A Clash of Values

Ellen DeGeneres (Hollywood Reporter)

I like Ellen DeGeneres. I really do. I believe her to be an individual of fine character. I believe that is her reputation among colleagues and all who know her personally. What you see ‘on air’ is what you see in private. She is a kind and generous soul who only wants to do good. But that does not mean she can’t be wrong. I believe she is wrong in at least one area. And yet her views have become so mainstream, it is almost impossible to characterize them that way.  No matter what our personal values might otherwise be.

A few days ago she tweeted the following:

Isn’t it almost 2020? @hallmarkchannel, @billabbottHC... what are you thinking? Please explain. We’re all ears.

That was in response to an ad on the Hallmark channel they pulled due to protests from a politically conservative group called ‘One Million Moms’. They objected to an ad from online wedding planning company by the name of Zola that included two brides kissing at the altar in a same sex marriage ceremony.

Hallmark is a family friendly cable channel and that conservative group protested the ad as inappropriate for families. That resulted in a virtual explosion of protest by social media objecting to what they saw as clear discrimination against people that are LGBTQ. The outrage was reflected in tweets by two prominent public figures who are both homosexual: Democratic candidate for President, Pete Buttigieg and the above-mentioned entertainer, Ellen DeGeneres. It was Degeneres’ comment that generated my following thoughts.

I understand the feeling and sense of outrage reflected in her tweet. And that is precisely the problem. As she says, it is 2020. This is what liberalism has wrought in our day.

That said, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that we (the Jewish people) are beneficiaries of the full and unequivocal acceptance of all differences that liberalism embraces. However, there is a serious downside to that. Which is that by accepting all differences there is perforce a rejection of values that do not see all differences equally. Such as differences in sexual behavior. Most religions do not place the same value on homosexual sex as they do on heterosexual sex. If you are a religious Christian, Muslim, or Jew, homosexual sex is forbidden by the word of God as expressed in the bible (or the Koran).

The idea of celebrating same sex marriage on equal terms with heterosexual marriage is anathema to all three major faiths. At least to those of us that take their teachings seriously.

The idea that it’s almost 2020 does not change that simple fact. And yet even a kind hearted soul like Ellen DeGeneres dismisses the religious beliefs of all three faiths on this issue  as some sort of medieval value long ago discredited  by modern man - who now knows better. 

By her comments she shows a desire to completely discard  a value dictated by God through His holy scripture - considering it to be immoral. Imagine that! ...calling the word of God immoral! With all of her generosity of spirit, I’m disappointed that Ellen does not understand this basic universal tenet of religious faith - even if she doesn’t agree with it.

That said, to be absolutely clear, this does not mean we can’t fully accept people that are gay. We absolutely should. We have a religious obligation to accept a fellow human being no matter what his or her sexual orientation is. As I have said so many times - being attracted to members of the same sex is not sinful. Acting on it in ways that are forbidden by God is.  

If one succumbs to the temptation to sin – no matter what that sin might be, that does not mean they should be rejected or ostracized from the community. It is our obligation to accept our fellow Jews and to treat all fellow human beings with the dignity that being created in God’s image entitles them to have. 

It is the celebration of sin that is the problem here. That is what Ellen’s comment requires of us. She wants religious people to reject the teachings of the bible because – well – it’s 2020 and we now know better than the bible. Liberalism has no respect for the biblical values it sees contradicting its own ethos.  

Hallmark had initially pulled those ads in response to the demands of ‘One Million Moms’. That was the right thing to do. Religious Christians, Muslims, and Jews have a right to expect a family friendly channel to not feature images that contradict their religious values. But that did not sit well with the ethos of liberalism that - as noted - rejects any religious value that contradicts that ethos.

Hallmark responded to the backlash by reinstating those ads and apologizing to the LGBTQ community for their insensitivity. It’s too bad they did not think to apologize to religious people for their insensitivity to them. I guess that’s because we live in an era where liberalism – and not biblical values - is the new orthodoxy by which all things are judged.