What will Meeks tell his flock about gays? Does he say one thing to activists, something else on Sundays?

What will Meeks tell his flock about gays? Does he say one thing to activists, something else on Sundays?
BY NEIL STEINBERG Sun-Times Columnist
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times
October 8, 2010
http://www.suntimes.com/news/steinberg/2783180,CST-NWS-stein08.article


Damn! I never get invited anywhere. I would have loved to be in the room when the Rev. James Meeks explained to gay activists how his urging the state to continue denying them jobs and housing based on their sexuality, not to mention his firm, oft-stated belief that they'll all be roasting in hell with Satan for eternity, was merely a misunderstanding, now that he needs their votes.

Not that I take it personally. None of the media seems to have been in the room, alas.

Although . . . in my estimation, the crux of the matter is not what Meeks says or doesn't say to gay leaders huddled in a closet. The crux is what he is willing to say to the thousands of Salem Baptist faithful every Sunday. If the scales have indeed fallen from his eyes, and he has decided he wants to be mayor so much that gay people should now be judged, not by the color of their sexuality, but by the content of their characters, well, glory hallelujah, he should not whisper it to a few gay leaders, but shout it from the mountaintop to his faithful flock. I would get up early on a Sunday, put on a good suit and go to church to hear that sermon. If it ever happens, I'll let you know.
Win Quinn spin

A number of readers eloquently expressed disappointment that, even in a moment of frustration over our feckless governor, Pat Quinn, I might consider protesting by voting for the Republican candidate, Bill Brady, despite his religious-based bigotry.

"When given the choice of voting for someone who likes you and someone who hates you, I choose the former," wrote one, demonstrating a logic that Chicago gays weighing Meeks' sudden change of heart toward them might want to bear in mind.

Then, as if on cue, Brady reminded the Sun-Times editorial board that not only is he a foe of extending human rights to gays and trusting medical choices to women, but he also supports using the public schools to teach his particular religious dogma as scientific fact -- the creationism canard.

What I find most objectionable about creationists is not their willful warping of the entire idea of science -- anyone who has ever played the lottery or dieted does that.

No, what rankles me most is the pure hypocrisy, because they are not really creationists. They are not saying, "Hey, let's teach these beautiful creation myths in school. Let's temper Darwin's factual evolution -- which really can be a moral downer -- with the uplift of God in the Quran sending angels to gather seven handfuls of soil, in all colors, to mold into a man. Let's have that giant Hindu celestial tortoise and, of course, Genesis, with its eerie and beautiful darkness on the surface of the deep and the spirit of God hovering the waters."

That would be defendable, almost. But of course they're not saying that. What people like Bill Brady are doing is laboring under the dated and fading "It's our country ain't it?" illusion that was so popular in the 19th century. What they want is to teach THEIR religion in OUR schools.

Save it for church. There isn't enough time in school, because there are too many religions today. Once you turn biology into Bible Hour, all those faiths you never think about get their turn. Soon kids don't have time to learn their multiplication tables.

Is that complex? If you don't get that, what do you get? If you don't grasp that a broke state doesn't make for a good business environment, what do you grasp?

So yeah, Pat Quinn is a feckless mope. But at least he's not an intolerant religious fanatic feckless mope. Thus our choice is clear. November is three weeks away -- wouldn't it be something if the whole Tea Party/We're So Angry/Pitch Politicians for Abstinence Counselors mania turns out to have peaked in August, and a certain grim sense of reality dawns upon voters just in time for Election Day? I don't know how to solve Illinois' problems any more than Pat Quinn does -- well, maybe a little more, but work with me here -- but I do know they won't be solved by teaching pretty fairy stories in Illinois science classes, nor in the government peering into our pants to see if we pass its morality test. The saddest thing about zealots is, being themselves in the grip, they can't understand how really, really clueless they can seem to those of us who can do the whole thinky/reasony thing.
Big opera sweepstakes details . . . coming

Among the people who read with interest Wednesday's column saying the details of my opera contest would be announced today were the paper's legal and marketing departments, which tell me the fine print is still baking in the oven. So . . . keep Dec. 6 circled in hope, and check the paper Sunday, Oct. 24 when all will be revealed.