The Issues

Who are Christian Identity Groups and are they being mistaken for the Christian Right?

According to the Center for Democratic Renewal's When Hate Groups Come to Town, the Christian Identity is a "white supremacist theological movement derived from British Israelism. [It] should not be confused with the Reconstructionist movement, the new-Covenantors or other fundamentalist movements." You can see a list and map of active Christian Identity Groups within the U.S. by going to the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Report. Examples of organizations involved with the Christian Identity are:

• Aryan Nation
• White Patriotic Party
• Posse Comitatus in Wisconsin
• The Covenant, The Sword and The Arm of the Lord
• Christian Patriots Defense League

Do United Methodists and other Christians engage in violence against gay and lesbian people?

While most people who consider themselves Christian do not engage in direct violence against gay and lesbian people, all Christians must be careful not to disengage themselves from the violence against any group of persons. Language is a powerful thing. We have used language to create a culture of "non-persons" and to feel superior to others by condemning certain people in the name of Christianity. As Traci West says in a recent Response Bible study, "Divorcing acts of love for God from relationships with people around us allows us to be prejudiced against certain groups of people. It allows us to mistreat or ignore our neighbors. The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us something quite different. It teaches us our love for God is diminished when we diminish others. We are diminished and we diminish others, and we foster hate, when we laugh at jokes about Jews, nod in agreement with statements about minorities getting everything or pass by on the other side pretending we are not involved."

Is the Women's Division pro-choice?

The Women's Division in all statements and actions holds to the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church, which states:

The beginning of life and the ending of life are the God-given boundaries of human existence. While individuals have always had some degree of control over when they would die, they now have the awesome power to determine when and even whether new individuals will be born. our belief in the sanctity of unborn human life makes us reluctant to approve abortion. But we are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother, for whom devastating damage may result from an unacceptable pregnancy. in continuity with past Christian teaching, we recognize tragic conflicts of life with life that may justify abortion, and in such cases we support the legal option of abortion under proper medical procedures. We cannot affirm abortion as an acceptable means of birth control, and we unconditionally reject it as a means of gender selection. We call all Christians to a searching and prayerful inquiry into the sorts of conditions that may warrant abortion. We commit our Church to continue to provide nurturing ministries to those who terminate a pregnancy, to those in the midst of a crisis pregnancy, and to those who give birth. Governmental laws and regulations do not provide all the guidance required by the informed Christian conscience. Therefore, a decision concerning abortion would be made only after thoughtful and prayerful consideration by the parties involved, with medical, pastoral, and other appropriate counsel.
(From the Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church - 1996. Copyright ©1996 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by Permission.)

For answers to other questions, please email us at umw@gbgm-umc.org.