NEWS FEATURE: Winans hit nerve with song opposing homosexuality

c. 1997 Religion News Service UNDATED _ When Christian music artists Angie and Debbie Winans released their album”Bold”earlier this month, they didn’t expect negative reactions. But that’s exactly what they got. A death threat, successive telephone calls from gay and lesbian groups, and boycotts from churchgoers are just some of the responses to”Not Natural,”a song […]

c. 1997 Religion News Service

UNDATED _ When Christian music artists Angie and Debbie Winans released their album”Bold”earlier this month, they didn’t expect negative reactions.

But that’s exactly what they got.


A death threat, successive telephone calls from gay and lesbian groups, and boycotts from churchgoers are just some of the responses to”Not Natural,”a song that addresses violence, promiscuity and homosexuality.

While all of those issues are socially volatile, it’s their stance on homosexuality that is causing fire in both Christian and secular communities. Despite the controversy, however, the duo is sticking to their stand.”It’s just the word of God,”said Debbie Winans, 26.”We want to point people back to Jesus and his way of doing things.” She and Angie Winans, 29, are the younger sisters of renowned contemporary Christian artists BeBe and CeCe Winans. The musical family also includes the Winans, an ensemble composed of several of their brothers.

To Angie and Debbie, homosexuality is not God’s intent for human sexual relationships.”It’s the truth,”Debbie Winans said.”I guess people are upset about the truth.” The duo wrote”Not Natural”after they saw the lead character of ABC-TV’s sitcom”Ellen,”played by lesbian actress Ellen DeGeneres, announce her homosexuality during last year’s season.

The song’s lyrics, which have an urban, hip-hop and jazz feel, include:

There were people celebrating and congratulating

The new addition to the gay community

I was vexed in the spirit

And I began to write this song

It may be cold but let the truth be told

I’m here to let you know

It’s not natural” Debbie Winans said they wanted to offer an alternative to what they believe is a glorification of sex in society.”Wrong has taken precedence for so long,”she said.”It’s just time that God’s principles have some publicity so that we can present an alternative choice.” But the song concerns Liz Tracey, the associate communications director for the New York City chapter of GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, who said people who have heard the song performed in concert have called the group with complaints.”Music like this can lead to violence,”Tracey said.”People are appalled to see this sort of hatred from a family that is so well-known for great gospel work. It completely ignores the fact that there are a lot of gay Christians.” Tracey said she’s been trying to meet with the duo to discuss the song.”The sisters have every right in the world to sing that song, but we have the right to say it’s homophobic,”Tracey said.”I don’t believe religion should be used to foster bigotry.” Frank Susa, director of the New York City chapter of the Affirmation Gay and Lesbian Mormons and chairman of Queergrads at Columbia University in New York City, agreed, arguing the biblical texts the duo use to back their stance are not applicable to today but to Roman times.”I believe that the scriptural basis for an anti-gay stance is based on a simplistic interpretation,”Susa said.”I don’t believe anyone has the right to hold authority over someone’s love life. I don’t think anyone has the right to tell me that’s wrong. That’s between me and my God.” Bill Carpenter, spokesman for Angie and Debbie Winans, said the critics don’t understand why the song was written.”No one’s trying to judge anyone’s love life,”he said.”We’re just putting it out there.” The song, which they are performing in churches across the country, has attracted all sorts of threats. The sisters have been told not to walk the streets alone, to watch their backs, and they were banned from singing the song at an October black women’s conference in Washington, D.C.”I don’t understand why people are threatening and warning us,”Carpenter said.”Angie and Debbie don’t hate gay people.” He said the sisters know there are gay Christians, but that doesn’t change their stance on homosexuality. Carpenter said Winans family members are supportive of the song because they believe it represents where God stands.”People call and say, `This song talks about gays the way the Ku Klux Klan talks about blacks,'”Carpenter said.”People call and say I’m doing the devil’s work. But these responses make us believe even more that we’re doing the right thing.” Carmen Pate, vice president of Concerned Women for America, is not surprised the song is getting a negative response.”God tells us we won’t be popular when we stand,”said Pate, whose lobbying group in Washington opposes gay rights.”We need to lift them up and let them know they are doing the right thing.” Although several Christian groups are supporting the duo’s efforts, Carpenter said some churches have been among the critics. When the sisters performed at an annual benefit at Greater Bethany Community Church in Los Angeles Saturday (Oct. 18), they were boycotted by some churchgoers. The church, which usually draws 2,000 to this event, only had 125 attendees. Churchgoers knew in advance”Not Natural”would be sung.

(OPTIONAL TRIM _ STORY MAY END HERE)

Members of activist groups focusing specifically on gay issues also have voiced strong opinions about the song.”I think they’re taking a good moral stand and that it’s time people start speaking up for the truth,”said Anthony Falzarano, executive director of Transformation Ex-Gay Ministries and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays in Washington, D.C.

Michael Glasgow, a member of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays in Columbia, Md., has a different view.”`Not Natural’ is offensive to me because it is natural,”said Glasgow.”The song is presumptive. They’re assuming they know the truth and that they are putting it out. It’s extremely arrogant.”

DEA END IRVIN

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