Dan Haseltine, the lead singer for the hugely popular Christian rock band Jars of Clay, is under assault by Christians for his pro-gay Tweets, reports ChristianToday.com. In a series of short posts on Twitter last week, the Grammy Award-winning singer, having just watched 12 Years a Slave, noted that, “The treatment of people as less than human based on the color of skin is crazy… Or gender, or sexual orientation for that matter.” He went on to add, “Not meaning to stir things up BUT… Is there a non-speculative or non ‘slippery slope’ reason why gays shouldn’t marry? I don’t hear one.” And adding fuel to the fire, one might argue, made known that he “[n]ever liked the phrase: ‘Scripture clearly says…(blank) about…'”
The backlash was immediate. Among his almost 20,000 followers many of the responses fit into two camps. One was economic. “Will never buy another of their CDs, deleting this page because of his anti-biblical stance and attack on traditional marriage, as a Christian you should know better, shame on you. May God forgive you for your sinful opinion on same sex marriage,” Tweeted John-Kelly Shipman. Another camp seemed less final but no less forgiving. “You cannot call yourself a Christian and be for same-sex marriage or same-sex relations!!! To God, it is an abomination, as so it should be to all Christians! God has already judged this as an abomination!! PERIOD!!!” wrote Guy St Onge.
But not everyone saw it that way. One anonymous poster Tweeted, “”If only more people who call themselves Christian would actually follow what Jesus taught…Thank you for living your life loving people. It’s evident through your music, ministry and this blog.”
For his part, Haseltine quickly apologized for initiating a conversation on “a poor choice of venue.” On a subsequent post on his blog DanHaseltine.com, he went on to say: “I chose some of my words poorly. And I was unable to moderate the conversation in such a way that it kept everyone’s views with a shared validity and civility as I had hoped…I do apologize for causing such a negative stir.” While apologizing for the method used, the singer has not retracted his beliefs.
I’m a conservative, straight Christian and a Jars of Clay fan. I’m also pro-SSM and pro-LGBT, quite embarrassed at the way so many churches treat LGBT persons, so I’m quite happy that Dan Haseltine is publicly asking these questions. Regardless of how loud certain Christian leaders are, it doesn’t change the fact that many Christians are in the midst of rethinking their views. I’m quite optimistic that we’ll see many more well-known Christians publicly questioning the standard anti-LGBT positions of churches during the next couple years.
Don needs to go back a read his Bible, because it truly does say that homosexual behavior is an abomination and that they will not inherit the kingdom of God. Having said this, it doesn’t mean we don’t share the gospel with everyone. We are all sinners in need of God’s grace