Chris, I don't think the intent of all the men who have attended Promise keeper rallies should be attacked in any way. Obviously, if this is meeting a spiritual need that men have, there is at least the promise of some growth on an individual level.
I did share earlier some news articles about the organization's similarity and attachment to the very right wing Christian political movement. I believe everyone should at least be honest and admit that part of their platform is very negative towards feminists and adamantly against homosexuals, regardless of the positive parts about strengthening the family.
Here is an article from the Washington Post I found:
Did Some of the Promise Keepers
Bare Their Souls at a Strip Club?
By Ann Gerhart and Annie Groer
Tuesday, October 7, 1997; Page C03
The Washington Post
A group galvanizes public attention, and you just can't be sure
who wants to glom on. Friday night, a group of men wearing
Promise Keepers buttons stopped by Joanna's 1819 Club to
check out the talent. ("We call them ladies here at Joanna's,"
said the strip club's owner, Nick Addams. "We wear long
dresses, we try to be presentable and neat and attractive.")
About six or seven of these ladies were dancing, and the group
of 12 to 15 men were well-behaved, had a couple of drinks
and acted generously. "I did see some of them go up to tip, but
I didn't try to keep a tally," Addams said. "The reason we
knew who they were was because they wore little buttons."
"Who is to say what the reason behind the situation is?" Steve
Chavis, Promise Keepers national communications director,
told The Post's Gabriel Escobar. "I'm not going to say it was
the work of provocateurs, misidentifying themselves for some
nefarious kind of purpose."
After considering the matter further, he offered the following:
"A lot of guys don't have it all together, and sexual temptation is
rampant among men. . . . If they were there Friday night, I
hope they went to the Mall Saturday and then didn't return
there Saturday night."
Asked if the purpose of the drop-in may have been religious,
he reminded us that Jesus did not hesitate to preach to
"publicans and sinners."
"But," he said, "I'm not sure He would go to a strip joint and
visually take in the bodies of other women."
And here is a very long url which is partly interviews, partly news articles, and partly comments by people in Colorado who are familiar with the Promsise Keepers (and are generally quite alarmed by them). Obviously this is not generally favorable to the Promise Keepers--I am not claiming that it is objective. But certainly all sides of issues should be considered, if we are going to try to be fair and find out the truth. In this series, McCartney himself is quoted saying homosexuality is an abomination of God, at a rally. I just see quite a lot of hatred among the potentially positive aspects of Promise Keepers:
linkline.com
|
