Way back on Sunday, July 27th, I got to meet Alan live and in person at Lakeshore-St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church where he debated the Reverend Martha Daniels of Metropolitan Community Church Windsor on the topic of "[I]s homosexual practice 'contrary to the [G]ospel and inconsistent with a Christian lifestyle?'"
You can read about it at Alan's blog here and here.
I just want to add a few comments.
First, it was the most un-Presbyterian Presbyterian church I've ever been to, all seeker-sensitive and stuff (deplorable!), but the people, especially the pastor and his wife, were very good.
Second, it was great to meet Alan. I've enjoyed his blog ever since I first discovered it two years ago. He's as great a guy in person as you'd think from reading his blog. That was certainly the highlight of July.
Third, I also got to meet Dale and Heather Price of Dyspeptic Mutterings and Domestic Bliss Report, as well as the Price children, or, as CourageMan calls them, the Pricelets. Dale and Heather seem to be very fun people, and their children shocked me by actually eating food at the Mongolian BBQ. I cannot imagine my nieces and nephew being so not-picky! Dale also promised to remind CourageMan that I too live in the Detroit area when he (CM) visits them (Prices) this Christmas.
Fourth, the debate. Alan was stronger in the first debate than the second, but he was good in both. Here's a quote from his blog to demonstrate how good he was in the first:
"I can't resist recounting one anecdote: in the first debate Martha argued that homosexuality couldn't be against nature, as it had been documented in hundreds of animal species. Well, I responded, cannibalism is found in the animal kingdom, but we don't take that as a model of appropriate human behaviour. She didn't use that line of reasoning the second time."
I have to remember that one.
His limmerick at the end cracks me up! In both debates, he ended with it and then simply said "Martha?" as a way of handing it over to her. It's funny because this is how it went:
"Second Peter and Jude are akin
as they warn against libertine spin,
'Sodom's toast*, so beware
of the prophets who dare
to treat grace as a license to sin'...Martha?"
I'm not sure Martha liked being linked with the daring prophets.
You can get copies of both debates by contacting Lakeshore-St. Andrews. I don't know what the prices are. There's a free MP3 download of the first debate here.
*A contraction for "Sodom is".
1 comment:
Thanks, Woodrow. I still think I debated better the second time, but I guess to prove that, I'm going to have to get around to putting up the transcript. Of course, I can't completely dismiss the opinion of a disinterested observer such as you. Much obliged in any case.
I think the CDs of the LSA debates were $10 (Cdn) each.
I enjoyed CM's post the first time and appreciated it more now that I've had the pleasure of a meal with Dale and Heather and those endearing Pricelets.
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