Liberals are Goliath. So says Rev. Jerry Andrews. He spoke at the Presbyterian Coalition gathering that was reported in the Presbyterian news:
Liberalism is a “Goliath” in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that has led the denomination down a path to a “faith in which it cannot live faithfully,” said the Rev. Jerry Andrews, co-moderator of the conservative Presbyterian Coalition, an umbrella group for more than a dozen “renewal” organizations in the denomination.Along these “false paths,” liberals have lost their way and their ability to lead, the suburban Chicago pastor told more than 220 participants meeting here at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church for the Coalition’s Gathering XI.
“[Liberalism] has been the Goliath in our life. I think the Goliath has fallen,” he said.
For those of you who didn't know, Goliath was not only a liberal, he was gay.
[Andrews] said the term post-Christian referred to the Assembly’s actions, which he said vacated all previous church teachings on the subject of homosexuality.This new evidence that Goliath was a liberal post-Christian gay giant has raised some eyebrows at the Society of Biblical Literature. Scholars plan to study the issue in depth at their Fall gathering.
Don't you think that the reason Goliath was so angry was because he was in denial about his sexuality?
ReplyDeleteGayliath?
ReplyDeleteI never knew we were pronouncing it so wrongly.
Rev. Jerry Andrews...LOL
220 people showed up? I had more than that at my last birthday party.
Clearly Andrews and his ilk are a minute fringe coven operating on their own accord and fueled by frustration.
Good. BE frustrated.
Could be Sara. An angle scholars will want to explore to be sure. The Presby Coalition Goliath Slayers might consider the source of their own obsession with one issue.
ReplyDeleteThey could begin by removing the Goliath-sized beam from their own eyes.
Captain--I want to be invited to your next party!
Poor Goliath. I’ve always had some sympathy for him. Probably some poor bloke conscripted into the King’s army. Since Andrews thinks Goliath has fallen, who brought him down? Who is the conservative evangelical David?
ReplyDeleteI guess Jerry will sling the stones.
ReplyDeleteThe obsession with the issue is what's interesting. Methinks there are some sexual frustrations hidden in some wee lil' closets there hmmm?
ReplyDelete“[Liberalism] has been the Goliath in our life. I think the Goliath has fallen,” he said.
ReplyDeleteUm, progressivism has been around in its current trajectory since the late 19th c.
I also thought that war, famine, disease, greed, etc. were the real goliath. But what do I know. I just dig the Gospels that's all.
Isn't Goliath supposed to be, I dunno, large and imposing? Liberals are a minority in the denomination. How is 25% of the denomination Goliath? I still can't for the life of me understand this complaining coming from the majority.
ReplyDeleteAlso, let them who are without sin sling the first stone.
David & Goliath? Of the two, I don't think Goliath was the gay one.
ReplyDeleteDavid played a harp for crying out loud. I'm not saying you have to be gay to play a harp, I'm just saying that ... oh, who am I kidding ... of course you have to be at least a little bit gay to play a harp. Especially if, you know, you're playing it for your boyfriend Jonathan. ;)
Let's bring in Dr. Jung. Dr., what do you make of this?
ReplyDeleteDr. Jung: I think we have here a classic example of projection. Goliath symbolizes the bully or the monster whose presence terrorizes and causes fear and inaction. David is the hero who breaks this fear by defeating the monster by creative and courageous uses of his own resources. But now it gets interesting. By using the symbol of Goliath (the bully) for those who have been denied rights and freedoms (gender and sexual minorities) as if they are the bully, our subject (Rev. Jerry), reveals to others his shadow that he cannot see himself. He likely has deep fear and disgust of his own sexual fantasies and desires. He cannot own them for himself and must project them onto others in the form of a monster. Therefore glbt people and those who support them become a Goliath for him. Poor man. He needs to embrace his shadow. In order to do that he needs love. Everybody sing: "All you need is love...do do do do do..."
Thank you, Doctor.
I am NOT going to say anything about Rev. Andrews' desire to spend his days and nights alone with a whole herd of sheep, playing with his lyre.
ReplyDeleteNope, nothing at all.
Captainkona--
ReplyDeleteI think, hope, pray that FINALLY the vast, quiet middle of the church has gotten so sick of fighting over The Gay (and the gentle persuasion of programs like Covenant's "Turning Points" and TAMFS' "Be-In" at San Jose and the movie "For the Bible Tells Me So", not to mention the fact that more and more people in the heartland realize that they know gay people and they aren't that scary) that they just want to find a compromise and move on.
Folks like Andrews don't want compromise, and their case for "ours is the only way to true unity in the church" is severely undercut by the Whineskins crowd already splitting the church and filing lawsuits. The splits also remove a lot of Andrews' constituency, so he's left advocating for a smaller and smaller group of Presbyterians.