Category Archives: Religious News

Scientific study: children of same sex partners are well-adjusted

Opponents of the ELCA ministry policies that allow gay clergy frequently trumpet the Reformation cry Sola Scriptura. The WordAlone Ministries bases its name on this slogan, and ELCA critics decry any other influence in ethical discernment beyond strict application of Biblical law. Such critics conveniently overlook Luther’s own two-pronged analytical approach–“the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason”–to inform conscience. One expects that the Lutheran CORE, WordAlone, & LCMC spokesmen would cite scientific or empirical evidence if they could, but they are left with unsound science such as reparative therapy (CORE brought along fellow-travelers from the debunked Exodus Ministries to CWA09). Lacking sound scientific support for gay-EXCLUSIVE policies, it is understandable why ELCA opponents wrap themselves in unscientific and uncritical Biblical interpretations. Oh, we hear platitudes now and again about “family values” or “traditional marriage”, but the evidence doesn’t support their case.

Thus, we don’t expect the CORE types to pay much attention to the scientific study report in today’s issue of Pediatric Journal which concludes “Being raised by a same-sex couple is no hindrance to healthy psychological development”. In fact, 17 year olds who had been raised entirely by a lesbian couple following artificial insemination of one partner, actually seemed better adjusted than their counterparts who had been raised by heterosexual partners—except when subjected to homophobic bullying.

When comparing the results to how mothers living in conventional families rated their teenagers, children of same-sex couples were more competent in school, had fewer social problems, broke fewer rules and were less aggressive.

Based on what the children reported themselves, they did just as well whether or not they knew the identity of their biological father.

However, those teenagers who — according to their mothers — experienced homophobia and bullying did turn out to be more anxious and have more depressive symptoms than their peers.

St Olaf grad elected bishop

Bill Gafkjen, my first cousin and eldest of six sons of my mom’s sister Joanie, was recruited to pitch for St Olaf by coach Jim Dimick out of Colombia Heights High School in the mid ‘70s. After one year, Bill met with the coach to tell him he had decided to quit playing baseball to concentrate on studies. “We both cried,” Bill said. Bill also said his Gafkjen kin were greatly disappointed based upon their tradition of town team ball on the western prairies of Minnesota in the Willmar area.

Even though he only spent one year on the team, Bill considers coach Dimick to have been his mentor, and he asked me to extend his personal condolences to the coach following the recent death of his beloved wife, Nan. Coach Dimick and I both belong to Bethel Lutheran Church of Northfield. Yesterday I did so, along with a big hug, as I reported to coach that one of his boys had just been elected to become Bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the ELCA.

Bill was baptized in our family’s home congregation, Gethsemane Lutheran of Upsala, the same church where our mothers grew up, the same church where Grandma Hilma and all her siblings were baptized and confirmed, and the same church where our great-grandparents were immigrant pioneers and amongst the earliest members of the old Sandvikens Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation. Bill’s first name and my middle name are based in part in remembrance of great-grandfather Wilhelm who became surrogate father to his six granddaughters, Hilma’s six girls, when Hilma’s husband Olaf was killed in a car-train collision in 1936.

Bill’s mom died of breast cancer over 35 years ago, and my mom died of ALS about 6 years ago. The other four sisters are alive and well, together with Bill’s dad, Guffy, and five brothers, and over a dozen first cousins (we lost cousin Rick to a car accident). I speak for the whole family in expressing our pride and extending our prayers and well-wishes for cousin Billy as he answers the call to be the pastor to the pastors of the 220 congregations and 71,000 members of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the ELCA.

The ELCA news release is reprinted below in its entirety:

William Gafkjen Elected Bishop of ELCA Indiana-Kentucky Synod

     COVINGTON, Ky. (ELCA) — The Rev. William O. “Bill” Gafkjen (GUFF-ee-ehn) was elected June 5 to a six-year term as bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the synod assembly in Covington, Ky.
     Gafkjen, 52, assistant to the bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, was elected on the fifth ballot for bishop with 301 votes to 168 votes for the Rev. Steven L. Schwier, Christ the King Lutheran Church, South Bend, Ind. The Rev. Michael R. Brown, Risen Lord Lutheran Church, Bargersville, Ind., was also a nominee on the fourth ballot for bishop. There were 56 names on the first or nominating ballot. Gafkjen led on all ballots.
     The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, presided at the election.
     Gafkjen will succeed the Rev. James R. Stuck, the synod’s bishop for 12 years, who announced he will retire when his term ends Aug. 31. The synod has made tentative plans for the bishop-elect’s installation to be held at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Indianapolis, on Sept. 11, Gafkjen said.
     In an interview with the ELCA News Service, Gafkjen said his election brought to him “a sense of humility that’s inspired with the sort of trust that comes with this call.”
     Along with a commitment to the synod, his new call “is an invitation to walk alongside people in a difficult time to try to figure out what it means to be the church in mission. It’s an opportunity to work with some great people and to build on the foundation that Bishop Stuck built in this synod,” Gafkjen said.
     Among the priorities he sees for the synod, Gafkjen said the synod needs to assist members to have public conversations together in a way that honors differences. He also named priorities such as staying focused on mission in the midst of financial challenges and stewardship concerns, and building connections and communication across the synod.
     Gafkjen has served with Stuck since 2002. “He is a man with a deep pastoral heart who is centered in prayer. He has a deep commitment to sharing the good news,” the bishop-elect said.
     Born in Beausejour, Manitoba, Canada, Gafkjen earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn. He earned a master of divinity from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., and a doctorate from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga. St. Olaf College is one of 27 ELCA colleges and universities; Luther Seminary is one of eight ELCA seminaries.
     Following his ordination in 1985, Gafkjen served as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Mora, Minn.; Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Niles, Mich.; Lutheran Campus Ministries at Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pa.; Evangelical Lutheran Church, Duncanville, Pa.; and Christ the King Lutheran Church, South Bend, Ind.
     Gafkjen and his wife Janet are the parents of two children, Nathan and Kira. They reside in Fishers, Ind.
     The Indiana-Kentucky Synod is 71,097 baptized members in 220 congregations in Indiana and Kentucky. The synod office is in Indianapolis.

Now it’s the Presbyterians’ turn

The Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA) is commonly labeled “mainline Protestant”. According to Wikipedia, the attribution “mainline Protestant” suggests the following:

Mainline or mainline Protestant (also sometimes called mainstream) denominations are those that comprised the vast majority of American Christianity from the colonial era until the early 1900s. Most were brought to America by their respective historic immigrant groups. Today, most are rooted in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States.

As a group they have maintained theologies that stress social justice concerns together with personal salvation and evangelism.They have been credited with leading the fight for social causes such as racial justice and civil rights, equality for women, rights for the disabled and other key issues. Many of the issues that such groups have advocated for have been embraced by American law and society, but at the same time mainline denominations have been somewhat marginalized. In addition, mainline churches and laity founded most of the leading educational institutes in the US.

In typical usage, the term mainline is contrasted with evangelical. Mainline churches tend to be more liberal in terms of theology and political issues. This places them to the ideological left of the evangelical and fundamentalist churches.

With approximately 2.4 million members, the PCUSA is the third largest of the mainline Protestant denominations behind the United Methodists (UMC–8 million) and the ELCA (4.4 million) and just ahead of the Episcopal Church (2.1 million). Many of these denominations hold formal agreements with each other that mutually recognize clergy and sacramental practice. For instance, the ELCA has full communion agreements with six other denominations, including the UMC, PCUSA and Episcopal Churches.

After wrestling with women’s ordination a generation or two ago, that issue is now settled and females comprise a significant percentage of the clergy within these mainline Protestant denominations. Presently, LGBT issues roil these denominations. The United Church of Christ (UCC) has the longest record of allowing gay clergy, and LGBT issues seem less contentious for that 1.1 million member denomination. The Episcopal Church now has two LGBT bishops and adopted policies a year ago that succinctly offer “all the sacraments for all the baptized”. But, the Episcopalians’ relationship with the worldwide Anglican communion has been strained and a conservative, dissident group of American Episcopalians has splintered away. Also last summer, the ELCA changed its policy and now recognizes and affirms committed gay relationships and allows partnered gay clergy, but not without defecting individual and congregational membership.

All of this is background to the PCUSA weeklong 219th Annual Assembly that convenes in Minneapolis on July 3rd. Coincidentally, the venue is the same Convention Center that was the location of last year’s momentous ELCA church wide assembly (CWA09). I was present last summer as a volunteer for Goodsoil, a coalition of LGBT advocacy groups, and regular followers of this blog know that I have posted extensively about that experience. The parallel LGBT advocacy organization within the PCUSA is “More Light Presbyterians (MLP)”, and they will advocate for repeal of provision G-6.0106b within the PCUSA Book of Order.

Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.

At the 2006 assembly, the delegates voted by a 57% majority that this provision was “non-essential” but without repealing it, which would have required ratification by the various presbyteries (regional bodies) of the PCUSA. Detractors decried this “end run” around the PCUSA constitution. Indeed, at the next assembly in 2008, the provision was amended by the delegates, but the amendment was subsequently derailed by the Presbyteries that failed to ratify the assembly action.

In addition to regular business of the assembly, including the election of a new moderator, the issue will certainly arise next month in Minneapolis. I intend to blog extensively on this issue in the coming weeks so stay tuned. As a non-Presbyterian, I also confess to partial knowledge of the details, and I welcome any Presbyterian comment or correction.

Anti-ELCA Benne makes the case FOR the ELCA

This blog has previously posted on three theologians who have attempted to provide intellectual cover for the the ELCA schismatics of WordAlone, Lutheran CORE, and LCMC. (Click here for prior posts regarding Carl Braaten, here for James Nestingen, and here for Robert Benne).

Now, Benne, one of the “neo-cons” who influenced Bush Iraq policy, is at it again in a May 27 article entitled “Lutherans in search of a church”.

A common theme of these three ELCA irritants is that their opposition goes way back to the very beginnings—the merger of three prior Lutheran bodies into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that became a reality in 1988. For each dissident, the focus of their dismay is the polity of the ELCA that mandates a) that voting members shall be 60% laity and only 40% clergy, b) that lay and clergy voting members shall each consist of 50-50 male and female, and c) that 10% of the voting members shall consist of persons of color. For these three white-male-elites, the ELCA allows too much minority influence, too much female influence, and too much lay influence but not enough influence for the good old boy network. A subtle subtext to this theme is that Lutheranism got onto the wrong track when some denominations began to ordain women half a century ago.

Benne’s latest missive suggests this system “insured that the more ‘progressive’ elements of the church would be overrepresented.” As opposed to the regressive-white-male-elites? Who does Benne expect to persuade with this argument?

For those of us who support the ELCA generally and the decisions of CWA09 in particular, we can be thankful for the public statements of the “intellectual” spokesmen for the schismatics. They make our case for us.

For Facebook users, there is a discussion of Benne’s article on the “Lovin’ the Lutheran Church” page. Here’s a sprinkling of the comments:

Kate Wulff says, “Well, it apparently ruined things for ordained straight white men who are mad the church isn’t their personal fiefdom.”

Robert Lewis says, “And speaking as a white male ELCA pastor, I’m quite thankful that my role has been reduced in this denomination. I personally … and we as a denomination … are richly blessed by the women and people of colors and races other than white … as well as the clergy that fit that description.”

Kirsten A.S. Mebust says, “How odd that Benne defines the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church as primarily white (presumably Euro-descended) and male! It’s as if history and orthodoxy began and ended with the first half of the 20th century in the Upper Midwest of the United States! And even then, it excludes the women who established many of the mission churches, including the one I belong to. The church of his fantasy never existed.”

Shelley Barnard says, “Is he really saying that only white males can provide adequate theological guidance? That’s just… bizarre…”

Jim McGowan says, “If CORE and NACL are the ‘last, great efforts to live out the promise of Lutheranism as a church on this continent’ then we are really in trouble.”

And on and on.

Unity or justice? Must we repeat history?

The two church leaders and longtime friends saw things differently. At the risk of their friendship, they openly opposed each other as they argued before the assembly.

One of them sensed that church unity was jeopardized, that the break from tradition that his friend proposed would splinter the church, that his friend’s radical views of justice and inclusivity were misguided. He was sure that his friend’s insistence upon full participation for those whose behavior insulted the norms of their religious tradition would offend and frighten the faithful core. It was not that his faction was unwelcoming–they merely asked that all obey the traditional understanding of God’s own law, affirmed by countless generations of God’s faithful. By refusing to conform, were not these radicals denying the very authority of God?

When his friend stubbornly insisted on full participation for those unwilling to follow the law, the fabric of the church was irreparably ripped apart. The hurtful words spoken by his once dear friend lingered long in the collective memory of his faction. Why, he dared to accuse them of hypocrisy and failing to act consistently with the truth of the gospel.

“How can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

His friend Paul spoke those words, but Peter and the faithful core persisted, remaining true to tradition and Torah. They would not break bread with unclean Gentiles. Peter was right about Paul’s inclusive agenda splintering the church. After this confrontation before the assembly–this incident in Antioch–the rift between the Torah-abiding traditionalists and the Torah-breaking, uncircumcised Gentiles became a gaping chasm.

ELCA gay rostering marches on

Following the votes of the ELCA churchwide assembly in August (CWA09) and the implementation of new rostering policies by the ELCA church council regarding partnered gay clergy last month, the reinstatement of once-removed pastors continues around the US. First came Brad Schmeling and Darin Easler in Atlanta. This week, the Sierra-Pacific synod has reinstated a group of eight California pastors who were once rostered but subsequently removed because of same-gender partners.

A routine Lutheran candidacy committee meeting turned extraordinary today as the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) approved the reinstatement and reception of eight gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender clergy.
Today’s meeting opens the door to complete the process of adding all eight to the roster of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in North America.

All eight are currently or were previously on the roster of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, a movement within the Lutheran church to expand ministry opportunities for openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender pastors.

This week in Minnesota, another first: the approval of a lesbian pastor who had not previously been rostered. The Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper carried the story:

For seven years, the Rev. Mary Albing has been pastor of Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer in south Minneapolis. But the official roster of pastors lists the job as vacant.

Albing, a lesbian, couldn’t be recognized as a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Her stealth status ends Sunday morning when Bishop Craig Johnson of the Minneapolis Synod signs the original Letter of Call that Albing got from the church in 2003. She is believed to be the first lesbian to become a rostered ELCA pastor since the denomination voted last year to accept gays and lesbians in committed relationships.

“On one hand, it’s going to be a huge day, and I’m very excited about that,” said Albing, 55. “But at the same time, it’s not going to change anything in terms of what I do.”

In an earlier post, I suggested the national media has discovered the ELCA. Now, the secular blogosphere is noting that the ELCA may be a welcoming church after all. The change.org blog entitled “Gay Rights” notes that Albing’s rostering “marks the trajectory that the Lutheran Church as a whole is moving toward — that of a welcoming place for people of all stripes, regardless of sexual orientation.” And, Albing’s story is noted with approval in the blogosphere of the UK.

As a closing benediction, I will pass along the 20th anniversary story of one gay couple as reported by Pastor Roger Lovette, father of one of the partners, on his blog, Head and Heart.

We’ve learned a lot from them through the years. We’ve learned that being gay is not what one does but what one is as a person. We bristle when anyone says: alternative lifestyle—as if homosexuality was a choice. Ever heard anyone talk about the heterosexual lifestyle? Through this experience, we’ve learned a lot about injustice. Gay couples want the same legal rights and privileges as married folk. They want to serve in the military just like everyone else. To deny people who love one another full legal rights is just wrong. We have learned that to be different is no crime or sin.

We have come to know that all people are basically the same—with the same hopes and dreams. The tragedy is that when those that are gay are forced into a closet this becomes a crippling way to live. This silly idea that gay couples threaten or weaken the institution of marriage is strange. Can we blame gays when 50% of our marriages do not make it?

We have come to believe that Jesus really does love all the little children of the world. We believe that the prism through which we read the Scriptures must be filtered first through the spirit and attitude of Jesus. Jesus stretched out his arms and said: “Come ye…” and there were no exceptions.

But this we know. There is a couple in Philadelphia that have in their relationship what married people everywhere long for. Commitment, trust, caring for one another—in sickness and in health—a loving relationship. Matthew and Mark, like a multitude of others, have faced incredible odds when they courageously struck out together twenty years ago. But their ties have lasted and grown stronger. I am proud of our son and his partner and wish them many, many more anniversaries. They are role models for us all.

Pain as proof

We moved last week, just down the block, but packing, transporting, and unpacking a household is an onerous task regardless of the distance. Still walking around boxes and nursing a stiff old body that will turn social-security-eligible next week. In the middle of it all, I had a book signing on Saturday, and Sunday marked the third installment of a four part series I am teaching at my congregation about the canonization of the New Testament—the centuries long process of determining which writings would become the sacred books of Christianity. A story of conflict and controversy and erecting boundaries to define the outsider. I offer these personal notes as explanation for the dearth of posts on this blog recently. But today I’ll offer my thoughts on a subject that has been festering for awhile.

Pastor Cary and Pastor Jeff are commenters to this blog with a different point of view than my own. I’m decidedly pro-revised-ministry-policies, and they’re both opposed. Pastor Jeff suggests that his Arizona congregation has or will soon leave the ELCA and Pastor Carey is a leader of a SE Minnesota group called “Faithfulness Gathering” whose vision is To create a home for faithful Lutherans in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa. The clear implication is that those of us who support the ECLA policies aren’t numbered among the faithful.

Pastor Jeff has twice invited me, via a comment on my blog, to write a post about an ELCA synod that has significant financial difficulties. Pastor Cary writes that the ELCA is a “sinking ship” and the only question posed on his blog is whether to join CORE or LCMC. Why do these two and many others keep pointing to negative ELCA statistics and anecdotal evidence of pain in the parishes? That several hundred ELCA congregations have or will sever their ties with the ELCA is undisputed as is the knowledge that thousands of individuals will also move elsewhere. No doubt about it, these departures and the residual anguish in many congregations are immensely painful for the ELCA.

But why chirp about it?

Some would suggest that it is mean-spirited reveling in the struggles of the ELCA, pleasure in the pain of one’s opponents, but I’ll give them more credit than that. Instead, I think they seek to prove a point, and they cite the pain of the ELCA as proof—of what? That the decisions of CWA09 were wrong? To create a collective “buyer’s remorse” regarding the decisions of CWA09? There’s a certain “you were warned” tone to the comments. The admonition “if the ELCA adopts pro-gay ministry policies, then there will be mass defections” has come true. That’s why it’s also necessary to overstate and hype the defections. Why, some suggest that the ELCA itself is damaged beyond repair (a sentiment Pastor Cary may share). But fear not, Lutheran CORE will leap into the breach with their proposal for a “reconfiguration of North American Lutheranism.” Drum roll, please.

If maintaining unity in the ELCA is a greater priority than enacting justice, then I see their point. Steady as she goes. Don’t make waves. Avoid controversy. Refrain from challenging the folks in the pews with enlightened notions of human sexuality; after all, the gays left their church a long time ago. Don’t talk about sex at all.

Change can be painful. Don’t free the slaves, Mr. Lincoln, or we’ll secede from the union. And when we do, it’s really you who leave us. Must our kids remind us that doing the right thing is not always popular? So, the next time someone flaunts the latest congregation to vote itself out of the ELCA, I ask what does that prove other than that the ELCA was willing to risk, to take a stand, to do the right thing despite the self-fulfilling threats of the secessionists?

BTW, I’ll ask my canonization class on Sunday if we’re unbiblical.

Should the ELCA be more democratic? Or less?

Conservative ELCA antagonists continue to rail about the ELCA decision making process in order to delegitimize the church wide decisions of 2009 (CWA09). The ELCA is too democratic and egalitarian say some. Failing to note the inconsistency of the argument, others claim that ELCA members and congregations are subservient to an autocratic regime in Chicago, disdainfully dismissed as “Higgins Road”. Over a thousand voting members, the actual electees from around the US who voted at CWA09, are alternately criticized as dupes of a well-organized and financed gay lobby or as independent spirits who followed their own whims rather than the will of their constituents (the “voting member” rather than “delegate” terminology argument).

Two weeks ago, I attended the NE Minnesota Synod assembly, and I watched and listened to the debate over a resolution to conduct a synod-wide polling of the attitudes of members and congregations regarding CWA09. If the ELCA only had a direct democracy, the sins of CWA09 would have been avoided; let the people decide! Then, this past weekend I listened to the debate over a resolution at the SE Minnesota synod assembly that called for synods to have a veto over the decisions of CWA voting members regarding social statements. A House of Lords to reign in the unbridled actions of the House of Commons?

Which is it? Too much democracy or not enough? Too hot or too cold, baby bear, or just right, Goldilocks?

Today is the day: ELCA rosters gay clergy

From the moment they called the question and the resolution passed by a 55-45% majority at last August’s ELCA churchwide assembly, Lutherans knew that partnered gay clergy would soon become rostered on the list of ELCA ordained clergy.

Today is the day.

A visible sign of the wondrous changes in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is the reinstatement of Pastor Bradley Schmeling and Pastor Darin Easler to the roster of ministers of the ELCA. Both had been removed from that roster for being in a committed, same-gender relationship.

The leading Minnesota newspaper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, reported on the local angle, noting that Darin Easler had earlier served in the SE Mn synod (now my home) and also mentioned Anita Hill whose own celebrated case in St Paul was an important waypoint on the journey toward full inclusion.

Because they both had been rostered before, the process was different than for them than, say, the Rev. Anita Hill, who has been pastoring St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church in St. Paul since 2001 without being on the ELCA roster. She said that she’s going to apply for rostering but is waiting so that the distinction of being first goes to a California minister who was the first lesbian to challenge the old ELCA policy.

And, speaking of the 20 year old California extraordinary ordinations of gay and lesbian pastors, here is a video that retells and celebrates the story of Jeff Johnson, Phyllis Zillhart, and Ruth Frost. The video was released on the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM) blog. Susan Hogan at Pretty Good Lutheran’s blog has more background information, and I also cite my own past post.

Jumping on the bandwagon: bashing Lutheran CORE

When teaching about sex replaces teaching about salvation as a defining mark of the church, something has clearly gone severely awry.

Nearly ten years ago, I taught an adult forum at my church about the Biblical treatment of homosexuality. One of the participants raised the familiar notion that the progressive view abandoned the Bible in favor of popular culture. It struck me that she was right but she had the roles reversed. That is, it seemed that the conservative religious view was based on cultural homophobic impulses instead of Biblical hospitality and inclusivity teachings or on the logical implications of Jesus’ two commands. The Biblical “clobber passages” served as convenient proof texts for a fearful and misinformed popular culture notwithstanding solid Biblical scholarship that rejected the implications of the passages for a modern day.

A fresh scholarly article that is lighting up the Lutheran blogosphere makes this point explicitly and eloquently. Thus, I’m jumping on the bandwagon and joining many blog friends who are promoting the article by theologian Jon Pahl who is Professor of the History of Christianity at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, and a Fellow in the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University.

Professor Pahl is no Casper milk toast. Here is a sampling of his smack-down commentary:

All in all, the core of Lutheran CORE is rotten. One can get more than a whiff of Docetism, Donatism, and Pelagianism — heresies all — in the doctrinal formulations of the various groups represented in the coalition. Lutheran CORE represents, in its demographic and historical contours, a largely white, heterosexual, male backlash against the supposedly evil changes in gender roles, sexual mores, and participatory democracy that marked the 1960s.

Read and enjoy his full article here.