As November fourth draws near the rhetoric, hate, misinformation and politicization surrounding the California same-sex marriage issue is reaching a crescendo pitch. It is my observation that intolerant political operatives masquerading as religious scholars and leaders are the ones leading the charge to enshrine state constitutional bigotry against gay and lesbian California citizens by overturning their constitutional right to civil marriage via passage of proposition 8. Why is this? The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a political and legal wing of the extreme right American Evangelical church movement, is serving as legal council to the proposition 8 proponents. This is the same ADF that declared Sunday September 28, 2009 to be “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” in which religious congregational leaders are being urged to ‘cross the line on church politicking by weaving right-wing political endorsements and oppositions – including passage of proposition 8 - into their religious services. The ADF activists want to turn our houses of religious worship into cogs in a political machine that will elect candidates of their choice. IRS guidelines forbids tax-exempt houses of worship and other non-profit groups from endorsing or opposing candidates for public office. The ADF seeks to prompt a challenge to and overturn the IRS religious guidelines in court.So now we have a situation where politicians preach religion from the political stump and pastors push politics from the pulpit. This is madness! I do not want elected officials placing their hand on the Constitution and pledging to uphold the Bible. Conversely, I do not want pastors holding up a bible while preaching politics from the National Republican Party plank. California houses of religious worship and the California State Constitution must not be hijacked so as to exclude, demonize and humiliate a particular class of citizenry for the purpose of furthering the political agendas of intollerant, narrow-minded, power-hungry individuals.Recently I delivered the following faith journey testimonial to the church where I am a member. I believe it is important to share it with you now because I would have been denied its delivery if the ADF had infiltrated my church.“The first step of my faith journey occurred three years ago when I met the Oxnard Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer (LCOOR) Pastor Brian Elster at a charity event. We engaged in typical introductory conversation during which he inquired as to my feelings toward faith and asked if I was a church member anywhere. Pastor Brian cared not that I was gay. He was, however, concerned that I was not in church on Sundays. He gave me his business card on which were imprinted five statements of belief: Jesus Christ is Lord (and I am not!) Everyone is welcome here (you, too!) Love changes lives (not brow-beating, guilt, or coercion) Everyone has something to offer (each person has dignity and worth) The world needs what we have to offer (which is why our mission is so important!) I was intensely cognizant of the non-judgmental tenor of these statements. They contradicted my perception of Christianity as unwelcoming, judgmental and, above all, condemnatory of all gays and lesbians. It was the accommodating tenor of those five statements of belief that persuaded me to meet with Pastor Brian to explore becoming an LCOOR member. But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself here. I need to backtrack in time to briefly provide you with insight into the person I was before meeting Pastor Brian. From late adolescence onward to the present day, I occasionally suffered painful and contentious confrontations with persons who would point and shake a disparaging finger in my direction. They would point at me and say something akin to “ You, you fag. You need to repent or burn in queer Hell” They hurled insults and pejoratives so foul I cannot repeat them to you. I even suffered physical violence at their hands. Encounters with the finger pointers wounded me deeply. Consequentially, my heart felt the pain of being ostracized, isolated and despised. Why did the finger pointers treat me with hostile contempt? Why did they call me vile names? Why did they not understand how deeply hurtful to me their insults were? Who were they to judge me? I came to assume it was just my misfortune in life to occasionally suffer the arrogance, ignorance, cruelty and intolerance of cowardly, abusive bullies. During my later college years I began to fight back against the finger pointers. When they insulted me, I responded with greater insults. I continued to fight back for the next twenty-five years. Unfortunately, that brutal tit-for-tat enterprise left me with a hardened heart and an angry attitude. Then I connected with Pastor Brian and the LCOOR and my life was transformed for the better. Initially Pastor Brian and I enjoyed numerous philosophical discussions concerning what it meant to live a Christian life and he outlined for me basic precepts of Christian theology. Next he laid out before me the significance of God’s transformative love for all his children. He gave me numerous theological books to study. Lastly he initiated me to the concept of God’s grace in the church. By this time I had already begun attending regular Sunday worship services at LCOOR. Soon afterward Pastor Brian baptized me. My baptism was possibly the proudest and most joyous moment of my life. My baptism initiated a process of self-examination that continues to this day. Judeo-Christian biblical principals guide and assist me in this introspective. By taking biblical spirit into my heart I now enjoy immense comfort and unquestionable assurance in the undeniable reality that God loves me exactly as he made me. Yes, that’s correct! God loves me exactly as he made me! My same-gender partner and I have been together twenty-three years. Our recent lawful California marriage has prompted some in the faith community to point the familiar disparaging finger in my direction. Three years ago, prior to taking the message of Christian-inspired civility into my heart, I would have smothered their repulsive ignorance with my roaring anger and assaulted their blatant bigotry with my profound disgust. Today I thank these people for presenting me with an opportunity in which to test the limits of my faith. Today I see the wisdom of replacing my anger with love and replacing my brutishness with poise. Even more so, I now find it safe to welcome with open arms those persons who point the disparaging finger my way because God’s grace protectively guides me to a location just beyond the reach of their pointed fingers. Furthermore, it is my newfound insight into God’s command directing me to “love my neighbor as I love myself” that prompts me to greet the pointed fingers with a welcoming and sincere smile on my lips and empathetic words of understanding on my tongue. I understand your hate and I forgive you, I forgive you, I really, really do forgive you. Let us walk beside one another and learn from one another. Obviously, my faith journey is a young journey. Nevertheless, I have learned and taken to heart certain profound and fundamental elements of Protestant Christianity. Pastor Brian Elster’s sermons plus my personal scriptural study have enlightened me to the Judeo-Christian concepts and teachings that inform us how it is neither our option nor our assignment to judge one another. Rather, it is our mission to stand together shoulder-to-shoulder to spread the good news that God loves us all each and every day.” Myself and every other gay and lesbian American of religious faith would be denied the opportunity to read such faith journey testimonials in houses of worship if the ADF had its way. I believe that the ADF wields the bible as a truncheon against gays and lesbians. It is time for gays and lesbians of faith to challenge the ADF, to challenge right wing political zealots and to challenge religious charlatans preaching so-called biblically inspired hate against us. I believe Homosexuality has left the biblical closet and is currently taking its rightful place as today’s most important civil right. Respectfully, Harris D. Berger Copyright 2008 By Harris D. Berger Oxnard, CA. USA hberger@verizon.net Reproduction by permission only. All rights reserved. | 
