 Troubles
mounting for college women’s network NNPCW web site recommended computer links leading to hard-core pornography By Parker Williamson The Presbyterian Layman Wednesday, September 9, 1998 LOUISVILLE – Troubles are mounting for the National Network of Presbyterian College Women (NNPCW), whose funding was cut off by the 1998 General Assembly and then, after an eleventh-hour public demonstration, continued for one year pending an evaluation. On July 8, The Presbyterian Layman dispatched the results of its own research into NNPCW activities to Rev. Cathy Chisholm, chair of the General Assembly Council (GAC). The information was also posted on The Layman Online, an Internet service of the Presbyterian Lay Committee. The Layman discovered that NNPCW’s “Resources We Offer,” a page on its Internet web site, included material promoting ReImagining God theologies and endorsing homosexual behavior. Also included on the site were specifically selected links that led viewers into online lesbian dating services and hard core pornography. A link is a computer connection to either a separate, recommended web site or another location within the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s official Internet site. Gateway to pornography The lesbian dating service, “LesbianMatch,” (“Come in and find the woman of your dreams at the best lesbian meeting and matching site on the net”), “Gay Wired.Com” (“Let your impulses connect you”), and “Erotica” (“Live Sex: Do Me online”) are all located on sites outside the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s computer. But access to these sites was obtained by choosing a recommended link called “Christian Views on Homosexuality” that was placed by NNPCW on the denomination’s computer in a section called “Resources We Offer.” While it would be inaccurate to say that the National Network of Presbyterian College Women produces pornography, it is entirely accurate to say that this network has been leading college women into pornography. On-site discoveries Much of the questionable material discovered by The Layman was found on the official church site. Featured at this location were recommended resources from leaders of the ReImagining movement. Included were Delores Williams (“we don’t need folks hanging on crosses and blood dripping and weird stuff”), Carter Heyward (“Jesus was not God”), Beverly Harrison, Sylvia Thorson-Smith and Chris Glaser (prominent Presbyterian advocates of homosexual behavior), and James Nelson, consultant and writer for “Body and Soul,” the human sexuality report, which denied scriptural authority and endorsed homosexual behavior, and was rejected 534-31 by the 1991 General Assembly. Recording the evidence On July 1, 1998, Layman staff members recorded their findings on computers that noted and printed the date on which the NNPCW material was accessed. They notified colleagues in Colorado and California in order to secure eyewitnesses from other locations. Then they printed a copy of the evidence and sent it to Rev. James Mead, vice moderator of the General Assembly. Mead was chosen to receive the material because he had made the motion that called for an evaluation of NNPCW’s program and resources. Mead’s motion specified that he and Moderator Douglas Oldenburg would serve as members of the evaluation committee. The next day, on July 2, NNPCW erased all contents of its Internet site, replacing them with a note saying, “Come back soon to see the new NNPCW web page.” No explanation was given for the deletion.  Reactions
to The Layman report Both Moderator Oldenburg and Vice Moderator Mead have expressed dismay over The Layman’s discovery of pornographic links. Oldenburg said that he was “appalled” to learn of the web site linkages. Mead called such linkages “unthinkable.” Neither has made any public comment regarding material that was included on the NNPCW site itself. The reactions of Oldenburg and Mead contrast with that of Rev. Curtis A. Kearns, Jr., director of the GAC division that sponsors NNPCW and supervises its staff. In a letter to GAC Chair, Cathy Chisholm, Kearns called The Layman’s report of its discovery “somewhat reckless in nature,” although he did not dispute any of the facts reported by The Layman. Expressing concern that The Layman report might damage his organization, Kearns said, “It should be made absolutely clear to all that neither the General Assembly Council nor its divisions condone the promotion of pornographic material.”
Even if NNPCW had included Kearns’ recommended disclaimer, what rationale led its officials to endorse computer links that lead viewers to hard core pornography in the first place? Kearns said only that “in responding to the General Assembly’s concern about addressing difficult issues in society there will be inevitable differences among Presbyterians about how that is appropriately done.” Respect, honor, and faithfulness In his letter to the GAC chair, Kearns said, “It is important for all Presbyterians to know that the General Assembly Council and its staff respect and honor the Christian values expressed in our confessions and that in their work each makes every effort to be faithful to the policies of the General Assembly.” Kearns’ assurance is being met with skepticism by at least some Presbyterians who know that since 1978, General Assembly policy declares that homosexual behavior is sinful and that persons who practice it may not be ordained. Most Presbyterians are also aware that the divinity of Jesus Christ and his atoning work stand at the very heart of the Church’s confessions. Thus, when they view a web site that facilitates homosexual behavior and recommends authors who deny the divinity of Christ, they question in what sense Kearns can claim that his staff has respected, honored and been faithful to the confessions and the policies of the General Assembly.
Mrs. Sylvia Dooling is one such skeptic. Leader of a Presbyterian women’s group called Voices of Orthodox Women, Dooling has publicly questioned the faithfulness of NNPCW leaders and their programs. After attending the 1998 “ReImagining Revival” whose participants included Barbara Dua, director of Women’s Ministries, and Marie Cross, Editor of Horizons Magazine, Dooling said: “They took a bit of Christian vocabulary, mixed it together with pagan worship of goddesses and mythology, threw in a pinch of religious science, a teaspoon of native American spiritualism, a crumb of Maryology, and a whiff of the occult. Put them together and what do you have – a new religion that’s not so new. Rather, it is merely a reincarnation of first century Gnosticism … Speaking as a Presbyterian woman, I observe seeds of this movement sprouting within our beloved church. Our church will be sick as long as we insist on calling this weed merely a part of the bouquet of diversity within the Body of Christ.” A betrayal of trust Harold Kurtz, Executive Director of Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship, calls the NNPCW offense “a betrayal of trust by an official organization of the PCUSA.” In a letter to Cathy Chisholm, Kurtz said he was “shocked” by the Layman’s report. Remembering the way denominational officials handled the Layman’s report of the 1993 ReImagining Conference, Kurtz urged Chisholm not to “try to sweep it under the rug.” Secondly, Kurtz warned, “I hope people won’t try to excuse this action by tirades against the Layman.” Reminding Chisholm of former Moderator Robert Bohl’s failed attempt “to curtail freedom of the press,” Kurtz said that Presbyterians “do not believe in shooting the messenger.” Finally, Kurtz urged decisive and immediate discipline. “The ideal way for this to be handled would be for the responsible person or persons to cut off funding.” If that is not an immediate possibility, he said, “the administratively responsible person closest to the NNPCW needs to be fired. I feel sorry for that person, but that is what leadership is all about – you need to take responsibility for your actions.” (See related story - 'Presbyterian News reports on NNPCW') |
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