's interpretation of marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
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Of the 485 members who voted, 342 approved breaking away from the ELCA. The church has 1,200 members and the average Sunday attendance is about 600 people, Graham said. The next step is a visit from the Virginia synod bishop next month, followed by a second vote slated for January to finalize the split. A two-thirds majority is needed. "I do not want St. John's to leave ... and I will continue to encourage them to remain a part of their Synod," Bishop James Mauney of the Virginia synod wrote in an e-mail Friday.
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These folks truly make me sick. The good news is that I believe that history will view them with the same disdain shown for those who used the Bible to argue for the continuation of slavery. History has a way of ultimately revealing bigots.
