Promise Keepers a Step
Behind the Times UCSD Guardian Opinion On Sat., Oct. 4, over 800,000 men gathered at the Mall in
Washington, D.C. to partake of a "Sacred Assembly" before
God. Joining the men were hundreds protesting the Promise
Keepers motives. In the days leading up to the event in Washington,
several newspaper articles and talk shows debated the
Promise Keepers' motives and principle applications,
examining why several groups oppose their objectives. The Promise Keepers are a national evangelical Christian
men's group founded in 1990 by former University of Colorado
football coach Bill McCartney. The group has held many
conferences inside stadiums and sports arenas to bring men
together for "worship, prayer and teaching." In 1996, the
Promise Keepers held a conference inside San Diego Jack
Murphy Stadium. According to the Promise Keepers, more than
2 million men have attended the conferences. This is all fine, but the problem is that they appear so
earnest. Their statement of faith seems to be sincere
enough. However, problems develop once you delve beyond the
shining statements. The Promise Keepers' philosophical principles are based
upon a literal interpretation of the Bible. This could be
the cause of many of the Promise Keepers' problems. Several
leaders of the National Organization of Women (N.O.W.) have
said that the Promise Keepers want men to control
everything, including women. All of their literature seems to urge men to "lead" their
families. One often-used example is from Seven Promises of a
Promise Keeper by Tony Evans. "If you're going to lead, you must lead," says Evans in
his book. "Be sensitive, listen. Treat the lady gently and
lovingly. But lead." Does this sound familiar? Hearken back to the primitive
days, before the 1960s, when women were placed on a pedestal
-- adored and admired, but not allowed to do the same tasks
that a man is "supposed" to do. Much of the material distributed by the Promise Keepers
focus on the family and how the man is to be the center of
that family. There seems to be no room for compromise on the
issue. According to their material, the man has a specific
role leading his family and community and the woman has a
specific role in supporting the male. It appears that several Promise Keepers consider an
active woman to be trouble. In a discussion on National
Public Radio's Talk of the Nation, one of the leaders of the
Promise Keepers acknowledged that one of the prophets in the
Bible was female. However, he added that she was a prophet
because "none of the men wanted to do it." Furthermore, the Promise Keepers assembled at Mall did
not ask forgiveness for being sexist, although they were
contrite for racism. In addition to being sexist, the Promise Keepers have
also taken a strict line against homosexuality. McCartney
has referred to homosexuality as "an abomination of Almighty
God." This principle stems from their strict interpretation of
the Bible, even though it is seriously out of tune with the
times. The American Bishops of the Catholic Church issued a
letter calling on families to love their homosexual
children. However, gay men are welcome to join the Promise
Keepers -- to be converted, of course. It would have been hard for me to criticize a group that
might create some benefit for some families despite creating
this massive controversy. However, the group's veiled
ambition for power should be of concern to everyone. Several leaders from other Christian groups -- such as
Pat Robertson of the Christian Coalition -- have financially
assisted the Promise Keepers. In addition, the chief
organizer for the gathering at the Mall said that Promise
Keepers would inevitably enter the political sphere; therein
lies the problem. If the Promise Keepers start to "endorse" candidates,
much like the Christian Coalition does, where would it end?
Several groups believe that the Promise Keepers are pushing
for a theocracy -- government ruled by the church. "We don't find ourselves in violation of the Constitution
[of the United States]," McCartney said. "We've just got to
make sure that the Constitution doesn't find itself in
violation of God's law, God's written word." So much for the separation of church and state as
enumerated by the Constitution of the United States. If they
are intent on ensuring that their interpretation of God's
law is the law of the land, then those whose values conflict
with those of the Promise Keepers would have a serious
problem. Submission is not the solution when it comes to the
family -- no matter what the Bible says. One of the
trickiest things about the Bible is the conflicting values
throughout the text. For example, stoning people for their
sins used to be a common punishment and, in fact, mandated
by God. How many people want to chuck a large stone at a person
today? I am not saying that the Promise Keepers are the
spawn of the devil -- they might actually be effective in
reconciling families with long-lost absent male figures.
However, after taking a hard look at their philosophy and
the controversy surrounding it, we would be asking for
trouble if we did not protest some of the Promise Keepers'
basic principles. Their philosophy urging men to be the
center of the family is simply out of touch with the times.
The Promise Keepers come to us with good intentions, but
then again, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
If we are not careful, we might find ourselves on that road
with them.
COMMENTARY: Although the Promise Keepers' fundamental
motives are well-intentioned, their philosophical principals
and literal interpretations of the Bible are antiquated and
inapplicable for America's post-1960s era
October 13, 1997