c. 2007 Religion News Service
Surgeon General Pick Under Scrutiny for Gay Views
WASHINGTON (RNS) President Bush’s nominee for surgeon general faces an uncertain confirmation in light of a 16-year-old paper he wrote as part of the United Methodist Church’s Committee to Study Homosexuality.
In an eight-page paper titled “Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality,” Dr. James Holsinger described physical injury and even death that can result from what he called “anal eroticism.”
After submitting the report to the church committee in 1991, Holsinger resigned, convinced the group’s ultimate verdict “would follow liberal lines,” according to a Time magazine article that year.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will begin confirmation hearings for Holsinger on Thursday (July 12).
Gay rights organizations, including the Christian group Soulforce, are angry over what they see as Holsinger’s hostility toward homosexuals.
“As the leading spokesperson for matters of public health, the surgeon general should be guided by medical science, not religion-based bigotry,” said Soulforce Executive Director Jeff Lutes.
The Department of Health and Human Services dismissed claims that Holsinger holds any anti-gay prejudice.
“He basically remains focused on helping all those in need,” said HHS spokesman Brynn Barnett. “He’s been consistent with sound science and the best medical practices.”
The White House repeatedly affirmed the nomination and Holsinger’s credentials. In addition to his work as a cardiologist, he has served in the Army Reserve, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Kentucky state cabinet.
He currently serves as president of the United Methodist Judicial Council, which acts as the denomination’s highest court. During his tenure, the council has handed down several rulings that raised concerns with gay rights groups such as the Human Rights Campaign. In a 2005 decision, the council upheld the defrocking of the Rev. Beth Stroud, a lesbian, and also sided with a pastor who denied church membership to an openly gay man.
As surgeon general, Holsinger would be the nation’s chief medical educator. Upon announcing the nomination, President Bush noted that a special focus of Holsinger’s work would be increasing awareness of childhood obesity.
_ Michelle C. Rindels
Trade Association: Sales of Christian Products Reach $4.6 Billion
(RNS) Sales of Christian products increased to $4.6 billion last year, according to reports by the major trade association for Christian retailing.
The $4.63 billion in 2006 sales, through a range of religious and secular distribution channels, is up from $4.3 billion in 2004, $4.2 billion in 2002 and $4 billion in 2000, reports CBA, a Colorado Springs, Colo.-based trade association.
CBA, formerly known as the Christian Booksellers Association, has a membership of more than 2,000 Christian stores, including national and regional chains, church-owned stores and independent retailers.
A new CBA study shows that 52 percent of Christian products are sold by Christian retailers while general market retailers _ including stores such as Wal-Mart and Borders _ sold 33 percent. The remaining 15 percent of sales including direct-to consumer and non-profit ministry sales.
“Christian retail is the supplier’s best partner _ historically, in the immediate and long-term,” CBA President Bill Anderson said in a statement. “This channel sells more Christian products than all the other channels combined.”
But the Christian market, along with other retailers, is grappling with new ways consumers make their purchases. The International Christian Retail Show, which began Sunday in Atlanta and ends Thursday, includes sessions to address such issues as customer loyalty and “the next generation of Christian consumers.”
Anderson said some Christian retailers are struggling while others are opening new stores.
“Christian retailers have had to respond to increased competition, challenges to traffic and price wars,” he said. “And while we have lost some stores in the process, some of the smartest, most savvy retailers have not only survived, but have been improved by the challenges of recent years. They’ve been through a lot and are better retailers for it.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Court Says Gay Lutheran Pastor Must Be Defrocked
(RNS) An openly gay Lutheran pastor from Atlanta has been defrocked after a church appeals court ruled that he should be removed from ministry before next month’s Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The Committee on Appeals’ decision to immediately remove the Rev. Bradley Schmeling of St. John’s Lutheran Church overturns a previous ruling that would have allowed him to remain in ministry until Aug. 15. The committee’s vote was 10-2 to immediately remove Schmeling .
The 4.9 million-member ELCA holds its biennial meeting in Chicago, Aug. 6-11. The lower court had urged the ELCA to overturn the ban on sexually active gay clergy at that meeting.
Effective immediately, the appeals committee’s decision to remove Schmeling from the ELCA’s clergy roster is final and ends the judicial process.
“I am disheartened that the Committee on Appeals would remove me from the roster without ever meeting me; without meeting the people of St. John’s Lutheran Church; or without even coming to Atlanta to experience our congregation at work,” Schmeling said in a statement.
“I want my denomination to witness to the Jesus that I know and love _ a savior who is more interested in relationships than in rules,” he added.
Schmeling, 44, had led St. John’s Lutheran Church, which claims a membership of 350, since 2000.
But last year, after Schmeling told Bishop Ronald Warren of the ELCA’s Southeastern Synod that he had found a partner, the bishop asked him to resign.
John Ballew, St. John’s congregation president, said, “We are going to go to the Churchwide Assembly in August to witness to our ELCA the costs of this decision, based on an absurd policy.”
In 2005, the ELCA declined to allow local synods to decide whether to accept pastors in same-sex relationships.
_ Daniel Burke
Colosseum, `Christ the Redeemer’ Named New Wonders of the World
(RNS) Move over, Hanging Gardens of Babylon and Colossus of Rhodes: An international poll named a new set of Seven Wonders of the World on Saturday (July 7). Among the new members on the list are a church, two temples and a giant statue of Christ the Redeemer.
The updated seven wonders represent a marked religious shift from the seven ancient marvels, which included such sites as the Statue of Zeus and the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. All have disappeared except for the Pyramids at Giza, Egypt, which will maintain their status as one of the seven ancient wonders, according to the Associated Press.
UNESCO, the United Nations agency that works to “assist countries in identifying, protecting and preserving World Heritage,” confirmed that it is not involved in the new seven wonders project. While UNESCO keeps track of world heritage sites, the vote was an effort by a private foundation created by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber.
About 100 million votes were cast worldwide, and the winners were:
1. Colosseum of Rome, Italy: Inaugurated in A.D. 80, this structure was the site of sporting events, gladiator matches and martyrdom, in which Christians were fed to lions.
2. Great Wall of China: Built to protect China from Hun, Mongol and Turk invasions, this 4,160-mile wall was constructed between the seventh and fourth centuries B.C. and is the only manmade structure visible from space to the naked eye.
3. Taj Mahal of Agra, India: Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan built this elaborate mausoleum beginning in 1632. Considered the crown jewel of Islamic architecture, it acts as a tomb for the emperor’s favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
4. Petra, Jordan: An ancient city carved into rock, Petra flourished between the second and sixth century A.D. The site is famous for an unfinished tomb facade that functioned as a Byzantine church.
5. Christ the Redeemer Statue of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Completed in 1931, this 125-foot-tall statue with outstretched arms is perched atop Mount Corcovado.
6. Machu Picchu, Peru: This remote sanctuary in the Andes mountains includes palaces, walls and temples constructed of giant stones. It was built in the 15th century by the Incan Empire.
7. Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico: Another sacred site, this Mayan step-pyramid is topped by a temple that bears carvings for a rain and serpent god. A Mayan community thrived in the area between about A.D. 700 and 900, although the date of the pyramid’s construction is still unknown.
_ Michelle C. Rindels
Quote of the Day: Religion and Public Policy Professor Melissa Rogers
(RNS) “We have to demand full religious liberty here at home for non-Christians. That sounds kind of like the golden rule. … You can’t be for separation of mosque and state abroad and come home and oppose separation of church and state here at home. Let’s be consistent.”
_ Melissa Rogers, visiting professor of religion and public policy at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. Rogers was a speaker at a recent Washington forum on ministers and politics that was sponsored by Christian Ethics Today, a bimonthly journal.
KRE/PH END RNS
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