I wasn’t impressed with Andrew Marin’s “disapprove of the sin but love and don’t, at least not overtly, judge and try to convert the sinner” compromise to “bridge the gap” between gays and Christian fundamentalists [“His God Doesn’t Hate Fags,” August 18]. This is a slightly watered-down version of the condescending “love the sinner but not the sin” position that “kinder and gentler” fundamentalists have adopted. I’m curious about why some gays want to go down this road. It seems masochistic to try to connect with and/or seek approval from puritanical religious groups that (to put it mildly) disapprove of what you are, not to mention the “strict, evangelical” (puritanical) version of Christianity which some gays, according to Marin, find “rewarding enough that they’re willing to concede that their sexuality might be sinful.” Maybe it’s some kind of S&M thing. (Hey, I’m just a breeder–what do I know about the workings of the gay mind?) Or is it part of a new make-peace-with-your-inner-puritan therapy exercise for gays? On next week’s show we’ll see Jews and blacks trying to “build a bridge” to Aryan groups in order to get in touch with their inner Nazis.
