From: Sondra Brasile (sbrasile@hotmail.com)
Date: Tue Jun 03 2003 - 10:56:49 EDT
Joel,
Oh, thanks for explaining, now I understand where it came from. :)
Sondra
>From: Joel Cannon <jcannon@jcannon.washjeff.edu>
>Reply-To: jcannon@washjeff.edu
>To: sbrasile@hotmail.com (Sondra Brasile)
>CC: asa@calvin.edu
>Subject: Re: Preoccupation: Was Do non-U.S. .....
>Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2003 12:06:44 -0400 (EDT)
>
>Sondra said:
>
> >
> > Joel,
> >
> > What about Rich seems to be more preoccupied with homosexuality than the
> > rest of us 4 or 5 people who were involved in the debate?
>
>Snip
>
> > So I'll get down to the question, "what IS your problem"? Why the
> > defensiveness, do you feel you have you been attacked in some way?
> >
>
>
>I take it that this is an honest question that goes beyond your
>irritation.
>
>
>I have many problems. Discussing homosexuality is not necessarily one
>of them, particularly if it is civil and thougtful (I had planned to
>post a response to one of your posts, but I am not sure that I will
>have time after this). It is a legitimate issue, and I contributed,
>seconding the recommendation of Richard Hays book, "The Moral Vision
>of the New Testament." (the discussion would be elevated significantly
>if more had read and learned this book--BTW he would oppose Burgy's
>position). It is an exceptional example of deep biblical knowledge and
>civil, rational discussion about an intense and emotional issue. While
>I find that American evangelicism is obsessed with the issue in the
>sense that they have made it (rather than the gospel or "what is the
>gospel") the issue on which to stand (I find that to be true of my
>evangelical Episcopal brethren to an alarming degree), I have not
>found the other four participants to be exceptionally obsessed or
>preoccupied. I have to say (and I say it to him each time it comes up
>here) that I think Burgy demonstrates a significant amount of courage
>and restraint saying what he says. Most of us don't like being called
>heretics, which is usually what it comes to.
>
>Regarding me, since I have so many problems, I think a better question
>than, "What is my problem?" would be the question of how we got to
>the post you were reacting to. The thread started, as the title "Do
>non-U.S. Christians say God Bless America?" implies with my question
>of how the non-U.S. subscribers reacted to a memorial day, civil
>religion, "God Bless America" post. The whole thread about
>homosexuality started with Rich's response to a Canadian subsriber's
>reaction with the statement, "Canadians are often afraid to preach the
>gospel lest the gays protest."
>
>That strikes me, and I suspect many others as gratuitous. Other than
>the word `Canada,' it had nothing to do with the post he responded to or
>how other Christians feel about American civil religion. In my
>opinion, it reflects, some sort of preoccupation, or obsession. It is
>almost like a verbal Rorshsach test. Instead of putting inkblots in
>front of people and asking what they see, we put random words and see
>what they say. Just as a sexually preoccupied person always sees
>sexual objects in the inkblot, it seems to me that Rich will have the
>reaction "homosexual" (or perhaps liberal jewry) to a large number of
>words. If the word Canada produces comments about homosexuals, one
>wonders what significant word would not inspire comments about
>homosexuals (for all Canadians reading this, I do think Canada is
>significant!!).
>
>When Jan de Koning asked how "God Bless America" became homosexuality,
>I expressed my opinion. Rich's response, which if I had clipped the
>whole into my post, would in my opinion make some thoughtful people
>ask just what preoccupied meant if Rich was not that. I had the same
>reaction to reading it that I have when I listen to my mother say with
>real conviction, "I am not old." Perhaps I should have resisted the
>temptation to say so.
>
>
>So that may give you some hint of what my "problem" is.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Joel W. Cannon | (724)223-6146
>Physics Department | jcannon@washjeff.edu
>Washington and Jefferson College |
>Washington, PA 15301 |
>
>
>
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