Don Wildmon

AFA/AFR founder

October 1999 – It is time for the church to end it’s adultery-phobia.

How narrow-minded the church has been in denying respect and acceptance for those who live an adulterous lifestyle. The church has shut its doors to an entire group of people, told them they weren’t wanted, that God has no place for them. It is time for the church to end their adultery-phobia.

These adulterers are God’s children also. But the church has closed the door on them, not allowing them to serve as ordained ministers, unwilling to give them the full rights given to others. There is a small group of ignorant bigots who hold the opinion that they have the lock and key on God’s acceptance. These people aren’t willing to practice the love of Christ while denying that love to those whose lifestyle is different.

When will the church learn that people who are adulterers have no control over how God made them. And He did make them. They are God’s children also. But a small group of radical right-wing bigots have blocked the acceptance of adulterers from becoming full members in God’s church. Adulterers are born that way. Or their environment in early childhood created this nature in them. Either way they have no control over their sexuality and the church has to end its adultery-phobia. The church doesn’t need to be kicking adulterers out, but opening their doors to all of God’s children.

It is time for all adulterers to come out of the closet and end their silence. Many leaders in the church are ready to stand with them. These are our sons and daughters. They are good people, loving people who have much to offer. The church is so much poorer because of its adultery-phobia. After all, this is 2050, not the dark ages of the 1990s!

Bishop Lavation of the Council of Churches was right when he said that the old worn out rules of sexuality practiced by the churches, developed twenty centuries ago in an entirely different time period, need to be restudied in light of today’s enlightened values and science. We can no longer allow the past or a handful of bigots to dictate the moral standards for today.

Social science studies show that nearly 75% of our society are practicing adulterers. Scientific studies show that adulterers suffer longterm problems from the church’s refusal to accept them as full members.

At a time when corporations are ending their discrimination against adulterers; when Disney World is celebrating Adultery Pride Day; when intelligent people with the Public Broadcasting System and the commercial networks are pushing to right this wrong; when needed hate crime legislation against those who hate adulterers is being passed; it is time for the church to end their adultery-phobia as it ended its homophobia 50 years ago.

Perhaps, just perhaps, the church will change its attitude and rid itself of adultery-phobia. No one should be told he cannot have all the rights and privileges of the church simply because God created him to be an adulterer.