By Michael Travis
News Editor
Dr. Larry Keene discussed the controversial topic of Christians and homosexuality in his Tuesday night lecture, “How our Church Dealt with Gay Christians.”
About 300 people attended the Convocation that was sponsored by Amnesty International in cooperation with Pepperdine’s Gay-Lesbian-Straight Alliance (GLSA).
The ideas presented supported gay involvement and active roles in modern Christian churches. Keene is a member and a founder of the “Church of the Valley” in Van Nuys, which openly supports gays in the congregation.
He described his church’s history of acceptance of homosexuals, and the process that it took in integrating them into their religious community. Now many gay members hold positions within the church structure.
Keene then applied his experience with the Church of the Valley to a wider perspective, describing a seven-step approach that Christians should take in dealing with homosexuals in their communities.
The process, Keene said, begins with complete opposition to homosexuality and ends with total integration and acceptance of it into everyday life.
Three members of the Church of the Valley were in attendance and spoke briefly about their experiences with Christianity.
Keene spoke for about half an hour, and the rest of the time was used as a question and answer period that lasted for over 45 minutes.
The audience reaction to Keene’s message was mixed.
“I’m really happy that the lecture occurred,” said Marc Ang, co-president of GLSA. “It will finally open up a discussion about homosexuality on campus.”
However, the points came as a surprise to some in attendance, who claimed that idea of supporting homosexuality in the church was not indicated in the lecture’s advertisements.
One woman, who declined to comment, stood with a Bible in her hand and quoted passages from the Bible that speak against homosexuality. Several other audience members made similar points, primarily citing a certain passage in the book of Leviticus in the Bible.
However, Dr. Keene was unwilling to discuss the issue of homosexuality in the scriptures, claiming that the discussion was something that would need to be addressed at a later time.
Due to the enormous response of the student body to this subject, plans are in the works to hold a lecture series that discusses homosexuality and Christianity sometime soon.
“For the last couple of years, the main mission of GLSA was to get people talking (about homosexuality),” Ang said. “Now that’s finally happened. We’re not here to change anyone’s beliefs, we’re here to educate people and let them decide for themselves.”
February 21, 2002