The Christian Post listed homosexuality as the #4 story in its Top 10 Christian News of ’07 review, ahead of the passing of Jerry Falwell and D. James Kennedy (#6), the joint calls for peace and “common ground” by Muslim and Christian leaders (#7), the negative image that most young Americans now have of the evangelical church (#8) and the chronic problems of poverty and disease around the world (not on the list). Only the rise of “militant atheism,” Mike Huckabee’s presidential bid and Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith ranked higher.

Among the news items mentioned were the APA’s decision to review its stance on reparative therapy, ex-gay converts Charlene Cothran and Michael Glatze, and the Jones and Yarhouse study. No mention was made of Ted Haggard’s alleged three-week transformation from gay to straight, the Ex-Gay Survivors’ Conference or the outing of multiple anti-gay Republican politicians.

In short, there appears to be little reason to hope that 2008 will be any different than previous years where the right wing of the evangelical church is concerned. Odds are that their rhetoric (“homosexuality is no worse than any other sin”) will continue to be belied by the time, energy and money that they pour into anti-gay political crusades.

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