Andy Clary is the son of Anchorage Baptist Temple's Glenn Clary. But he doesn't want us to judge him as an assembly candidate based on his ties to Jerry Prevo or his enthusiasm for Mayor Sullivan. He wants to be judged by his own words, and by his current church. So what is ChangePoint's stand on gays? Pastor Dan Jarrell wrote on Feb 22:
"God doesn't hate people who are homosexual; he hates what homosexuality does to people."
WTF? That's twisted. Jarrell also calls us "pernicious," which means destructive in a sneaky way:
"Perhaps the most pernicious behavior of gay and lesbian activists is their effort to indoctrinate children and encourage the promulgation of their alternative lifestyle..."
And what about Clary? During last summer's battle for the jobs and housing ordinance, he was a staff writer for the anti-ordinance Alaska Standard and he wrote:
"Now, before I go any further, let me say that I am opposed to the ordinance myself, but for very different reasons. You see, I am a committed follower of Christ, and although I believe homosexuality is not a lifestyle that Christ approves of, I see it no differently than other sins such as alcoholism or adultery. Why do we Christians lash out against one sin so differently than we do any other? We need to be reaching these people not tearing them down."
"These people"? He might have more success in reaching out to "these people" if he didn't compare our loving families to chronic drunks and cheaters.
"What if some simply have not found answers to the tough questions they have? For instance, why is it that some people struggle with homosexual tendencies their whole life and others do not? It is the same as alcoholism. Some people are predisposed to certain types of behavior..."
Many gays and lesbians are comfortable with our natural and God-given sexuality. What we struggle against is the stigma of being different and the anti-gay prejudice of people like Clary.
"Finally, to answer the question, "Should you legislate morality?", clearly the answer is again, no. It cannot be done, nor should it be done."
The religious right often tries to legislate morality, as long as it's their own moral interpretations that get promoted. Does he really mean that we shouldn't have laws against murder and rape?
Clary told the Anchorage Press that he grew up in Prevo's church where his father is assistant pastor:
"I have my own beliefs and I don't agree with my father on everything. Yes, I grew up at that church; I do not attend there now. People will just have to judge me on myself."
So he agrees with his father on most things, including his opposition to gay rights, but not on everything. What are the disagreements? He doesn't say. But he belongs to ChangePoint now. Here are more quotes from the anti-gay ChangePoint article by Clary's pastor:
"There are no reasonable grounds for considering same-sex unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage...""Support ministries that offer help, hope, and healing to those affected by homosexuality. Exodus International is one example of an effective effort to provide a way out for homosexuals who want help."
Being gay is not a sickness that needs healing. Prejudice is the sickness. The pray-away-the-gay methods used by Exodus have been discredited over and over, but churches like ChangePoint and ABT continue to push the "ex-gay" lies.
Jarrell also tells his church members to become politically active against gays:
Get involved in the political process supporting any effort to preserve a biblical definition of marriage as a life-long, intimate partnership between one man and one woman.
And they have their own anti-gay "pernicious indoctrination" class for children:
There are many excellent tools available for any parent wanting to instruct their adolescent child about marriage, sex, and family issues... ChangePoint's Due North program for 6th grade girls and boys is exceptional as well, get your kids involved.
How sad for those kids, especially the LGBT ones and their parents.
So, in his own words, Andy Clary thinks that gays ("these people") are struggling with a lifestyle like alcoholism and adultery. His current pastor calls us "pernicious," pushes harmful pray-away-the-gay methods, and encourages church members to get involved in politics against gay rights. Sounds close enough to Prevo.
This is NOT who we want to represent us on the assembly.
6 comments:
Good luck with the elections today.
Your headline is very misleading. Andy was simply expressing his belief that homosexuality is a sin, which is no different then other sins such as alcoholism and adultery.
As for Dan Jarrell, I think you will find him far different then Prevo... At least from my perspective that's true... I would have a hard time sitting though a Prevo sermon, but I look forward to hearing Dan preach. In fact, Dan married my wife and I a few years back.
I think this is a last minute attempt to sway a few voters... And my guess is that it will fail... but we will see...
The headline is entirely appropriate, the piece is well written and accurate.
These fools think making everyone pray to their version of God is governance. It is not.
I agree with stefging, great piece.
Lord, protect me from your followers, especially if any more of them get elected to the Anchorage Assembly.
Exodus International is a church promoted brainwashing technique that further represses people already stuggling to be themselves. It adds another layer of difficulty for GLBT people to work through.
I know!! I've been there!
Scary stuff to read about the cavorting and shifting people use to worm their way into the political system.
If Andy Clary wants to be known by his own words, it would be good to remind him that his is known by the company he keeps also.
Brian
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