Dear Bishop Robinson

A google on marriage in Norway throws up (phrase used deliberately) a host of references to same-sex marriage and the decline of traditional marriage there. A closer look reveals, however, that they are all copies of a paper by a right-winger called Stanley Kurtz.

The Council of Europe 2003 statistics on Norway do show changes in the pattern of family life. However, as the Executive Summary states:

"The main features of nuptiality are the declining number of marriages, the rise in the number of separations and the appearance of other forms of union, particularly cohabitation. There has also been a widespread parallel increase in the number of births outside marriage. In certain countries, such as Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia and the former German Democratic Republic, such births represent more than 50% of the total."

The Christian right uses statistics in the same way they use bible quotes -- they find a piece to support their case, and totally ignore anything that doesn't support their "presuppositions". For example, why should the ex-GDR show an increase in number of births outside marriage and the former West Germany not, now that they've been one country for fifteen years with the same law on domestic partnership? Oh, sorry, that would require some thought, wouldn't it?

And Mr Kurtz? He's a Fellow at the Hoover Institution:

"Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kurtz graduated from Haverford College, where he majored in comparative religion. Before taking his doctorate in social anthropology, Kurtz studied comparative religion at Harvard Divinity School. Since leaving the academy for the world of policy think tank, Kurtz has gained a reputation as an outspoken combatant in America's culture wars and an innovative commentator on the social foundations of the war on terror." (Bio on the website of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University

A Commentary in the latest Advocate "Articles of faith: Biblical values for American families" by Reverend Jay Emerson Johnson points me to this vile piece of "Christian" thinking, "The Nashville Declararion on Same-Sex Marriage".

Some excerpts:

# "Same-sex marriage" undermines commitment to genuine marriage. Studies of the state of marriage in the Scandinavian countries that have legalized "same-sex marriage" reveal that traditional marriage has been adversely affected by the redefinition of marriage. In some Norwegian counties traditional marriage has practically disappeared.

# "Same-sex marriage" is detrimental to society. By undermining commitment to genuine marriage, "same-sex marriage" weakens the family, which is the foundational social institution of culture.

# "Same-sex marriage" is inadequate as a family context for children. It does not provide children with an opportunity to observe and understand the uniqueness of both sexes and to develop their own sexual identity in relationship to a father and a mother.

# "Same-sex marriage" is destructive personally. Homosexual behavior has negative physical, social, and spiritual consequences.

Needless to say, while they refer prolifically to the Bible, there are no references to anything to back up any of these statements. The last three are simple assertions of opinion, and I'd challenge them to come up with any reputable study that showed that the Norwegians are no longer marrying because they have partnerskap (“partnership”) for gays and lesbians, as well as full ekteskap ("marriage") for straights.

From the "Advocate" this morning:

05/28/05-05/30/05

Oregon students stunned by antigay fliers

Students and campus officials at Southern Oregon University are stunned by a set of fliers placed on students' doors that call for violence against gays and lesbians. The threatening fliers, which suggest that gays should be murdered, have led to a police investigation and a campuswide safety alert.

Eric Rodriguez, Southern Oregon University's interim security director, said several versions of the fliers were found attached to doors and in mailboxes on the Ashland campus. The early versions were more tame, he said, and then became "more and more" graphic and violent in nature. "The Bible says that homosexual offenders should be put to death!" read one flier. No one has claimed responsibility for the pamphlets. Students held a campus protest Thursday. A vigil and rally was planned for Friday night.

The authors and distributors of the fliers could face charges of harassment and intimidation, Rodriguez said. Southern Oregon University president Elisabeth Zinser sent a campuswide letter condemning the incident and vowing to reiterate the campus culture of tolerance. (AP)

And I realise there's an issue here for me... I've been a "protesting" activist for the most part. In other wards, while I've not (I'm pretty sure) been "hating", I have been working on outrage. And I've never been that interested in what might be thought of as "love" activism -- helping others. My sympathies have always been with the underdog, rather than those in power, but my method of helping has been to fight against the powerful rather than directly helping the oppressed.

Food for thought for me...

Re-reading Rick Santorum's quotes, I realise how perfectly he's encapsulated the difference between his type of Christianity and Merton's, between Lionel Blue's type of Judaism and the Gush Emunim version.

One is about "outrage" -- hatred of anyone who isn't like you, or who has different ideas and values, it is about fear and power and control and authority.

The other is about "love" -- openness, curiosity, self-confident, smiling.

It is no surprise at all that the one thing I associate with those I admire, is precisely that -- an open-eyed smile. Just think of the Dalai Lama laughing... Pema Chödrön's huge smile... Lionel Blue's voice which is full of smile and self-amusement... Bishop Robinson's smile. Then think of those chilling voices: Jerry Falwell, Ian Paisley, John Paul II... condemning, hating, blaming.

Perhaps I am beginning to understand Bishop Spong's point about faith in Christ -- but I've a long way to go yet!

FOOTNOTE ON BLUE:
From his Thought for the Day, 24th May 2005:

"When I was a youngster I went in for third rate ideologies and religions because I was having a hard time with puberty and adolescence and desperately needed security. I wanted instant answers, and reach-me-down belief I didn't have to think through or take responsibility for. I wanted to emote, so I shouted slogans in Marxist processions and sang sticky nationalist songs round camp fires.

"I was then attracted to know-it-all religious teachers and preachers who had the answer to everything. But after getting my first hundred wrong answers I retched it all up. Never mind! My foray into fundamentalism has stood me in good stead because I now understand why so much religion goes awry - why some settlers in Gaza believe on rather shaky evidence that that's the place God wants them to settle and why pious suicide bombers want to blow them off it and themselves into paradise.

"But as I've got older, my religion's become simpler and humbler. I no longer think doubt is a disease but something precious which helps us grow up. I don't pray for difficulties to disappear, just for courage to face them. Also to know God I must know myself because he's within me.

"I've also found my own humility through humour, of which there isn't much in scripture. When I'm drunk on clericalism I remember the old boy in the front row of the Synagogue who snored his way through my sermon. 'Shake him!' I told the beadle.

" 'Shake him yourself, your reverence,' he snorted, 'since your sermon put him to sleep!' A joke can deflate you more efficiently than an hour on your knees."