This blog is a general response to the Larry King Live interview in April featuring musician Jennifer Knapp. Jennifer Knapp is a grammy-nominated, Dove-award winning Christian musician who left the music scene eight years ago, exhausted and confused from the wild ride of "celebrity" that had befallen her. Her re-emergence into music comes full circle today, as her new album, Letting Go, is released nationwide.
http://www.jenniferknapp.com/in-the-press/larry-king-live-interview
Jennifer Knapp was unfortunately featured on CNN's Larry King Live last month for one reason and one reason only: debate. The debate surrounded the long-standing question: Can a person be gay and still be a Christian? Again, I say her role on Larry King Live was unfortunate because CNN and Larry King care only for ratings, not for the health and well-being of those featured on their program. On this program, Jennifer Knapp discussed her re-entry into music and her recent announcement that she is a lesbian. I enjoyed the show, for sure, and found it very interesting. I also was very disenchanted, once again, at the way that Christians in the media are portrayed (and the way they even portray themselves). The show also featured Pastor Bob Botsford of San Diego's Horizon Christian Fellowship Church and Ted Haggard, who was a renowned televangelist until several years ago, when a drug and homosexual scandal collapsed his career as a pastor in Colorado. Pastor Botsford was invited to the show because of a blog he'd written, saddened to hear of Jennifer Knapp's sexual preference "choice," as he described it. But Pastor Botsford was really invited on the show to be the opposing and condemning voice to Jennifer's own perspective. This is what saddens me—that Christians allow themselves to fall into the obvious "traps" set by cable television and other media outlets. But I digress.
Jennifer Knapp has always presented herself as a humble seeker of God, presenting herself as one who is at times unsteady in her faith, and at other times comforted and inspired by that faith. This meek and reserved perspective on the Christian faith has been the building force to her fanbase. In other words, people relate to her lyrics and her humble perspective. Jennifer Knapp presented herself in this same manner on Larry King Live, carefully explaining how she wishes not to be a stumbling block to anyone, but also compelled to be honest with herself and her sexual orientation. Pastor Bob Botsford made several biblically-accurate points, but completely missed the boat on other points. His first mistake was even showing up on the show. Right there he fell into CNN's "trap." He is now probably seen as the 'hypocritical, holier-than-thou preacher' by all who viewed the show. His second mistake was in not having an intellectual conversation with Jennifer. Jennifer Knapp tried to explain that her view of homosexuality is based on the premise that it's not a sin at all—that the Greek words translated as "homosexual" in the Bible aren't the same descriptions we use for homosexuality today. This is a valid point. It's a point that can be opposed, for sure, but it's still worth discussing with grace and intelligence. This did not happen. Judgment and scorn littered the discussion, making it a quarrel among believers (also condemned in the Bible) instead of a loving, graceful, agree-to-disagree conversation.
Ted Haggard thankfully added that voice of grace, though he, too, is just a man that interprets the Bible in one certain way. The ironic thing that has stuck with me is how Pastor Bob Botsford was so easily able to look at certain biblical passages—such as the story of the Pharisees who wanted to throw stones and kill a woman caught in adultery—and overlook other passages where Jesus instructs his disciples not to condemn your Christian brothers. In the pastor's biblical example, he did not mention that Jesus, the only person without sin, was the only one able to tell the adulterous woman to "go and sin no more." For the rest of us sinners, Jesus's teachings to remove the plank from our own eye need to be understood. While some of the apostle Paul's New Testament writings don't jive well with some of Jesus's teachings, I'm still gonna go with Jesus's ultimate commands of loving your neighbor and not judging your fellow man over Paul's rules and regulations that can be interpreted in various ways. While I understand Pastor Botsford's concern for Jennifer Knapp's spiritual well-being, Larry King Live is not the best avenue for a fruitful discussion...I can't believe people don't recognize that in the first place.
Jennifer Knapp's music remains faithful to God. Her sexuality and her interpretation of biblical texts doesn't require condemnation. Love covers a multitude of sins. These are the points of grace that I'm left with after watching Jennifer Knapp's CNN interview. May we all quietly work out our salvation with "fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).
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