Rescuing Christ from the "Christians": V. Gene Robinson's Installation as an Episcopal Bishop Was Greeted Largely by Silence from Gay Quarters. Yet as Old Catholic Archbishop Bruce Simpson Points out, the Power of Religion in the World Remains Unmatched in Swaying Public Opinion and, More Urgently, in Damaging Gay Youth. Where Is Our Pride-And Our Outrage?

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More vividly than in any previous historical moment, elements of the Christian church are at war with anybody involved in promoting equal treatment for gay and lesbian people. The recent elevation of V. Gene Robinson to the clerical rank of bishop within the Episcopal Church did not start this war, but it has crystallized the battle lines. But do gay people realize the significance of this war?

The antigay forces in this confrontation--ranging from the Vatican to the Family Research Council--are well-organized, well-financed, well-led, and worst of all, they believe that God is behind them. With the exception of our own deeply held conviction that God is on the side of equality and love, we gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Christians have none of these other things going for us. And there are few signs that this will change--in part because the larger GLBT community, Christian and non-Christian alike, does not appear to grasp the critical importance of this fight.

The week of November 3, in the days after Bishop Robinson took office, I awaited acknowledgment from any national gay organization, any national gay leader, that a historic moment was upon us, that the new …