A college psychology professor's observations about public policy, mental health, sexual identity, and religious issues
I didn’t see the link so it will be hard for viewers to find it, but the guest post by Jeff Sharlet made the Rachel Maddow Show tonight. Have a look for yourself:
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As I note here, the prospects for the February, 2010 National Prayer Breakfast to be business as usual depends on what happens in Uganda over the next month or so.
[Author Jeff Sharlet’s appearance on National Public Radio elevated the story of the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill to an important level of public awareness. One controversial element of Jeff’s reporting was his connection of the Ugandan legislators who introduced the bill to the Fellowship Foundation (aka The Family). I followed up that broadcast corresponding with Fellowship Foundation grantee, Cornerstone Development in Kampala and learned that Cornerstone had no input into the bill. In this guest post, Jeff Sharlet updates the NPR reporting, completes the picture and reveals for the first time that the Fellowship opposes the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Thanks to Jeff for posting this news here and thanks to Bob Hunter for his candor.]
The Fellowship Opposes Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill
by Jeff Sharlet
Add one more very important name to the growing international list of those opposed to Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill: Bob Hunter, the man who helped build Uganda’s relationship with the Family, aka the Fellowship, the international movement of “followers of Christ” – some reject the term “Christian” that also includes several U.S. politicians with ties to Uganda: among them, Senator James Inhofe, Senator Sam Brownback, and Representative Joe Pitts.
Bob has been active with the Fellowship, as he prefers to call the network of organizations he says can be fairly described as a movement,* since coming to Christ in the late 1970s. But Bob’s faith wasn’t simply a salve; it led him into a relationship with a missionary hospital in Uganda and then with Ugandan political leaders. Bob worked as a private citizen, but he brought to his pursuits the experience and insights of a distinguished career, as a federal insurance administrator for Ford and Carter and a longtime consumer advocate. In Uganda, he established relationships with members of all factions, and, eventually, a friendship with President Yoweri Museveni. Later, he would go on to help Museveni establish the Ugandan National Prayer Breakfast.
Today, his work in Uganda focuses less on high-level politicians and more on those whom he calls “the nail” – that is, not the people in the official portraits, but the people who do the real day to day work of keeping a country running. It’s not glamorous work, but it’s important – maybe never more so than now. Because it’s those relationships that matter most when legislation such as the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is at stake. And Bob has been quietly working through those relationships to stop the bill. His influence may matter more than all the petitions signed by gay rights activists around the globe. And Bob has been brave about using that influence, speaking to his friends in Uganda, and gently pressuring the Fellowship’s associates on Capitol Hill to take a stand against the bill. Bob even agreed to sit down with me.
That took some courage, since I’m the author of a book about the Fellowship called The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, a critical analysis of the Fellowship in which I described Bob’s initial outreach to Uganda as linked to U.S. government interests in the region. Several weeks ago, I was a guest on NPR’s “Fresh Air” in which I made the same point. I based my characterization on a widely circulated account from Fellowship leader Doug Coe of Bob’s work, two documents in the Fellowship’s archive, “A Trip to East Africa—Fall 1986,” and “Re: Organizing the Invisible,” and a review of tens of thousands of documents in the Fellowship archives that present a portrait of the organization up to that point. I attempted to contact Bob, but failed. I wish I had contacted him: Bob was very forthcoming with details that present a more complicated, and, frankly, hopeful picture. Bob wrote a response to the broadcast that he shared with “Fresh Air” and with some associates in Uganda. He raised a number of important concerns and offered more detail on his involvement. But rather than duke it out, Bob invited me to his Arlington, Virginia home and spent the better part of an afternoon discussing my interpretation of events and his experience of them. We agreed that the first step was a statement making clear Bob’s opposition to the bill. Moreover, Bob adds “I know of no one involved in Uganda with the Fellowship here in America, including the most conservative among them, that supports such things as killing homosexuals or draconian reporting requirements, much less has gone over to Uganda to push such positions.”
That’s very, very good news. The Fellowship prefers to avoid the limelight; Bob has forsaken that to make clear his position and that of his American associates: The Fellowship, AKA the Family, opposes the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
Bob also asked me to clarify – and correct – some misperceptions. I’m glad to do so. First, Bob was troubled by my identification of him on “Fresh Air” as a former Ford official, which he felt implied right-wing affiliations. I didn’t think so – Ford hasn’t exactly gone down in history as a right-winger, and I mentioned it only to establish that Bob was not just some ordinary businessmen, as Fellowship leader Doug Coe’s account of his work** suggests (inaccurately, as Bob gladly concedes). It would have been better to say a former government official, or a former Ford and Carter official. Even that might have been selling Bob short – his career as a consumer advocate is long and impressive. While the Fellowship has historically been majority conservative, it has – as I note in my book – always included liberals. Bob is in that tradition. Over the course of the afternoon he shared with me his experience working with the Fellowship in Burundi, Rwanda, and South Africa. While I may take issue with the Fellowship’s behind-the-scenes approach, there’s no denying that in each of these cases Bob and his associates were working toward extremely admirable ends, and that in the case of Burundi Bob’s efforts helped make the difference that brought a truce to that country’s warring factions. Bob did what he did with the best of intentions, and, in several instances, achieved the best of outcomes. Continue reading “The Fellowship (aka The Family) Opposes Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill: Guest post by Jeff Sharlet”
Stephen Langa has been one of the public faces of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda. He organized the ex-gay conference in Kampala which brought Scott Lively and Caleb Brundidge to the Ugandan Parliament. He organized the post-conference citizens’ meetings which led to calls for new legislation. He was present in the gallery when the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 was introduced. And he was one of the debaters present to defend the bill in a public forum held at Makerere University. Along with Martin Ssempa, he is probably the most visible non-governmental defender of the bill to outside observers.
Throughout the saga of this bill, observers outside Uganda have been looking for US connections to those heavily involved in introducing or defending the bill. Among many influences and connections, I have looked at New Apostolic Reformation teachers, the College of Prayer and the Fellowship Foundation. The post introduces another possible player. I say possible only because I have not been able to confirm the extent to which the Disciple Nations Alliance (DNA) is aware of Stephen Langa’s anti-homosexual activities in Kampala. One thing is certain, Langa is an affiliate and vital aspect of the DNA mission in Africa.
I have looking into since a commenter here provided a link to the DNA website. In response to an email, Scott Allen director of the DNA office in Phoenix wrote to say that would not have a comment until he studied the matter. However, while waiting, I can post some links and articles as background
Here is a description of that relationship from the DNA website:
Affiliate Spotlight: Transforming Nations Alliance
11/18/2009
The Disciple Nations Alliance is a worldwide movement of individuals, organizations and networks united by a common conviction: The necessity of Biblical Truth, expressed through church-based wholistic ministry for social and cultural transformation. DNA “Global Affiliates” are self-governing organizations that share a common purpose, and adhere to the same core beliefs and operational principles. There are currently ten affiliates in Asia, Africa and the Americas. The DNA affiliate in Uganda is called Transformation Nations Alliance.
The first DNA Vision Conference in Uganda occurred in 2000. It was facilitated by Bob Moffitt and Scott Allen, and several of the key leaders of the influential Kampala Pentecostal Church (now called Watoto Church) attended. The second conference held the following year (facilitated by Darrow Miller and Bob Moffitt) was hosted by a committee led by Watoto Church elder Stephen Langa. Today, Stephen is Director of Transformation Nations Alliance and Moses Mengwau is Head of Operations.
Stephen Langa is a member of the Africa Working Group of Samaritan Strategy Africa, the network whose objective is to spread DNA training across the continent of Africa. In addition to serving as an Elder at Watoto Church, he also provides leadership to the Family Life Network, a pro-family advocacy organization. He also serves as Director of the Uganda Youth Forum, a youth ministry organization founded by the First Lady of Uganda in 2001.
The mission of Transformation Nations Alliance is to engage and disciple all sectors of society, through a biblical worldview centred, holistic approach to ministry, leading to the restoration of God’s original plan for creation. Towards this end, TNA has trained and mentored a team of certified Ugandan trainers who regularly facilitate Vision Conferences throughout the nation. Hundreds of Ugandan church leaders have been impacted. In addition, these trainers have been called upon to train the local staff of several large mission and development organizations, including World Vision and Compassion International.
Churches that have been impacted by TNA have gained a new vision for their role in society, and as a result, have begun to reach out and bring healing to their communities.
In an article about Stephen Langa’s church Watolo Community Church, Langa is noted as one of the leaders.
Today, Watoto church leaders such as Stephen Langa and Pastor Franco Onaga are extending the influence of the church into the various spheres of Ugandan society, including government, family, and even training programs for the Kampala police force. Watoto is truly a model church that is bringing the light of Christ and the healing of His Kingdom to Uganda, Africa and the whole world.
And then in 2006, Darrow Miller, co-founder of DNA recounts Stephen Langa’s efforts to overturn the inclusion of homosexuality in the Equal Opportunity Bill. Miller describes Langa as a “co-laborer and good friend.” Langa notes that those trained by DNA helped to mobilize Parliament to defeat the inclusion of homosexuality as those eligible for equal opportunity.
As I was finishing up this post, I noticed that Gay City News broke this story here. There is more on this there with additional reporting about Langa’s work with Food for the Hungry.
I hope to have comment from DNA in a follow up post.
Last week, Charisma Magazine published an online article as a follow up on my reporting on the views of New Apostolic Reformation teachers in relation to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
Other observers claim the bill may be the result of charismatic teaching on the seven mountains of cultural influence. Popularized by such leaders as Texas Bible teacher Lance Wallnau and pastor Johnny Enlow of Daystar Church in Atlanta, the teaching exhorts Christians to build God’s kingdom by taking dominion in the areas of business, government, religion, family, media, education and entertainment.
In a blog posting, Christian counselor Warren Throckmorton noted that Ugandan Bishop Julius Oyet, founder of Life Line Ministries and a strong supporter of the bill, included possessing the seven mountains of culture as part of a 16-year ministry vision he outlined in 2004.
Oyet, also head of the Born Again Faith Federation, which claims more than10,000 affiliated churches, reportedly prayed with fellow Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa outside Parliament after the anti-homosexuality bill was introduced in October, thanking God that Uganda would not be destroyed because its leaders were in obedience to God on the issue.
“I think that the theological soil for at least some of the proponents is that a nation’s laws about private consensual behavior must reflect Christian teaching in order for the culture to be preserved, reclaimed and reformed,” Throckmorton wrote.
“American teachers are exhorting their followers that national salvation is more vital to the mission of the church than individual salvation. Ideas have consequences. If the Ugandan believers viewed individual salvation as more vital, I wonder if the Ugandan proposal would have been advanced.”
Despite teaching which could lead many listeners to believe governments should reflect apostolic teaching on sexuality, Lance Wallnau and Peter Wagner both denounce the approach of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
Wallnau:
In a statement to Charisma, Wallnau, author of The 7 Mountain Mandate: Impacting Culture, Discipling Nations, said the seven mountains message is not about imposing laws but liberating spheres of influence. Although “the government in its sphere must enforce sanctions,” he said the proposed anti-homosexuality bill “seems like a severe sanction.”
He said Christians who crusade for social reform should consider the outcome of the Prohibition Act, which outlawed alcohol but also fueled organized crime.
“Christians had made a massive impact in the ‘temperance movement’ to stop drunkenness. Then they overreached with draconian legislation called the Volstead Act, and the backlash legalized alcohol,” Wallnau said. “To my brothers in Uganda I would say, ‘Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.'”
Wagner:
Although he commended Ugandan lawmakers for attempting to stand for biblical principles, he said legislating morality is not feasible. If Uganda wanted to legislate biblical principles, it would have to criminalize adultery and premarital sex and not single out homosexuality, he said.
“My position is that this is not a good way to do it,” Wagner said. “To legislate against sexual orientation is probably crossing the line. It’s like making a law whether parents can spank their children or not. It’s much too much of a personal ethical issue. … I would support raising up a national conscience against homosexuality and allowing the Holy Spirit to work that way.”
Wagner’s statement is interesting because he endorsed Johnny Enlow’s book on the 7 mountains teaching which essentially called for criminalization of homosexuality (Enlow also rejected the Anti-Homosexuality Bill).
In any case, I think these statements might be of more importance to many of the pentecostal teachers in Uganda than Rick Warren’s statement. The difference in coverage is unfortunate give the relevance of these religious leaders to the story still unfolding in Uganda.
UPDATE: The link was changed and the article is still available on the Uganda Media Centre.
The following article was posted briefly on the official Uganda Media Centre and then removed late the same day. Here the cache version which won’t last long. I have a saved version as well. It seems quite possible that there are competing views within the leadership of Uganda about the best way to resolve the Anti-Homosexuality Bill problem. I post it since it has been removed but yet may reflect one side of the conflict internally.
Homosexuality: we can still avoid foreign bad press
By Obed K Katureebe
The Anti-Homosexual Bill 2009, yet to be tabled on the floor of parliament, has attracted unnecessary hullabaloo. Some western countries, with their characteristic condescending attitude, are already threatening to cut aid if that bill is passed into law.
The bill is sponsored by Hon. David Bahati, the Ndorwa West County MP, as a private member’s bill. If passed into law, it will be able to establish a comprehensive consolidated legislation to protect the traditional family by prohibiting any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex.
The bill also aims at strengthening the nation’s capacity to deal with emerging internal and external threats to the traditional heterosexual family.
According to Hon. Bahati, there is need to protect the children and youth of Uganda who are made vulnerable to sexual abuse and deviation as a result of cultural changes, uncensored information technologies, parentless child developmental settings and increasing attempts by homosexual to raise children in homosexual relationships through adoption, foster care or otherwise.
Apparently, according to Bahati, the proposed legislation is designed to fill the gaps in the provisions of other laws in Uganda like the Penal Code Act.
Hon. Bahati has a strong point. However, I personally think that there is no need to have a fresh legislation on such unnatural offences. What Hon. Bahati should have emphasized is to improve the penal code just to widen the definition already existing.
According to the Penal Code Act (cap 120), any person who permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature, commits an offense and is liable to imprisonment for life. There is no question about that homosexuality, long regarded as taboo (culturally and socially) in the highly-religious society of Uganda, has of recent been raising its head and profile in the field of public debate.
No longer content to remain in the closet, proponents of homosexuality and lesbianism are actively seeking to be heard. They are up against an uphill task as they are pitched not only against culture and religion but against public perception of morality.
What is required at this moment is to let all Ugandans be rational and put their views across before parliament moves to debate the contents of the bill. Calls by rights organisations that Uganda’s obligations under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights would be undermined are uncalled for.
The siege the country seems to be facing from these rights groups is misplaced. The absurdity of it all is even to go to the extent of branding ‘the regime in Kampala’ as a fascist establishment. Africans have an aggregated value system and retain a right to say ‘no’ to a movement whose ultimate outcome will be the destruction of the family; the basic social cultural unit.
The promoters of homosexuality, who happens to have vast resources at their disposal and a global reach, have confused human rights groups to portray homosexuality as a human rights issue. But rights must be based on values.
However, the country should recognise the impressionable body politic and civil society groups in developed economies of the west. With their clever portrayal of the fight against homosexuality as a human rights abuse, the attachment of the adjectives like fascist to regime may lead to policy reviews.
Which is why I call on the government to avoid the bad press. Since homosexuality is already criminalised in Uganda, one wonder whether parliament is utilising its time optimally by focusing on homosexuality when the majority of our people are suffering from hunger, lack of access to water and disease and collapsing infrastructure.
Moreover, as pointed out by the gay lobbyists, same sex marriage is not a common social practice in Uganda therefore legislating against it is redundant and is likely to attack more attention to them. Perhaps parliament should be spending its time on real issues that impact on the lives of long-suffering Ugandans.
As a country, let us also engage other remedial institutions to try and counter this vice that is slowly but steadily coming into our lives. We ought to know that homosexuality community across the world is now 10% of the world population. Since we are part of the global community how feasible would it be to kill off 10% of the population.
As research has shown homosexuality is not a mental illness symptomatic of arrested development or that gays desires are genetic or hormonal in origin and that there is no choice involved. Homosexual behavior is learned. According to research by Dr. Cameron, no scientific research has found provable biological or genetic differences between heterosexuals and homosexuals that were not caused by their behavior. Dr. Cameron is the chairman Family Research Institute in Colorado Springs, USA.
ENDS
One wonders if Paul Cameron has inserted himself into the fray via this writer. Perhaps the writer was aware of Cameron and quoted his views.