Vince Avedon – 11/29/06

This page was last updated on December 5, 2006.

Pursuing an insecure agenda; Vince Avedon; Beaver County Times; November 29, 2006.

As you read this, remember Mr. Avedon once wrote that a high school student who showed interest in enlisting in the Marines as a “was probably brought up to be a two-faced traitor to his country.”

I’m not getting into the “homosexuality is/is not a sin” discussion. I’ll leave that up to the theologians. The point of this critique is to show the problems with Mr. Avedon’s letter.

12/5/06 - My letter to the editor in response to Mr. Avedon was published in the Times under the title “Practice what you preach” on December 5^th. The letter as I submitted is shown at the end of the critique.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“The Egyptians considered it an abomination to eat with strangers (Gen. 43:32) and the Jews followed the same practice, holding it unlawful to eat or drink with foreigners (John 18:28; Acts 10:28; 11:3).

“Abomination is hate coupled with disgust or anything greatly disliked. Spitting in public is an abomination.

“The Rev. R. Daniel Knox (‘Misguided minister, church,’ Friday) fails to quote Jesus on the issue of homosexuality. Knox is not content that two people love each other. He prefers to judge who they love. Jesus never turned anyone away, yet Knox preaches the opposite.”

[RWC] Mr. Avedon has a problem with Mr. Knox not quoting “Jesus on the issue of homosexuality.” The extension of this “logic” is that if Jesus didn’t specifically state a position on something, you can do what you want to do. For example, if Jesus didn’t explicitly denounce murder, would that make murder OK?

“Jesus never turned anyone away?” I’m no theologian and it’s been many years since I studied the Bible, but didn’t Jesus drive moneychangers and other vendors out of a Jewish temple saying something to the effect “you have turned a house of worship into a den of thieves?”

Further, didn’t God cast out from Heaven Lucifer and the angels that followed him?

“Just as in the case of the Rev. Ted Haggard, we all see that those who shoot their mouths off are most guilty. Knox also fails to write about the abomination of war and poverty. Perhaps he does not find either of them an abomination.”

[RWC] As you’ll see below, Mr. Knox didn’t refer to anyone or anything as an “abomination” and didn’t even come close. The word doesn’t even appear in his letter. Don’t you love it when writers feel the need to put words in the mouth of an opponent?

Here is the letter in its entirety.

“The article, ‘Minister who married gay couple in the clear,’ which appeared in The Times Nov. 16, is certainly noteworthy.

“How ironic that the smallest bit of evidence, even a DNA molecule found decades later, can reopen a civil case and lead to a conviction. But the Presbyterian Church, which ought to be the leader in righteousness and justice, cannot try a case a year old with the evidence plainly in view.

“Must not the judge of all the earth do right? Is homosexuality a sin? The Bible certainly says so. Does God forget sin? Well, yes, amazingly He does. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ that Janet Edwards and the Presbyterian Church swore to uphold.”

In case you’re wondering, Mr. Knox was writing about a decision by the Presbyterian Church not to try Ms. Edwards for marrying a same-sex couple despite church rules against the practice. The Presbyterian “Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) of Pittsburgh Presbytery voted 8-0 to dismiss the charges — saying the statute of limitations had expired.” Charges must be filed within a year, and whoever filed the charges missed the deadline by four days. Therefore, Mr. Knox was upset Ms. Edwards escaped trial because of a technicality.

“I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what does Knox think would be a fair price for her?”

[RWC] This paragraph is confusing because Mr. Avedon appears to claim he has a daughter.

You see, in a December 17, 2004, letter to the editor, Mr. Avedon implied he was a homosexual when he wrote of his “lifetime partner of 18 years.”¹ If this other man was indeed Mr. Avedon’s “lifetime partner of 18 years,” when did Mr. Avedon have a child? Was Mr. Avedon previously married to a woman and he and his wife had children, or did he adopt his daughter?

“I know from Leviticus 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

“I can only hope that Knox learns to preach the true meaning of Christ’s love instead of distorting the Bible for his own insecure agenda.”

[RWC] Mr. Avedon appears to believe identifying an act or behavior as a sin constitutes something less than “love.” If Mr. Knox distorted the Bible as Mr. Avedon claims, why didn’t Mr. Avedon provide proof instead of citing irrelevant Bible passages?

1. Why has my life with my partner become a threat?; Vince Avedon; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; December 17, 2004.

Here’s the letter to the editor I mentioned above as I submitted it. I entitled the letter “Do as I say.” The Times title is better.

Along with a couple of fellow travelers in November, Vince Avedon joined the “Do as I say, not as I do” club.

In his November 29^th letter entitled “Pursuing an insecure agenda,” Mr. Avedon admonished Rev. R. Daniel Knox “to preach the true meaning of Christ’s love.” In another letter (“How dare they;” January 2, 2005), Mr. Avedon referred to his “never-ending love for Jesus.”

So how does Mr. Avedon himself do in this area?

Mr. Avedon implied Rev. Knox used words (“abomination”) he did not and appeared to claim Rev. Knox’s beliefs were a result “of distorting the Bible for his own insecure agenda.” Further, Mr. Avedon bashed another person for alleged frailties.

When you review Mr. Avedon’s letters going back at least to 2004, you find Mr. Avedon frequently engages in name-calling (“jackals,” “hit men,” “liar,” “post turtle,” etc.) and makes a habit of belittling the religious beliefs of those who don’t agree with his positions on economic, political, religious, and social issues. Even the natural family of Terri Schiavo came under Mr. Avedon’s fire (“Parents saying ‘no’ to God;” April 3, 2005) for their beliefs.

Mr. Avedon tried to politicize Jesus Himself when he wrote, “Jesus was a liberal” (“How dare they;” January 2, 2005). During my years of religious instruction as a youth, I don’t recall anyone asserting Jesus’ political affiliation. Perhaps I wasn’t paying attention.

Finally, an Avedon letter (“A two-faced traitor;” August 16, 2005) told us a high school student who showed interest in enlisting in the Marines “was probably brought up to be a two-faced traitor to his country.”

Is Mr. Avedon in any position to lecture us on “the true meaning of Christ’s love?”

It’s not my call.