Is it homophobic in here … or is it just me?

A featured link in this National Post weekend homepage story (May 25-27, 2012).

By Don Hutchinson

Homophobia. Do you think you know what it means? I bet your neighbour thinks it means something different (and odds are you’re afraid to ask).

As an evangelical Christian organization, after engaging in Ontario’s province-wide dialogue on anti-bullying legislation, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) has on several occasions been accused of being “homophobic.” By implication, all evangelicals – we – were so accused. We? I was accused of being homophobic?!

In 1998, Coretta Scott King, the widow of American Baptist (evangelical) minister and civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., stated:

Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood. This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group.

This is a fair statement. Mrs. King was calling on Christians and civil rights activists to engage in the “love thy neighbour” expression of standing up for those who had experienced and were experiencing a form of oppression; injustice. This challenge to the Church was little different from her husband’s challenge to segregation laws in the U.S.A.; or Jesus’ challenge to the religious leaders of His day, when He said:

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. (Matthew 23)

Jesus was heavily criticized for spending time with “sinners.” He responded by noting the imperfections of humanity, calling on us all to have grace for one another, and challenging the religious leaders to get real. Jesus accepted sinners for who they were. This does not mean He accepted or approved of their sin. Jesus did not confuse identity with behaviour. The woman caught in adultery was a recipient of Jesus’ acceptance. Her behaviour was not; as He cautioned her to “sin no more.” (John 8)

While I’m pretty sure I understand what Mrs. King was getting at, to the best of my knowledge the word “homophobia” is not defined in Canadian law, either by the courts or in legislation. And, unfortunately, what was intended as a call to defend has been twisted into a weapon of attack.

The word “homophobia” is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “an extreme and irrational aversion to homosexuality and homosexual people.”

As sword rather than shield, the term is used to suggest a psychological disorder in the person or organization so labelled; and, to generate fear and to bully those it is directed against into silence. This label has become the contemporary slur of the 21st century, intended to silence the voices of those in our free and democratic society who might disagree with the public policy agenda of a select group of activists. This slur is intended as both insult and indictment directed at the very nature and character of the person or organization that dares to disagree.

A similar twist in use of a word took place in the United States in the 1950s when Senator Joseph McCarthy spun a defence of democracy and a fear of communism into unfounded allegations of being either a communist or communist sympathizer directed at thousands of Americans, who were ostracized and ridiculed in a manner intended to make them outcasts in a democratic nation. Jobs were lost, voices that held legitimate public policy positions were silenced and stated suspicion was accepted as conclusive evidence of a threat to society.

Accusations of “homophobia” have no place in public discourse, public dialogue or public debate and certainly no place in the legislatures, public squares or public schools of our nation. Reasonable people will disagree on matters of public debate. We might disagree with one another, but we are still called to accept and respect one another – as Canadians.

Evangelicals – certainly the vast majority of us – do not have a fear or irrational aversion toward gays and lesbians. We do however, at times, find ourselves in disagreement with the public policy positions expressed by activists from the gay community; as they at times disagree with ours.

The Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed on more than one occasion that the religiously informed are not to be placed at public disadvantage or disqualified from engaging in public policy debate. As Justice Gonthier noted in his decision in Chamberlain (2002), with this portion of his reasons supported by the full court (read the decision of the Chief Justice at paragraph 3 and that of Justice LeBel at paragraph 188): 

The key is that people will disagree about important issues, and such disagreement, where it does not imperil community living, must be capable of being accommodated at the core of modern pluralism. (paragraph 137)

There is no doubt and much evidence that gays and lesbians have in the past suffered treatment similar in fashion to blacks in the segregated U.S. South of the 1950s. The solution of that day was not found in calling “racists” names, but in engaging an awareness of injustice and a pursuit of justice. There is mounting evidence that calling evangelical Christians “homophobic” (even when some are admittedly behaving badly) is not a defence for a powerless community but an attack from empowered activists. A new injustice, that serves to repeat a pattern rather than improve a democratic society.

The last word goes to Martin Luther King, Jr.:

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.(Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963)

Sex in the Capital City

By Don Hutchinson

“The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation,” or so former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau infamously stated to the media at a press conference on December 21, 1967.

Last week, Canada’s Science and Technology Museum (located in Ottawa) finished setting up the exhibit “Sex:A Tell All Exhibition” in its renowned, taxpayer funded halls – bringing what perhaps belongs in the bedrooms of the nation into the halls of the state.

The museum hosted an advance showing for journalists and artists, which resulted in me receiving communications from one of each suggesting there were seriously offensive, potentially illegal, components to the exhibit. These were two trusted sources so I wrote the following note to Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore:

I am shocked to hear about the explicit sexual content of the exhibition “Sex: A Tell All Exhibition” that is scheduled to open May 17 in the federally funded family environment of the Canada Science and Technology Museum.

While I have not seen the exhibition personally, the comments received in my office indicate that there are pornographic images; some reportedly involving or depicting children (under the age of 18 years), potentially in violation of the Criminal Code.

I would be relieved to find out these reports are not true, just as I would be remiss in not bringing them to your attention if they are.

Since then, there has been a lot of media coverage as over 50 letters of complaint have been received at the museum (at time of writing as reported on last night’s local Ottawa news) and the Minister has viewed the exhibit, noting in the House of Commons on Thursday:

I believe in the independence of our museums and I also believe in sex education.

The director of the museum asked me to view the exhibit. ... I was asked for my opinion and, in my opinion, it is not appropriate for young children to be exposed to sexually explicit material without the consent of their parents.

I made my view known and it is up to the museum to decide now where it goes.

Before opening the exhibit to the public yesterday, the museum raised the age for attendance unaccompanied by an adult from 12 to 16 and removed some components of the original exhibit, notably the cartoon videos of young teens masturbating – which might have generated concern once consideration was given to the potential for being classified as child pornography under s. 163.1 of the Criminal Code. This suggests there were, and may remain, problems with the content.

We’ve had some media contact in the same process. Of course, interviews are edited to shape the intent of the journalist. To be clear, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada has for several decades taken a firm stand in regard to the protection and well-being of children. The EFC was involved in having child pornography added as a crime to the Criminal Code (defending the section before the Supreme Court of Canada and then working to secure amendments recommended by the court); advocating for almost two decades to raise the age of consent to sexual activity with an adult from 14, which it was in 2008 to 16; convincing the government to implement Criminal Code provisions against the trafficking of women, children and men (described as modern day slavery) and supporting the most recent efforts of MP Joy Smith to establish minimum sentences for those who traffick in children in Canada and application of our laws to Canadians who traffick in children outside of our borders. I could go on, but think this is sufficient for now.

Our interest is in the protection of children.

Which is why, in my capacity as a private citizen, I also contacted the RCMP to ask that a member of the child protection unit view the display to assess whether there was evidence of an offence that might tend to corrupt the morals of a minor under the Criminal Code s. 163 or of child pornography. I don’t know if anyone went.

One person who viewed the exhibit was featured on last night’s CTV National News noting that there was nothing in the exhibit about relationships being a part of sexual activity. It was just about sex, primarily homosexual sexual behaviour. Another person I spoke with said they were impressed that the exhibit noted alternatives to engaging in abortion if pregnant, but disappointed that adoption was not one of them.

I was asked by an interviewer if I was going to go to see the exhibit for myself. I don’t think so. I’m now old enough to know that not everything must be learned the hard way. Sometimes we can acquire what we need to know through the experience of others, particularly trustworthy others.

Journalist Michael Coren has suggested in one article that “with some exceptions our leaders are indifferent, and those of us who criticize this nonsense will be condemned as frightened prudes.” Concluding, “Rise up, frightened prudes of the world, before it’s too late.”

 Prude is not a label that has been applied to me before, but I say, in the best interests of our children “The bedrooms of the nation have no place in the halls of the state.” Parents, be warned that the current plan is school trips to the Museum of Science and Technology between now and the end of January 2013 will feature large groups of young children, accompanied by one or two adults, learning more about the mechanics of sex and watching “soft porn” videos than anything that has to do with science.

It's Time to Talk About Life - Shared at the March For Life Rally

Guest blogger: Bruce J. Clemenger is President of The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. Following is the text of his address to the gathering assembled for the 2012 March For Life rally on Parliament Hill.

You have heard it said that the debate about legal protection for the unborn is over. I say look at this crowd. Consistently each year we have gathered here to say it is not over.  

You have heard it said that the Supreme Court has ruled that a woman has a right to an abortion. I say to you, read the decision. That is not what the Court ruled. I was in the court years after the decision when an abortion advocate mentioned a woman’s right to choose and the then Chief Justice Lamer cut her off and said the court never said such a thing.

You have heard it said that Canadians don’t want a new conversation about the child in the womb. I say polls from many polling firms show that most Canadians want protection for the child in the womb.  

When is it not the time to talk about the beginning of life?

When is it not the time to talk about the protection of life?

When is it not the time to talk about what it means to be human; when is it not the time to talk about what it means to be a person?

And when is it not the time to talk about what duty of care we owe to another?

All else – our laws, our constitution, our societal norms, our culture and our civility – is built upon our answers to these basic questions about life, meaning and purpose. These questions form the horizon for all else.

We cannot afford not to have the conversation.

I say Parliament needs to catch up with what Canadians believe. The global trend over the last centuries has been in favour of life:  the expansion of personhood to those who were previously denied status; in favour of protecting the vulnerable and the rejection of slavery, of human trafficking, of treating the other as a commodity, as an object, as something that completes the life of another rather than someone with inestimable worth.

I say science and medicine are teaching us more about the distinct personhood of the child in the womb.

I say the younger generations are more integrated in their understanding of life and more skeptical of the distorted logic and ethics that permeate the arguments we hear every day.

Lets have the conversation.

May God have mercy on Canada. 

And may God give us strength and courage as we speak for those who cannot. 

March for Life 2012 Photo Gallery

EFC's Don Hutchinson, Vice-President and General Legal Counsel

EFC's Bruce Clemenger, President

More pictures available here.  

A Prayer for Life - Shared at the March For Life Rally

By Don Hutchinson (as shared May 10, 2012 to open the March For Life rally on Parliament Hill)

Father,

We stand together in awe and wonder at the miracle of life. Science may speculate about the origins of life, but only You can create.

We gather together on this day to express our wonder at the miracle of all of life, particularly human life – from fertilization through to the natural cycle of death.

This day we focus particular attention on the wonder of human life formed within the human body; designed by You for growth, birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood.

We stand in prayer for those in the womb who have not yet developed a voice of their own.

We stand in prayer for those who have chosen to give birth to the children growing within – whether to raise those children as mom and dad, as single mom or to lovingly offer them for adoption in another welcoming home.

We also stand in prayer for those who have lost their children through no choice of their own and those who have lost their children by choice.

We ask that You, Father, by Your Spirit would touch each one of these with your love and compassion; for we have all been made in Your image and Your Son died for each one of us that we might know love, forgiveness and renewal in our own lives.

Father, we also stand together in prayer for our great nation of Canada, recognizing that the loss of lives through unrestricted abortion for nearly a quarter of a century has cost us all dearly through the loss of brothers, sisters, friends and a generation that would be moving into the professions, trades and other occupations that are necessary for the economic and social stability of our nation.

We pray for our Prime Minister, Members of Parliament and the Senate – chosen by the people of this nation, and we believe also chosen by You, O God – who have been called upon by You, by the Supreme Court of Canada in their decision in the Morgentaler case in 1988, and by the people of Canada to correct the injustice of our nation providing no protection for children in the womb, an injustice that has been visited upon our nation for 24 years.

Yes, we stand together in awe and wonder at the miracle of life. And we pray that the day will come when this gathering will not be necessary; when justice will be restored for the innocent voiceless; and our nation will be renewed in its foundation of dignity and respect for all human beings.

This we ask in the name of Your Son, Who lived, died and was resurrected again to life, Jesus, the Christ, our Saviour and the Lord of Life. Amen.