Americans for Truth: Party to More Lies
March 11, 2010
Following my post of last evening, Americans for Truth published this letter, written by a parent of prospective Grove City College students:
This is pure poppycock, and for AFT to publish it—given its distortions (likely created by irresponsible outlets such as AFT and perhaps others)—is to give at least tacit approval to its outlandish claims. According to the author, a “Margaret Hemenway” of Alexandria, Virginia, Warren Throckmorton is guilty of “open advocacy of homosexuality” who is guilty of “crusad(ing) on behalf of homosexuality”, likening his actions to “advocat(ing) openly for adultery, pornography, or prostitution”.
Now, I don’t fault Mrs. Hemenway too much—she’s been stirred to this frenzy by the half-truths and out-of-context distortions that she’s read and/or heard via “Christian radio”. Mr. LaBarbera knows these words written by an undoubtedly well-meaning, but misled lady, to be distortions of the truth—but he publishes them approvingly. Tell the truth, Mr. LaBarbera; that’s the least that a professing Christian is called to do.
Telling the Truth: Not Happening at “Americans for Truth”
March 11, 2010
It’s a shame when an organization with “truth” in its name—and one which ostensibly seeks to represent a Christian perspective—either does not have an interest in getting to the truth of a matter, and/or lacks the integrity to even make the attempt. Such, however, is the sad case with an organization known as “Americans for Truth about Homosexuality”, headed by Peter LaBarbera. Ironically, I would find much in common, philosophically, with this organization; like it, I believe that there is real danger in the “mainstreaming” of the homosexual lifestyle; like it, I hold homosexual behavior to be sinful; like it, I firmly oppose such aberrations as “gay marriage”. But apparently unlike AFT, I value the truth above vitriol.
I am proud to claim Warren Throckmorton as a good friend. I served as Warren’s pastor for a number of years, and have the utmost respect for him as a fellow believer and as a conscientious, dedicated, and scrupulous researcher. His commitment to Christ, and to the Word of God, are unshakeable. And so I cannot claim to be unbiased in what I’m about to write; let the reader be forewarned. Yet, I am concerned with the truth, dismayed when a Christian outfit—under the guise of telling “the truth about homosexuality” engages in the spreading of half-truths and innuendo, not only on its website, but through the media of Christian radio and other outlets. I find that sub-Christian, and in defense of my friend Warren—and of the truth—I’m writing this piece.
OneNewsNow filed this report, gleaned from LaBarbera’s smear campaign—without, by the way, bothering to consult Dr. Throckmorton on the subject ahead of time.
Christian College Prof Encourages “Gay Identity”
The misleading headline itself is irresponsible, and the fact that no effort was made by OneNewsNow (“Your Latest News from a Christian Perspective”) to contact Dr. Throckmorton prior to printing the hatchet job certainly constitutes irresponsible journalism—and at least from the perspective of this writer, calls into question the journalistic integrity of the whole enterprise (if the journalism is this shoddy on this piece, what about the other things reported by this “news” organization?).
But the greater sin is that of Americans for Truth and Mr. LaBarbera. Mr. LaBarbera and others have created a bandwagon, thinking they’ve found something of substance against which to rail, and they’ve jumped on that bandwagon with all fours and brought others along as well. Eight posts in five days pretty well constitute a bandwagon; though AFT has gone after Dr. Throckmorton before, it appears that a full-scale push to challenge Grove City College to get rid of the professor is underway. But looking a little deeper than the surface—on which Mr. LaBarbera and friends seem to live—reveals the facts to be significantly different than the “just-so story” that they are peddling—and reveals AFT to lack significantly in credibility, if we are to apply reasonable standards of journalism to their postings—and so let’s do that right now by looking at a couple articles, shall we?
The first posting of the month is from Linda Harvey, who is president and founder of something called “Mission America”; it’s not obvious from the website that there’s anybody else on board there other than Mrs. Harvey (no relation, by the way). Her “contribution” to the discussion is to take on Dr. Throckmorton’s attempt to answer the homosexual “Day of Silence” (held annually in high schools); he calls for Christian students to take a “Golden Rule Pledge”, to treat all others as we have them treat us. Doesn’t sound terribly controversial to me, but in a piece that is not noteworthy for its cogent reasoning, Mrs. Harvey goes to great lengths to explain what a dangerous thing this stance is. Methinks she protesteth way, way too much—agree with Dr. Throckmorton’s approach, or with Mrs. Harvey’s, and arguments can be made both ways—but the approach she takes seems typical of that of AFT and the affiliated folk there: it’s our way, or it’s the wrong way. Hold that thought…
The next piece, entitled Is Grove City College Still ‘Authentically Christian’ if It Abides Pro-’Gay’ Professor Warren Throckmorton and his ‘Sexual Identity Therapy’? and written by Mr. LaBarbera himself, is riddled with concerns. In his first sentence, Mr. LaBarbera labels Dr. Throckmorton “heretical”. Now, where I come from, words mean things, and words like “heretical”, while apropos in certain situations, ought not to be thrown around lightly. This doesn’t phase Mr. LaBarbera, though—and thus he offers no justification for the gratuitous cheapshot. If Dr. Throckmorton is truly guilty of that which can be labeled “heresy”, Mr. LaBarbera, then name it; if not, then please take greater care with your choice of words, for you do yourself nor your cause any credit by playing fast and loose with the language.
In the third paragraph of this same harangue, Mr. LaBarbera chides Dr. Throckmorton for what he calls a “snarky” blog post regarding Richard Cohen. Mr. LaBarbera postulates that Mr. Cohen is a frequent target of Dr. Throckmorton’s barbs (which true) “perhaps because Cohen — unlike the Grove City professor — actually has helped many, many people experience real change and overcome homosexual desires.” In making a statement such as this, Mr. LaBarbera is guilty either of intentionally lying or of journalistic expertise at about a 3rd-grade level; Dr. Throckmorton has on many occasions given his reasons for his opinions of Mr. Cohen and his methods; this material is both credible and readily available on Dr. Throckmorton’s website. Is Mr. LaBarbera not aware of the methodologies Mr. Cohen employs? Google this fellow, folks; what you’ll find is interesting. Further, and more germane to this discussion, did Mr. LaBarbera not take even a few moments to acquaint himself with Dr. Throckmorton’s arguments prior to offering his wild, unsubstantiated conjecture as to Dr. Throckmorton’s motives? This is irresponsible at best, and dishonest at worst.
Parenthetically, Mr. LaBarbera’s embrace of the…ahem, “unorthodox”…Richard Cohen smells funny, reminding me of a particularly noxious tendency on the part of evangelicals to embrace people who will serve their purpose, agree with a particular policy objective—even if there is strong reason not to. One readily calls to mind the hasty and very unwise decision on the part of Dr. James Dobson, for instance, to rush to embrace Carrie Prejean, she of Miss Universe pageant fame, after Ms. Prejean offered what was frankly a tepid defense of traditional marriage. One calls to mind the embrace by some evangelicals of Alan Keyes, who is to the right effectively what Louis Farrakhan is to the left. Are we that desperate in our “fight for the right” that we must cling to whomever might agree with us in some measure, even if at other significant points there is all sorts of baggage that harms what we’re trying to do? Such seems clearly the case with not only Cohen, but also Pastor Martin Ssempa, he who is pushing legislation in Uganda which ought to be opposed by every sincere follower of Christ—and who also is tacitly defended by Mr. LaBarbera.
LaBarbera bemoans the fact that Dr. Throckmorton has “lost faith in people’s ability to change”, though the link provided offers nothing in the way of support for such a fabricated charge. In fact, LaBarbera’s entire screed is based upon a ripped-from-context paragraph—with judgments made and commentary supplied in order to provide ammo for the witchhunt—notwithstanding the fact that a fuller understanding of the document sheds a different light on the subject at hand than Mr. LaBarbera would have you believe.
There are more articles posted on the AFT website, and as time permits, I may delve into some of those as well.
As a side note, it’s interesting that Dr. Throckmorton provides, on his blog, a forum for discussing his viewpoints; people from all points of view and walks of life can engage with Dr. Throckmorton and with each other. I have done so myself on several occasions. By contrast, Americans for Truth offers no such option, preferring to offer their pronouncements from a position insulated from those who would question their opinions and “facts”. If you’ve got the truth, Mr. LaBarbera, why not actually engage people in the discussion of it?
I know some of the folks there at Grove City College, know them to be good people of good faith, and it’s my hope that they will treat these calls for Dr. Throckmorton’s head with the contempt they so richly deserve. I believe they will, knowing that they have in Warren Throckmorton a real treasure and asset to their school, and to the student body served there.
Coming next: I interview Dr. Throckmorton and ask him the questions that this hatchet job of a piece says he has failed to answer—and then you can be the judge.
UPDATE: OneNewsNow has had the decency to allow Dr. Throckmorton to speak for himself and to respond to the campaign of disinformation being spread by Americans for Truth; see the article here. One may or may not agree with all of Dr. Throckmorton’s positions, but suffice it to say that he, in this article, lays to rest many of the misconceptions being spread about him. Thanks for your integrity, OneNewsNow, in correcting the one-sided article previously published.
Interesting: The “Face of Evangelical Christianity”…
March 10, 2010
isn’t even evangelical.
This article from the Guardian, sent in by our foreign correspondent Graham Pointer, says “if anybody is the face of evangelical Christianity in America today, it is Joel Osteen.”
Deliver us, Lord.
Wouldn’t it seem that, in order to qualify as “the face of evangelical Christianity in America”, one would have to be able to articulate the “evangel”, the gospel? It’s possible that Mr. Osteen can–but that he chooses not to (at least with anything approaching clarity or fullness) is apparent from his speaking and writing. This relatively glowing piece in the Guardian does mention that Mr. Osteen has critics, but it doesn’t go into detail, but we’re talking about a serious, serious thing if evangelical Christianity comes to be identified, in the minds of people, with Joel Osteen.
A serious–and tragic–thing.
Just Feel Like I Gotta Say This from Time to Time…
March 5, 2010
If you think you love Jesus, but are not committed to being vitally involved in a community of people who also love Jesus (commonly called a “church), you really don’t love Jesus as much as you’d like to think you do. If you can read the New Testament and miss that, read it again. And again. And again, if necessary.
And yes, I know there are folks who’ve been “burned by a church”, or “abused by a pastor”, etc. To some, it’s happened more than once. I want to say two things that need to be held continually in balance: one, I’m really, really sorry. I really am. When a pastor abuses his authority, or when a pastor is caught in a scandal, it’s abominable, inexcusable (though not unforgivable), a terrible testimony to the Lord for which such a pastor will have to answer. That’s “one”; here’s two: get over it. Take some time to heal–but not by removing yourself from the competent teaching of the Word of God, nor from the genuine fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ. If “get over it” sounds like a lack of compassion, change your definition of compassion, because the least compassionate thing I could do would be to in any way give you the impression that walking your faith out in the context of a church community is somehow an optional portion of discipleship. It’s not. And so I say again: if you’re not committed to being vitally involved in a community of people who also love Jesus–a church–you’re really not following Jesus very well.
Can’t find one that fits you? OK, again two words, in the form of two possibilities: one, start one. Not one that is “just your family, gathered around the fireplace in your jammies on a Sunday morning”, but a real one, that welcomes other people into it, that meets the minimum definition of what a church is all about (which, incidentally, certainly includes the “house church”, just not the our-fam-in-jammies variety). That’s “one”; here’s two: lighten up. A guy (maybe a lady; don’t remember) who posted on a website I visited recently was talking about how he’d moved from New England ten years ago to North Carolina (Research Triangle, not Squirrel Hollow), and “couldn’t find a church”. Lighten up, folks; if you can’t find a church that fits within one year, the problem is you. Look for counsel from people you trust; do some internet searching; read Joshua Harris’ excellent (and brief!) book Stop Dating the Church. No perfect church out there? You’re right; what’s your point? Find the best one there is, and throw yourself into it, heart and soul. Discipline yourself to recognize that even if it doesn’t have everything your heart desires, it isn’t about you getting pampered like some oversized semi-sanctified cruise-tourist in the pedicure parlor.
I say all of this because of this rumor I hear that an increasing number of our younger people–probably a lot of older folks as well–”just don’t see the point of church”. Please, please read your New Testament until you get it! Because you just can’t possibly live to please Jesus as you oughta as a Christ-follower trying to do the Lone Ranger thing.
Being Careful of What We’re Critical
March 5, 2010
If I had more than five minutes, I’d be tempted to make this a longer post, but here’s the gist of it: there are things of which we (I more than some others, I admit) tend to be critical–and that’s not necessarily a bad thing at all; goodness knows there’s a lot of stuff that Christians swallow wholesale which is detrimental to their walk with Christ. And I’m critical of a lot of that stuff. But…
But the Lord sometimes uses stuff that I might not recommend–and I was reminded of that a few minutes ago. An older gentleman spotted me reading the Word at Chick-Fil-A, and came over and engaged me in conversation. I told him that I was reading through the Bible in a year (in mid-Leviticus as we speak), and he told me that he had read through the Bible twice, but only recently–as a result of reading The Purpose-Driven Life. Now, that’s not my favorite book by any means; I have some (somewhat muted) criticisms of it. But God used it in his life–and, I’m sure, in the lives of many others. People are at different places in their walks with God, and need different things–and hey, you know what? Sometimes God uses things that Byron Harvey wouldn’t necessarily recommend! Glory be! To Him!!!
Stay True to Who You Are, Pastor
February 23, 2010
Said other ways:
Don’t copy someone else.
Don’t try to imitate others.
Let God’s unique creation of you govern how you minister. Or…
On Why I’m Not Buying Chocolate These Days
February 23, 2010
And it has nothing to do with my diet, actually (though I have dropped 10 lbs. thus far, in anticipation of my upcoming role in “The Music Man”).
I don’t have a taste for chocolate anymore, at least not that produced by the leading chocolate producers in this country, such as Nestle, M&M Mars, etc. I don’t buy it because of the likelihood that some kid is working long hours as a slave to produce it. Here’s another site that talks about the same problem. See, I’m a follower of Jesus, and I began to think recently about the fact that that needs to influence the purchases I make. I’m a little late to this type of party, I realize; I naturally tend to be a little skeptical about causes promoted by folks with different political agendas than myself–and I’m sure that there are folks across the political spectrum who are in line with this one.
But I don’t care.
And the reason I don’t care is because I had to ask myself this simple question: if little American boys were being snatched up into slavery, would I stand for it? Would I turn up the music, turn up a blind eye, and pretend it wasn’t happening, if 10-year-old boys were being grabbed off the streets of Marietta? Would I buy products that were produced with their slave labor? Of course not. And nothing changes with that fact because the little boys aren’t from Georgia, but rather from Africa. Nothing. Not if I’m serious about following the Jesus who came to set captives free, whose Father’s heart must break about such conditions. Now that I know it’s happening, I’m responsible for that knowledge.
And so are you.
I wrote letters to major American chocolate manufacturers. Some companies are doing something–but no company is doing enough. In fact, here’s a great website that ranks different companies with an easy-to-understand letter grade as to their involvement in stopping slavery, etc. Nestle gets a “C”, which isn’t terrible, I guess, but they could–and should–do more, and until they do, I can do without Crunch bars.
By the way, if chocolate is certified Fair Trade, you can generally buy it with confidence. Yep, it costs more–but helping little boys get free from slavery is more important to me than cheap chocolate.
And it should be to you, too.
This phrase comes from the 1978 "Jonestown massacre" in which most members of the Peoples Temple cult, blindly following their leader Jim Jones, committed suicide by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.
Osborne: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God
Schlossberg: Idols For Destruction
