-- To dispel rumors, the Salvation Army has developed a page on
its website called "Debunking the Myth of LGBT Discrimination," which
is leading some to conclude the nation's second-largest charity now approves of
homosexual behavior.
The issue, though, may be more
nuanced than the gay lobby realizes.
"For years, Facebook posts,
forwarded emails and rumors have been leading some people to believe that The
Salvation Army does not serve members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender (LGBT) community," the website states. "These accusations
simply aren't true."
In a report Dec. 23, the San Diego
Gay & Lesbian News said the Salvation Army's reputation within the gay
community has been "greatly damaged" because of several
"half-truths."
"It's sad to say that in this
fight for equality the gay community has sometimes not stayed ethical in the
fight," SDGLN said, adding that comments by a Salvation Army employee in Australia
in 2012 have "turned into a tabloid lie of 2013."
The Salvation Army USA, SDGLN said,
removed from its website the definition of marriage as between one man and one
woman. "This was after many in the LBGT community called out the
organization for stating this on the website," SDGLN said.
On its "debunking the
myth" page, the Salvation Army says people who come to them for assistance
will be served according to their need, "regardless of race, gender,
ethnicity or sexual orientation."
The charity, which serves nearly 30
million Americans each year, also "embraces employees of many different
faiths and orientations" and provides domestic partner benefits.
"Many people -- including
those in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community -- support
us with time and financial resources because of a common cause and commitment:
To serve people in need," the website states.
Fortune magazine, in a blog post
Dec. 20, said the Salvation Army still doesn't permit its clergy to conduct
same-sex marriages.
"According to a spokesperson,
'as a Christian church, the Salvation Army holds theological beliefs that
direct the actions of our officers and church members. Our beliefs are based on
our interpretation of the Bible. As a result, our officers officiate
traditional marriage ceremonies between men and women who are in committed
relationships,'" Fortune reported.
The Salvation Army's website
explains that the charity "is an evangelical part of the universal
Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated
by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to
meet human needs in His name without discrimination."
Though the Salvation Army's recent
actions could be construed as embracing the homosexual lifestyle, being willing
to serve people from the LGBT community does not necessarily equal celebrating
their behavior, a view also held by Southern Baptists and numerous other
evangelical denominations.
1 comment:
Though frustrating, the Army's reputation within the LGBT community is well deserved, so this campaign was, in principal, a welcome step. Sadly, I think it will backfire.
First, it's completely disingenuous for US National to try and lay this at the feet of the Australian Major. Our reputation was built almost entirely by the actions of the US territories (domestic partner benefits in SF, Bush's faith based initiatives etc...). These more recent incidents are just icing on an already well baked cake.
Second, National are trying to have that well baked cake and eat it. They are promoting the non-discriminatory nature of our social services, but avoiding any reference to our positional statements. After this campaign was started, an LGBT advocacy site noted that National were still referring people to ex-gay ministries elsewhere on the site:
In a letter sent to Truth Wins Out Tuesday, the Salvation Army's director of communications claimed the "ex-gay" links were part of an archived page that was inadvertently republished when the organization relaunched its site last month.
"We apologize for our oversight and any confusion this may have caused," said Jennifer Byrd in the letter, published at Truth Wins Out. "The Salvation Army does not consider homosexual orientation a sin. Please know that we serve anyone who comes to our doors without discrimination."
Note that we don't consider homosexual orientation a sin, yet no where do we mention that we consider homosexuality (verb) a sin. That type of needle threading will only appease casual readers, and will likely just get us in more trouble.
If our position is that homosexuality is a sin, we shouldn't be hiding it. That will only fool the most casual observer. LGBT folk know exactly what we mean. Don't patronize.
Finally, we have an official communication from National stating that there IS such a thing as homosexual orientation - it's not a choice. That is huge. It's also blindly obvious, but, we now have a situation where the Army believes that one sin, and one sin only, has been lent a hand by biology and God.
You're not born with a tendency to murder, rape, gossip, blaspheme or lie - that's all nurture, but homosexuality... Homosexuality is nature, and that's our official position.
That should make a lot of folk very uncomfortable about our positions.
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