Try putting down that you are married on your income tax form. A domestic partnership will not get you those tax breaks.

I’ll accept that people thought this of Lonnie. What I’m interested in is how the “Jesus Movement” was shaped and transformed. I grew up in Southern California about this time and was regularly approached by young strangers who worked very hard to seduce me into their groups. And I’m not afraid to use that term “seduce”…frequently it was a young female who would “come on” quite heavily about coming over to “The House”. And in some of these groups sex and drugs were NOT taboo. Children of God, Maranatha, the People’s Temple and the Moonies (as well as other religious groups that appealed to disaffected youth…like the Hari Krishna) were everywhere. In fact, you practically needed a support-group to avoid their clutches.

I don’t see many of these groups out there that are communally-based, communitarian, accept scaled-down lifestyles (rejecting affluence), and are generally rejectionist of political involvement anymore. All, or most, of these groups have been absorbed or transformed into organizations that accept “Affluence Doctrine”, and are actively involved in political activities. I suppose this was present quite early, because by the post-Nixon era the People’s Temple, Maranatha (with the Young Republicans), and Reverend Moon were building alliances with politicians.

Do you have any impression that Lonnie had interest in such things…and is this where the divisions actually lay…rather than with the issue of his homosexuality?

For me, Lonnie’s story speaks to the way the church deals with people. And for that, I can speak. It is a tragedy when the church, the apparent representative of God on earth, sends the message that someone is not welcome or inferior.

I know churches where gays are welcomed openly. I loved being at Glide Memorial in San Francisco. The vibe there was amazing. But I also know that there aren’t a lot of churches like that.

Government is an entirely different ball of wax.

Yes things have changed significantly. Glad you saw Milk. And I’m glad Gus began the film with that footage. I’m old enough to remember when that was the “norm.”

Did it depart from the Standard Doctrine of its Host Churches in any meaningful way?

For instance, was the Spirit of Jesus to be found in your own heart, or waited upon until He and his 5,000 Defamation Lawyers Came Back?