religion

Tough Call

/ Brant Copeland / 2 Comments

Upon my retirement I had to clean out my study at the church.  In addition to the mountain of paper files and moldy sermon manuscripts that went into the recycle bin I found a stack of plaques and resolutions that had been languishing in the back of a closet.  Many of them were from boards of directors on which I had served through the years, and a few were framed resolutions declaring gratitude for one thing or another. (You know the kind of thing: lots of WHEREAS’S and THEREFORE-BE-IT-RESOLVED’S.) 

The entire pile when into the dumpster – except for one item: the Voice for Equality Award presented by Equality Florida, the preeminent voice for LGBTQ+ citizens in the Sunshine State.  I was presented the award after years of testifying before legislative committees and writing opinion columns for the Tallahassee Democrat and other newspapers.  In those communications I argued for the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ folks in the life of the republic and against discrimination fueled by homophobia.  

What makes me an advocate in this area is my Christian faith.  I believe that all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, are created in the image of God and should be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.  The dual command to love God and neighbor requires no less from followers of Jesus Christ.  

What’s more, I am convinced that the command to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God” prompts Christians to pay particular attention to people on the margins of society, which include the poor, the outcast, and the victims of hatred – those whom Jesus termed “the least of these.”  To walk alongside people who have been “buked and scorned” is to walk with Jesus. 

As I pastor, I saw the harm that homophobia causes.  I counseled young people who became estranged from their families for coming out as gay or lesbian, and I have seen the struggle that people go through when they don’t feel at home in their own bodies.  These are my siblings in Christ.

I must admit, however, that I am conflicted regarding the recent decision of the Supreme Court in favor of a web designer who objected to making wedding sites for same-sex customers.  It appears to me that the web designer Lorie Smith was acting out of sincere religious conviction and that she has a right to decline services to same-sex customers.  

Of course, I don’t agree with Lorie, my sister in Christ.  I think she’s mistaken, but I also think that a web design business is not the same as a public accommodation.  If Ms. Smith owned a restaurant and refused to serve same-sex couples, or if she ran a hotel and refused to allow same-sex couples to stay in her hotel, I’d feel differently.  

It occurs to me that having someone design your webpage does not rise to the level of a basic human right.  As galling as it must have been to the same-sex couples who wanted to use Ms. Smith’s services, I can’t see why they can’t avail themselves of another web designer who would be happy to work for them.  I imagine there are plenty of web designers out there who would welcome the business.  

Freedom of religion cuts both ways.  I respect Ms. Smith’s right to live in accordance with her faith.  Who knows?  Maybe she feels the same about me. 

Thank God same-sex couples can legally marry and thank God we live under a constitution that protects the free exercise of religion.  

It pains me to say it, but I think the Supreme Court got it right this time.  

Read no further . . .

/ Brant Copeland / 2 Comments

My father, H. Richard Copeland, attended Austin Theological Seminary in the late 1940’s.  He was fond of telling stories about the seminary’s president at the time, Dr. Robert Gribble.  Dr. Gribble was an Old School Presbyterian and zealous guardian of Calvinist orthodoxy.  He was also keen to keep up appearances.  According to my dad, Dr. Gribble was aware that his wife’s love of dancing bordered on the scandalous – at least in the minds of the most frigid among the Chosen Frozen – and he took pains to keep other signs of impropriety from public knowledge. 

My parents were in the lobby of an Austin movie theater to see a “picture show” (which in itself was a tad risky) when they spotted Dr. Gribble enter the lobby and approach the Coke machine.  He surreptitiously removed a brown paper bag from his pocket, inserted a nickel in the slot, and pulled the lever on the machine.  Out came a glass-bottled Coca-Cola.  Dr. Gribble quickly shoved the bottle into the paper bag and stuck the bag into the pocket of his jacket. As he turned toward the exit, he spotted my mom and dad.  Blushing deeply, he shook his head in disgust and said, “My wife will drink these things,” and hurried through the door.

But that’s not the Dr. Gribble story I meant to tell.  The one that’s on my mind is about the time Dad was in the seminary library reading a book of contemporary theology.  He turned the page to discover a note scribbled in the margin by none other than the seminary’s president. “Stop!” Dr. Gribble had written, “Read no further! This is heresy!”   

Dr. Gribble no doubt had the best of intentions.  He didn’t want future pastors to be infected by unorthodox theology and contaminate the congregations they would one day serve.  His censorship was meant as pastoral care.

Florida’s governor and recently-declared presidential candidate Ron DeSantis couches his efforts at mind control in similar terms.  By limiting what teachers of young children might say to their students about sex or gender identity he is protecting them from the virus of “wokeism.”  His anti-viral protections have been extended to students in middle school, where it is now a violation of state law for school employees to refer to students using pronouns that do not correspond to the student’s sex. 

For Gov. DeSantis and his like-minded colleagues, the best way to handle difficult topics such as homosexuality and transgender identity is not to handle them at all.  Just pretend that they don’t exist – that third graders can’t come from a home with two moms instead of a mom and dad, or that eighth graders can’t feel out of place in their own bodies.  

Granted, these are challenging subjects about which people can disagree, and teachers have plenty on their plates without having to serve as culture-war referees.  Still, the goal of education should be to broaden the mind, not constrict it.  

This approach to education reminds me of the days before the Civil War when states in the South banned books and newspapers that contained abolitionist ideas. The best way to maintain the status quo is to protect people from dangerous ideas. I imagine most forms of censorship can be couched in pastoral terms.

It’s unlikely a student in Florida schools will open a library book to discover a handwritten warning to read no further.  These days it’s a good bet that book was removed from the school library long ago.