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Posted
Friday, December 19, 2008 6:16 PM
| By
Sara Mosle
Noreen, when I returned to Dallas, the natural church for me to attend would have been the one I grew up in. But as it happens, that church has been torn apart by the debate over gay marriage. Half the church supports Robinson; half adamantly oppose him, and a significant minority want to leave the Anglican community altogether. Hell, there are even a few members who still oppose the ordination of women! Frankly, I couldn't be bothered. As someone who struggles with faith—most of the time I’m agnostic or not even that sure—I didn’t want to spend my Sunday mornings arguing with people whose views I found repugnant. So, now to the extent I go to church at all, I'm surrounded by people who think exactly like me. But I’ve sometimes second-guessed my decision as morally lazy and cowardly. I might have been well-positioned, as a native daughter of Dallas, to make the case for the pro-Robinson forces at my old church. Maybe I could have helped tilt the balance toward tolerance, and done more overall good, had I stayed.
In sum, I hate the Warren pick (and Wallis would have been a great candidate for all the reasons you say). But, maybe because I grew up among Republicans, I sometimes struggle with what real engagement with the other side looks like. My guess is that it makes everyone a little unhappy and uncomfortable. Don’t you know that there are right-to-lifers and anti-gay bigots right now who are just as furious at Warren as we are at Obama that Warren has even accepted this inaugural invitation. After all, he will be giving his blessing, in front of a national audience, to a pro-choice, pro-civil-union president. I'm not sure it's entirely clear who is co-opting whom. So, while I still wish Obama had picked someone else, and will be deeply disappointed if he backs away even one iota from equal rights for gays and lesbians at the policy level, I do think the symbolism cuts both ways.
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