Joe Dallas responds to the pro-gay challenge By Paul Rolf Jensen The Layman Online Wednesday, June 23, 1999 FORT WORTH – "Responding to the Pro-Gay Challenge" was the title of the address by the Rev. Joe Dallas at a luncheon hosted on June 21 by "OneByOne," a ministry to help those in conflict with their sexuality. OnebyOne is a member organization of the Presbyterian Renewal Network. Dallas said that many who believe they are entrapped by homosexuality do make an honest effort to change. But when some fail in this endeavor, they conclude that their homosexuality must be inborn and immutable. While strongly disagreeing with this premise, Dallas said he was prepared to accept it for the sake of argument. And he reminded his audience that just because one is inclined to sin in no way excuses one from refraining from sin. He claimed the promise of Romans 6:14, that the power of sin is broken by the power of the risen Christ. Dallas said the presence of sin remains virtually guaranteed in this world. He called on pro-gay advocates to recognize that Scripture thus calls on all Christians to resist sin, instead of redefine it. Dallas said most pro-gay churches follow an essentially conservative theology, which names Christ as its head and looks to Scripture as authoritative. But pro-gay theology inexorably describes Scripture passages on sexuality as either mistranslated, misinterpreted or misunderstood, he said. Apart from their view of Scripture about homosexuality, Dallas said conservative Presbyterians would be comfortable with most preaching found in pro-gay churches. He urged his audience not to condemn the character of homosexuals, warning that those who do immediately lose credibility. He firmly asserted that homosexuals can be firmly convicted Christians, and that many believe themselves to be born-again, manifesting the presence of God. Tracy-phobic Just the same, Dallas decried the homosexual advocates' argument that God sanctions their relationships just because they are loving ones. He gave two examples: First, he pointed to Solomon, whose love led him into grave sin. Second, he gave the example of Spencer Tracy, whom Dallas described as his favorite actor of all time, but whose decades-long loving and intimate relationship with Katherine Hepburn was not made any less sinful because it was between two consenting adults who cherished one another. Then Dallas asked his listeners, "Does that make me Tracy-phobic"? Concluding, Dallas recognized the great division in our denomination on the issue of sexuality, and called upon us all to be loving and respectful of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are also homosexuals, not allowing rhetoric to replace reason, while being steadfast to our convictions that we are not free to re-name what God called sin. |
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