Why Tony Campolo's LGBTQ Reversal is Evangelicalism's Tipping Point

[cbayer]

http://religiondispatches.org/why-tony-campolos-lgbtq-reversal-is-evangelicalisms-tipping-point/

BY CATHLEEN FALSANI JUNE 10, 2015


Tony Campolo at the Redline conference in 2008. Image via TonyCampolo.org

That crashing sound you heard Monday morning was waves of change breaching the levees of the evangelical Christian world when one of its most venerable icons, the Rev. Tony Campolo, came out in favor of full inclusion of LGBTQ people in the life of the church.

While his name may not be as familiar outside the evangelical bubble as his contemporary, the Rev. Billy Graham, Campolo, 80, is undeniably a pillar of the evangelical world and has been for close to 60 years.

Both Campolo and Graham, 96, are best known and beloved first and foremost as preachers largely unencumbered by overt denominational or political biases. Like Graham, Campolo also has been a spiritual counselor to U.S. presidents and has played the role of public pastor in times of national sorrow and joy. (Since I first heard him deliver a version of it during chapel when I was a student at Wheaton College in 1989, I cannot recall a single Holy Week passing without hearing his classic “It’s Friday But Sunday’s Coming!” homily at least once.)

Graham and Campolo, both Baptist by tradition and creed, have been among the leading voices of mainstream evangelicalism, and their influence spans several generations. Together they helped shape the direction and expansiveness of the church as it attempted to navigate H. Richard Niebhur’s Christ and Culture paradigms and be in the world but not of it in the midst of ever increasing pluralism.

more at link

[xfundy]

1. Oh, I remember him.

"APOSTATE!" "Marxist!" "Communist!" "Demonic!"

He's very hated among the True Christian™ set. I hadn't thought of him in years.

[cbayer]

3. Yes, he is definitely in the progressive wing of the fundamentalist camp,

for whatever that is worth.

But I am hopeful that he can make a difference in that camp, at least with some.

He has been vocally anti-GLBT marriage equality up until now.

[edhopper]

2. One can hope

seems a lot of people no longer buy the religious reasons for this hatred.

Though many still do and i think we will have to wait for them to simply die out before it's done.

And unfortunately, too many of them hold elective office.

[cbayer]

4. We don't have to wait for the elected ones to die, we can vote them out.

Hey, I've got an idea! Let's start building coalitions between all kinds of believers and non-believers that share our position on GLBT equality and vote those fundies out of office!

That would mean that you would have to understand that they are different than you and be ok with that.

Whaddayasay?

[edhopper]

7. I already do

just not on this forum.

[cbayer]

9. That's just bizarre actually, but it's the dynamic that drives the place.

[edhopper]

10. I don't think anything I have said hear

would harm the Democratic party or impaired any progressive agenda.

I don't think anybody has come to this group and said "fuck those atheist assholes, I'm voting Republican"

What do you think holding hands and saying amen with everyone here, in t6his forum, would accomplish.

[cbayer]

12. Strength in numbers, strength in coalitions.

The democratic party has a long history of losing because of infighting and not being able to get on the same page.

Holding hands can accomplish a lot.

[edhopper]

14. But where in my arguments here

have I said I would not join others, believers and non believers alike for progressive ideas.

i just don't see this forum as another place just to promote the progressive agenda.

I see it as a side line to debate religion.

[trotsky]

8. Your huge error that you make time and time again with this "plea"...

is that you assume they aren't ALREADY voting on "our side," or worse, that SOMEHOW (how, you've never quite demonstrated) by encountering a post critical of religion on an anonymous message board on the Internetz, they will abandon the progressive agenda and refuse to support things like LGBTQ rights, etc.

Your entire shtick is based on nothingness, cbayer. Just an apparently desire to control others here and dominate the discussion. And that's sad.

[xfundy]

11. bingo.

A control freak.

[trotsky]

13. Well, she's allegedly got me on ignore, so she won't see that.

I say allegedly because she HAS responded to me at times. Who knows what my status is at any given moment. Default setting is demon, I guess.

[Htom Sirveaux]

5. I'll be interested to see how Shane Claiborne responds to this.

Claiborne is a much younger evangelical activist interested in the same kinds of issues as Campolo (they wrote a book together).

[cbayer]

6. Wow, what an interesting guy!

I wasn't familiar with him and just did some research.

It looks like he has been pretty supportive of GLBT rights

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/features/1457-7-burning-issues-gay-rights