OPINION (USA Today) – A sad thing is happening in America. The church is killing itself. A great revelation has occurred that is bringing joy and happiness to millions, but it is being met with resistance and retrenchment from many of my colleagues inside the church. The revelation is that LGBTQ people are just like the rest of us — only LGBTQ. They are not perverts nor are they abnormal, as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental health experts once declared them to be. People don’t choose their sexual orientation any more than they choose their race or gender. This is what lay behind a recent comment by Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, that Vice President Mike Pence’s quarrel —
if he has one — is not with the mayor. “Your quarrel, sir,” said the openly gay Democratic presidential candidate, “is with my creator.” The United Methodists, one of America’s most beloved denominations, are doubling down on their opposition to gay clergy and gay marriage by threatening expulsion to congregations that don’t toe the line. The threat is particularly ominous given that the denomination — rather than the local congregations that paid for them — hold title to the church buildings. Conservative columnists like Patrick Buchanan warn of the “crackup” of Christianity. READ MORE
