By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman
HOLLAND – The latest thrust on behalf of equal marriage rights hasn't come from the liberal left. It has come from the conservative right – the Christian conservative right.
No, James Dobson has not seen the light. Instead, that light is coming from western Michigan.
Dr. David Myers, a social psychologist and advocate for the hearing disabled, is the co-author of "What God Has Joined Together? – A Christian Case for Gay Marriage," which was published earlier this month by HarperCollins.
Myers is a deacon in the Reformed Church of America and has been teaching at Hope College since 1967.
Myers said that he and co-author Letha Scanzoni "hoped we might help bridge the great divide between traditionalists, who feel passionately about the need to support and renew marriage, and progressives who understand that, for virtually all of us, sexual orientation is something we did not choose and cannot change….Both sides are right, we think."
"Evidence indicates that this really would, on balance, be a happier and healthier world if, for all people, love, sex, and marriage went together," he added.
"What God Has Joined" includes chapters on "Understanding Sexual Orientation," "Changing Sexual Orientation," and "What the Bible Does and Does Not Say."
Myers said that he and Scanzoni included the chapters on sexual orientation, "because I so often have read gay rights opponents saying that 'homosexuality is a lifestyle choice' or that … homosexuals can change, if only they would. The evidence now seems pretty conclusive (though most clearly so for males) that this just isn't so, and that telling people they must change predisposes not only a great deal of frustration, guilt, and depression, but also some doomed marriages."
Myers, an author of social psychology textbooks, admitted anxiety over writing a book supporting equal marriage rights. "Almost half of me didn't want to tackle the subject. What ultimately led to my feeling called to write was my desire as an educator to offer to the public discourse some information – information about the benefits of marriage, and about the nature and resilience of sexual orientation," he said.
Myers said that his conclusions about equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians, "like those of so many people, have undergone a gradual transformation over the past few decades. The process began back in the early 1980s with a visit to our campus by Ralph Blair, who heads Evangelicals Concerned (a national network of gay and lesbian evangelical Christians and friends). It has continued through my conversations with many people, and my reading and reporting on sexual orientation-related research for my introductory psychology texts."
As for Hope College's response to the book, Myers said, "The college issued a statement that made clear, as I have, that I speak solely for myself, not for Hope College." The June 9 issue of Between The Lines reported that another Hope College professor, Dr. Miguel De La Torre, claims he was forced to leave the school after publishing a pro-gay editorial making fun of Dr. James Dobson in the Holland Sentinel.
"As it happens, the Reformed Church in America, with which Hope College is associated, and in which I'm an ordained elder, has been encouraging a process of 'discernment and dialogue' on issues related to sexual orientation. I'm just one person engaging that dialogue," Myers said.
Myers admitted that he has received a mixed response so far from those outside of Hope's administration.
"As I expected, some people here in west Michigan are upset and disappointed with me, and our college president's office has, I'm told, received some calls from displeased people. But the response from colleagues and friends has been overwhelmingly supportive," he said.
Myers said that he does not have any gay or lesbian family members, "but [I] do have gay and lesbian colleagues, friends, and neighbors."
Myers said that he and Scanzoni will not be touring to promote the book. However, the pleasant surprise of a conservative Christian championing gay rights has led to publicity.
"My co-author and I have done or scheduled about 20 interviews in the first couple weeks, and each day seems to bring more," he said.
Myers will be speaking up on at least one occasion in the near future, however. On July 17, he will speak in Schenectady, New York, on behalf of Dr. Norman Kansfield. Kansfield is scheduled to undergo a trial at the Reformed Church in America's annual meeting for conducting a marriage service for his lesbian daughter. Earlier this year, Kansfield was dismissed as president of the Reformed Church's New Brunswick Theological Seminary because of his part in his daughter's wedding.
And that won't be the end of Myers' work. "I have also done speaking that conveys our book's message and have some other presentations scheduled for this fall," he said.
"What God Has Joined Together? – A Christian Case for Gay Marriage" is available from HarperCollins Publishers. For more information on Dr. David Myers, visithttp://www.davidmyers.org.
