On Time.com, liberal writer Bruce Kluger compares gay Episcopalian bishop Gene Robinson to black baseball star- desegregator Jackie Robinson:
“Like baseball’s Robinson, the church’s Robinson arrives in the major leagues with glowing stats. His resume includes trips to the Middle East, where he has worked tirelessly with Christians, Jews and Muslims, and his community outreach efforts have tackled a host of social ills, from unaffordable housing to inadequate health care to the scourge of HIV/AIDS.
“Jackie Robinson shows why it’s OK for Gene Robinson to resist the temptation of facing off with his enemies. Just as the Dodgers’ number 42 achieved the greater objective of integrating baseball through the smaller but significant acts of sharpening his baserunning skills and perfecting his swing, let us hope that Bishop Robinson will remain unbowed by the heckling from the pews, and continue to grace the world pulpit as a shining example of decency and goodness.”
Put aside for a minute the very questionable notion that Robinson’s communications skills or “stats” are anything comparable to a Hall of Fame athlete’s. Kluger acts as if the job of a bishop is all in worldly activism — tackling social ills or facilitating interfaith dialogue — instead of leading people to Heaven, beginning with repentance of sin.
For a more revealing look at Kluger’s beliefs, check out this USA Today column where he condemns the Boy Scouts of America for their “toddlerlike meltdowns” on the question of gay scoutmasters. He revels in how his (then) five-year-old daughter announces “her intentions to marry her neighbor William, her friend Anna, her Daddy, and two of the three Powerpuff Girls? Children go where their heart leads them, and it is a blessing to behold.” Is it surprising he’s very welcome at Time.com, USA Today, and NPR?