\doc\web\97\08\promise.txt "Promise Keepers 'threaten' NOW" GEORGE OSBORN George Lansing Osborn October 5, 1997 "Promise Keepers 'threaten' NOW" The sight of more than a million men anywhere is awe-inspiring. But a million men willing to put their wives and families first is very frightening to Patricia Ireland, head of the National Organization of Women (NOW). The men of Promise Keepers promise to love their wives, their children, and their neighbors as themselves, in keeping with the teachings of Jesus Christ, according to the New Testament. Why that should be threatening to Ireland and others of her ilk is apparent. One only has to look at their lifestyles and examine where they get their money for the answer. Patricia Ireland would have us think that NOW is the answer for all that ails women today. Especially, her appeal to younger women is repugnant. She and other feminists urge young women to join them, promising that they, too, can be like Patricia Ireland, independent of men, and professionally successful. Yes, young women can become like Ireland, but to do that they would have to get married, leave home and take on a lesbian lover. If the women in NOW had Promise Keepers for husbands, there would be no NOW, nor any "professional success" for Patricia Ireland. Ireland is not my idea of success, nor is she the ideal of the great majority of American women. Color me old-fashioned if you want, but I pray that my two daughters choose a more traditional lifestyle. I look forward to the day when they marry the man of their dreams, have their first children and make me a grandfather. And they can model themselves after their very successful mother: girl scout leader, Sunday-school teacher, soccer coach, room mom, PTA officer, college graduate and successful businesswoman before she gave that up for her children. Yes, that is frightening for Ireland, and for Karen Taggart of the Washington, DC Lesbian Avengers, who said about the Promise Keepers, " we'll show them that lesbians are everywhere. We'll show them that lesbians have super powers" No, Ms. Taggart, you will not. But Taggart is truly afraid that the men of Promise Keepers have tapped into just such a super power that will render her message irrelevant to women. I remember the Lesbian Avengers in San Francisco's "Fight the Right" march last year. They were the bare-breasted women carrying a banner that read, "Lesbian Avengers, We Recruit." A sad sight, indeed. What is it exactly that Promise Keepers promise that is threatening to NOW? The men of Promise Keepers promise: * To honor Jesus Christ and obey His word. * To pursue relationships with other men, provide one another with spiritual strength to keep his promises. * To practice spiritual, moral, ethical and sexual purity. * To build strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values. * To support his church. * To reach beyond racial and denominational barriers. * To influence the world by witnessing and obeying, loving God and loving his neighbor as himself. Those are the seven promises of Promise Keepers. I find none of them threatening to my children, my community or me. Quite the contrary, I find them challenging to mind, body and spirit. The message is one of self-denial and sacrifice and outreach to people of other races and religions. For Promise Keepers to keep their promises, that means outreach to all, even to the homosexual community, and loving them as Christ does. As Jesus Christ broke bread with sinners, so must the Promise Keepers. That, Ms. Taggart, is not homophobic, it is Christian. The first prayer of the day came from a Jew, who blew a traditional ram's horn, or shofar. Indian, African-American, Latino, Asian and white speakers followed him. There were busloads of men from black and Latino churches. Wayne Hussong, a shipping clerk from Illinois said, "If everybody got back to God, I'm sure crime would fall, racial prejudice would cease, the conflict with the sexes would cease, abortion would be done away with ..." Surely, no one will sense any message of hate in that statement of hope. The march, measured by sheer numbers of participants, was successful. It easily rivals the largest events ever held on the National Mall, and is probably the largest gathering ever. Terry Adams of the National Parks Service said, "It seems to far exceed the crowd at the Million Man March." But the true worth of the Promise Keepers' "Stand in the Gap" rally will be what the men bring home. If they can inject that spirit into their local communities, if they will work to bring the races together, if they outreach to the downtrodden as did Christ, then our world will be a better place in which to raise our children. And, maybe, just maybe, Patricia Ireland will have to get a real job. Go to California Today Newspaper at http://www.calnews.com/ for news and opinion. # # # ------- To subscribe to c-news, send the message SUBSCRIBE C-NEWS, or the message UNSUBSCRIBE C-NEWS to unsubscribe, to majordomo@world.std.com. Contact owner-c-news@world.std.com if you have questions.