Thursday, April 18, 2013

Ebony Magazine’s ‘Cool Black Family’ Features Gay Bishop, His Partner and Adopted Child


04/03/2013 Culture



Ebony magazine, a popular African-American-oriented publication, apparently has a “coolest black family in America” series going, and has listed Rashad Burgess and the Bishop Oliver Clyde Allen III and their adopted daughter as No. 10 on the list. It’s a rather odd feature.




Ebony’s “coolest black family” list includes a gay bishop, his partner and their adopted daughter. (Photo: www.ebony.com)



To be clear, as a Christian, I believe the Bible describes any sexual relationship outside of a heterosexual, monogamous marriage as immoral and therefore sinful. Also, there is no doubt that homosexuals are capable of building a loving household with children, after all they are made in God’s image and therefore made to desire and give love — but this does not negate the first point.

That being said, I find this feature from Ebony magazine to be another example of how wide society has opened its arms to normalizing sin. It’s even more appalling that these two men call themselves Christian, and one even taking it upon himself to shepherd others while living rebelliously against God.


From Ebony:


Eleven-weeks old Caylee LaTanya Burgess-Allen coos as her father holds her. “Little missy doesn’t care that I have an interview to do. You gotta work with me a minute,” Oliver says, laughing. It’s clear that he loves every minute of his new station in life: fatherhood. The Burgess-Allens have no specific examples or true design on which to base their family construct. Nor do they have immediate mentors on which to mirror their professional choices. But when you do it anyway, it is revolutionary. Bishop Oliver Clyde Allen III and Rashad Burgess are ardent innovators.
Oliver, from Los Angeles, met Rashad at a conference in 1999. While he was initially struck by Rashad’s beauty, they didn’t become a couple until 2002. Rashad came out to his family between the ages of 18 and 21; he was six years into his liberation when he met his mate. Through his relationship with Rashad, Oliver came out to his own family. Oliver’s family wasn’t immediately accepting.
“My family is close,” Oliver says. “My mother initially didn’t know how to embrace it. After getting to know Rashad, and seeing that he was a responsible man who not only loved me but was willing to take care of me and build a life with me, she developed respect for him.”
In 2002, the two married on the shores of Hilton Head, South Carolina. “Completely private,” Oliver reminisces. “We went out to the beach around five a.m. wearing all white. We had a wooden chest with a Bible in it. We had music playing. We lit two torches on the beach and read our vows to each other. We also took communion together.”


Read the rest here.

You can read more about Bishop OC Allen at Gay Christian Movement Watch.


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