No Longer Silent: Clergy for Justice - Raising a Voice Against Christian Intolerance

April 1, 2002

Dr. James Dobson

Focus on the Family

8605 Explorer Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80920

Dear Dr. Dobson,

We are Christian Clergy grounded in the witness of the Bible and convicted of the unconditional love of God for all people. We have come together to raise a voice against the Christian intolerance that promotes condemnation, discrimination, and hatred towards gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered persons.

Increasingly, homosexuals who are faithful disciples of Jesus Christ are overcoming the stigma fostered by the "ex-gay" movement and are successfully reconciling their spirituality and their sexuality. We share their understanding of homosexuality as a good gift of God. We are moved to stand with them in support of the Gospel message of God's unconditional inclusive love.

Some political and Christian leaders still characterize homosexual persons as inherently more sinful and/or immoral than their heterosexual counterparts. We disagree with these views and feel that interpretations of the Bible made apart from their historical context and used to support such views are fundamentally flawed and inaccurate. We believe that homosexual persons are no more (or less) sinful and are of equal character and personal integrity as any other group of people.

We are appealing to you to meet with us to address our mutual culpability for the continued violence against Gays and Lesbians and the high rate of suicide among homosexuals tormented by the intolerance of family members, the church, and the belief that God hates them. Our task is made more urgent because of those who are literally dying every day because of the Church's stance on this issue. We would like to meet with you or the leaders of your "Love Won Out" seminar prior to the April 6th event in Phoenix.

We challenge you to not be afraid of hearing the stories of faithful homosexuals and pray that the Holy Spirit moves you to be open to conversation. We look forward to you contacting us. We are,

Yours in Christ's service,

The clergy of nolongersilent.org