Keyes Says Christians Must Act Like Camenker and Whiteman By Geraldine Hawkins February 24, 2003

Alan Keyes

Alan Keyes said at a meeting in Newton that when Brian Camenker and Scott Whiteman acted as whistleblowers of the Fistgate scandal, they were doing what "we all must do." Otherwise, we will lose our Freedom of Religion, Keyes cautioned.

The former Ambassador and Presidential candidate said that the First Amendment to the Constitution is not just a freedom to believe something; it is the freedom to act upon that belief.

"Free exercise means nothing if I am then to be denied the right to put my beliefs into practice," said Keyes. "It is, in effect, saying, 'Yes, you can believe, but your beliefs must be of no consequence.'"

Keyes urged that practicing believers can never submit to the constraint on the free exercise of religion inherent in the attempt by GLAD to intimidate parents and silence their objections to the indoctrination of their children into homosexual practices.

"Christianity is a religion in which it is impossible to distinguish belief from practice. Christ gives us the example. If faith fills you up, belief and practice are inseparable," he exhorted.

"The free exercise of religion means the free carrying out of one's faith. Without that, you could not be a Christian."

He warned that because American Christians have lost sight of this, "We are preparing for our own dire persecution, and I mean persecution in the truest sense.

"If state power, state money and state authority is to be used in order to reach into the family and rip out children from the paths in which they have been in conscience raised and lead them down a path that will destroy their moral being in the sight of the faith of their parents, then this is not about homosexuals, this is about an abuse of the state's resources, and interference in the free exercise of religion.

"Parents have a responsibility to their children, material and also moral," said Keyes. "Our moral responsibility extends to questions of sexual behavior. It is one of the quirky peculiarities of our time, the idea that things having to do with marriage and procreation are not within the province of moral concern."

Keyes said that in previous cultures, these questions were often the bedrock of moral philosophy, since chastity safeguards the basic units of society and inculcates an expectation of loyalty and attachment to the community. The idea that "sexual preference doesn't matter" goes against the whole of human experience.

"If sexual behavior is irrelevant and expresses nothing intrinsic, then from the first word of Scripture, the Bible is a lie," said Keyes. "What does the Bible tell us about creation? That it was 'good.' Of course. How could an absolutely perfect God do anything that's not absolutely perfect?

"However, God looks at Adam, and the first words out of His mouth are: 'It is not good. . It is not good for him to be alone.' Then, after Eve is made, he pronounces, 'that's good!

"Male and female are created in the image and likeness of God. Sexual distinction is essential to our being in the image and likeness of God, and is a direct expression in our nature of the very being of God Himself. It is not a matter of ethics, behavior and social practice only.

"As we go down paths that render inconsequential that distinction, we are abandoning the central, practical question of our faith. We must take seriously what our religion prescribes with respect to the nature of this relationship."

Keyes said that people often make fun of missionaries who upset the societies of "fun-loving pagans" who were perfectly happy in their uninhibited way of doing things until repressed Christians came and transferred their own hangups, but in the Christian faith, said Keyes, "Enormous care and respect is given to sexual morality, because it is at the very heart of the sacred."

Keyes said that the Republican Party is largely without any understanding of the religious significance of sexual relationships. "It's not just about leading to peaceful social relationships," he said.

"The family is one of the most perfect expressions of Trinitarian being: Mother, Father, Child.

"There are some things you just can't surrender, including that which is most intrinsically the expression of your faith. If you surrender your children to indoctrination into homosexuality, it is just as though the Roman emperor came to you and asked you to deny Christ."

Keyes said that at this nation's founding, "Things were arranged in such a way that we could live out our faith, but we are setting up ourselves for the day when it will be impossible to be a good citizen and a good Christian. . We cannot let this happen, that we can only serve our God by going against our country."

Keyes quoted Abraham Lincoln to the effect that "an inner corruption will destroy us."

Keyes urged his listeners to "stand with Scott and Brian so that their victory will open a way of hope. Scott and Brian are standing as the example of the way parents must live. We act on behalf of the soul and integrity of the land we love."

Amb. Keyes paid his own way to come to Massachusetts to speak out on behalf of Camenker and Whiteman, who are being sued by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) for exposing "Fistgate," a publicly-funded seminar at Tufts University in which, in the name of education, students as young as 14 were instructed in homosexual practices.

GLAD claims that by taping and making public the session, Whiteman and Camenker violated a wiretap law.

"I believe that Scott and Brian are doing what we all must do if we are to avoid the loss of what is unarguably the most important issue we face, and that is the abuse of sovereign power to destroy the free exercise of religion," Keyes told a gathering of friends of the Parents' Rights Coalition on Jan 28.