The Living Church of God's War Against Normal?

A friend recently brought to my attention an article which appeared in the January issue of LCG’s Tomorrow’s World. The War Against Normal by Wallace G. Smith asked “Is there any hope of a normal life in a society in which all ideas of ‘normal’ are under sustained and persistent attack by those seeking to make perversion the new reality?” Apparently, Smith and LCG believe that traditional moral values are under attack by the advocates of “Queer Theory.” Of course, in order for their narrative to work on any level (even to an ACOG audience), a great deal of what it means to be “normal” is ignored.

Smith begins with a vague assertion that it wasn’t that long ago that everybody clearly understood what constituted “normal” notions about marriage, gender roles, and sexuality. You may have already noticed that this nostalgia for a time of uniformity is a common theme for more conservative/traditional Christian communities. For these folks, the reality that society was NEVER uniform (or moral) is alien to them. The notion that minorities were actively shamed and oppressed in times past is either rejected by them, or they simply dismiss it as the way things should have been – the good folks keeping the bad folks under control or at bay! In other words, it was much more pleasant when homosexuals and transgender folks were in the closet where they belonged!

For Smith and his associates, the attempts of these minority communities to find their own voice and assert their rights to equal and fair treatment within society constitutes a direct attack on their values. He wrote that “we are living in the final stages of a long-running war against normality. Social engineers have mounted an aggressive campaign over multiple decades, seeking to eradicate any idea that some things should be seen as normal and some as abnormal.” Moreover, in Smith’s opinion, his side is clearly losing in the “war against normal.”

However, the problems with this narrative will be immediately apparent to anyone with an ounce of objectivity and fairmindedness. What is “normal” or “natural” for the average heterosexual is abnormal and unnatural for the average homosexual person! In other words, whose “normal” is really under attack here? Who is really trying to impose their normal on others? Moreover, if the traditional “normal” heterosexual narrative about sexuality, marriage, and gender is so great, why does that community have so many problems/aberrations extant within their own ranks? Why were women denied full legal rights and citizenship until well into the Twentieth Century? If everything is so hunky dory within the heterosexual community, why are things like abortion, domestic violence, depression, substance abuse, child abuse, and divorce so prevalent? Are there specific occupations or roles that should be exclusively the purview of men or women? If so, where is the agreement regarding that to be found within the heterosexual community? Is gay marriage a greater threat to the institution of marriage than heterosexual divorce and remarriage? Really?

As has already been noted, Mr. Smith sees this “war against normal” as a natural outgrowth of what he refers to as advocacy for “Queer Theory.” He wrote: “Like other critical theories, Queer Theory seeks to ‘deconstruct’ common ways of thinking, to challenge widely held norms, and to recast elements of societal structure into a paradigm of power: some cast as the ‘oppressed’ and others as the ‘oppressor.’” The very act of calling attention to the fact that your community has been oppressed or mistreated is cast by Smith as illegitimate and an attack on the very people who have been perpetuating those circumstances! In other words, how dare you bring attention to the fact that you’ve been oppressed or mistreated! In this way, instead of demanding that society treat a gay relationship in the same way that it treats a heterosexual one, the demand becomes an attack on the heterosexual one! Instead of demanding that society acknowledge that some folks are conflicted about gender and may need help in fully recognizing their gender identity, the demand becomes an attack on the notion of binary genders!

In what is arguably his most egregious use of fallacy, Mr. Smith unashamedly taps into the good old slippery slope argument. He wrote: “Among the final boundaries to remain—defining one of the final lands yet to be conquered by the war against normal—is the age boundary. Many people still consider childhood a time for protection from the incursions of modern sexual ‘liberty,’ yet our self-appointed social and academic superiors deem that this boundary, too, must fall. And disturbing signs indicate that it is, indeed, falling.” In other words, if you give into those queer and transgender folks, the kids are going to be next! Societal acceptance of pedophilia is right around the corner!

This, of course, whether deliberate or subconscious, taps into the old stereotype that all or most gay folks are also pedophiles. These wicked folks are just trying to groom your children for sexual relations with them! They can’t wait to exploit your children! They are “grooming” your children for their “perverted” uses/behaviors! Never mind, that things like pedophilia and bestiality are almost universally regarded within the gay community as perverse – as violating the fundamental principles of love and consent! And heaven forbid that gay people would like to see the next generation to be more tolerant and accepting of folks who are different from them! Green eyes aren’t “normal” either – does that mean we should label folks with green eyes as “abnormal” and exclude them from our fellowship or mistreat them?

Mr. Smith went on to assert that “The societal chaos created by the normalization of perversity and the perversion of normality does not reflect the mind of Almighty God, the Creator of human life, who established the institution of marriage as the foundation of family.” He pointed out that God “deals with chaos by creating boundaries.” Smith also noted that God had pronounced everything he had created to be “very good.” In Smith’s narrative, however, that apparently doesn’t include homosexuals and transgender folks. Despite a plethora of same sex behaviors in the natural world and an enormous lack of uniformity within the ranks of ALL living things, these occurrences are apparently somehow abnormal and unnatural – NOT good!

At least, Mr. Smith has the good sense to acknowledge that the traditional notions of “normal” are NOT consistent with what is predicted for God’s Kingdom! He wrote: “The Kingdom that Jesus will establish will not look like 1950s America, nor the Judea of Jesus’ day. Nostalgia for a better past is no substitute for the fullness of transformation called for in His Gospel, and the life to which Christians are called transcends what was ever lived in ages throughout history.” Finally, there is something in the article that I can give a hearty “Amen!” Mr. Smith and his associates within LCG may not understand homosexuals and transgender folks, but God does. Moreover, God’s Kingdom will wipe away all oppression, suffering, and confusion (including Mr. Smith’s).

In the meantime, I think that it would be both wise and Christian to NOT be so judgmental (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37, John 7:24). Moreover, I would also like to suggest that it is an extremely desirable goal to encourage love and fidelity in both the heterosexual and homosexual communities. We need to ask ourselves: Why would a Christian wish to encourage or sustain promiscuous behavior within any community? Why would a Christian demand that someone go against their own nature or force them to remain alone in this life – without the companionship and support of a special someone? Why would anyone want to promote mental illness and perversity by ignoring and/or suppressing the things which make them human? I submit that these are questions which deserve consideration and answers! What do you think?