Ah, another anonymous attack

It appears my soon to be presence in the United Kingdom, and the presence of my church upon the earth, has angered someone, but not enough for them to actually take a stand and say who they are. My first reaction was one of simple denouncement. Let’s try a different approach this time, let’s tackle these issues head-on (and no, head-on is not a new term from something our “homosexual pastors do with one another.”)
1. I didn’t know how to spell masturbate- Yup, you got me there. I’m a bad speller that should preclude me from missionary work and gives you the right to call my church a “disease.” Note the sarcasm.
2. Apparently ELCA pastors are whacking-off with one another- That’s kind of disturbing, in fact it is an image I really don’t want to think about, and doubt I would have ever thought about except that Mr/Mrs Anonymous brought it up. Other than from Anonymous I have not heard of this kind of thing. I hope Anonymous doesn't think about this kind of thing too often, that woudl be troubling
3. Abortion- This is a tough issue for me, and I would hope for all people, I’ve wrestled with it quite a bit. Being a Liberal from Wyoming I’ve actually clashed pretty harshly with people on both side of this issue.
Some people I know talk about abortion as akin to child sacrifice. They claim “liberals” are aborting their babies every couple of months so they can have wild orgies and still be able to work at a high paying job and keep a decent figure. They conclude that because of this the Christian response is to kill doctors who perform abortions.
Some people I know talk about abortion as a right every woman has because society is innately patriarchal. They see most, if not all forms, of sex as oppressive toward women. They conclude that women need to be able to protect their bodies from patriarchy by having abortions pretty much until the child is actually out of the womb.
Both of these positions are, in my view, wrong. The ELCA’s position on abortion is this: Abortions are okay if 1.The woman’s life is threatened 2. The sex was not consensual 3. Extreme fetal abnormality, which will result in severe suffering and the very early death of an infant, are present. I’m not going to lie; this last one leaves a bad taste in my mouth, as I was born with a heart defect. Still, I would say the ELCA’s position is well founded.
As to the specific charge Anonymous leveled at me, the only source for this fact I can find comes from Bunnie Diehl who, like Anonymous, simply states that my church “church's health plans pay for the murder of unborn children.”
4. Sodomites- First off, as I said before I would prefer Sodomites in the pulpit to people calling the ELCA a “disease” in the pulpit. Second, let’s actually look at the ELCA’s position .
First, as we tend to do, we admit openly that ELCAers are divided on many issues. Second, we see no basis for blessing same sex unions, yet we see a strong call to welcome gay and lesbian people into the ELCA. Third, we may permit exceptions to sexual conduct for gay and lesbian candidates and rostered leaders in life-long, committed, and faithful same-sex relationships… upon the recommendation of the synodical bishop and the Synod Council and the approval of the Confrense of Biships—a process identical to that used for other exceptions to policies concerning ELCA rosers.” This last one is new as of a month ago; today was the first time I’ve seen it. It is different than the previous statement.
Here is my view on homosexuality. It is an abomination in the same way wearing poly-fiber blends is. Jesus never said one word about homosexuality. What Paul talks about in Romans one has more to do with idolatry, than with sexuality. He is talking about serving the created instead of the creator, and goes on to talk about men lusting after one another(not in a committed relationship to say the least) and women doing some sort of unmentionable sin as well (though I don't think one can read it as lesbianism (then again I know Hebrew, not Greek). I think he is talking about a specific situation, but I could be wrong. Oh, and just to add something else, I think we straight folk need to work on our own relationships before going after the slivers in other people’s eyes.
In conclusion, I can’t spell, Anonymous doesn’t back up the claims made, the ELCA is rather right headed about abortion, and homosexuality.
Anonymous, I really am cool with you posting horrible things on my site, just make sure these horrible things can actually be traced back to you. It is called accountability.
Peace,
Chris