James Melville White

Rev. Mel White, December 1995

James Melville White (* 1940 ), Mel White for short , is an American , homosexual Christian clergyman, theologian and author .

As an evangelical Protestant, White was among the ghostwriters for television preachers like Jerry Falwell , Pat Robertson, and Billy Graham from the 1960s to the 1980s . After many years of writing religious rights books , he came out in 1994.

Life

In 1962, White graduated from Warner Pacific College. In the same year White married his wife Lyla. They have two children, one of whom is comedian, actor, and script writer Mike White . After their wedding, Mel White informed his wife that he had always been attracted to men. White embarked on a long process to "cure" his homosexuality, among other things. a. through psychotherapy , prayer , electroconvulsive therapy, and exorcism .

None of these techniques changed his homosexuality. After attempting suicide, White and Lyla agreed to divorce amicably.

1984 White met his current life partner Gary Nixon know. You both run the Soulforce organization . The couple live in Lynchburg, Virginia .

In 1994 White wrote his autobiography Stranger at the Gate. To Be Gay and Christian in America . In this book, White makes his previous career in the religious right and his inner struggle in coming out public. His ex-wife penned the foreword to the autobiography, which shows the continued good friendship between White and his divorced wife.

In 1997, White received the ACLU's National Civil Liberties Award for his efforts through Soulforce to defend the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King in the fight for justice for sexual minorities .

In June 2008, White married his significant other, Gary Nixon, in Pasadena , California .

Academic and writing career

White received his master's degree in communications from the University of Portland and worked in communications and film at the University of Southern California (UCLA) and Harvard . He received his doctorate in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary , where he was a professor for over a decade. During this time he served as an evangelical preacher. After coming out, White moved to the Metropolitan Community Church .

White has produced, wrote, and directed 53 documentaries and television specials in the spiritual field. White wrote 16 books (including nine bestsellers) about the Filipinos Nioy and Corazon Aquino and about the tragedy of David Rothenberg from Jonestown . He also wrote the book Lust the Other Side of Love and authored a book When the Going Gets Tough about talk show producer Mike Douglas .

White also ghost-wrote various books for evangelical television preachers, such as Billy Graham ( Approaching Hoofbeats ), Pat Robertson ( America's Date with Destiny ), and Jerry Falwell ( Strength for the Journey and If I Should Die before I Wake ). However, in all of these publications he never wrote against homosexuality. White's coming out happened at the same time as the US Religious Right tightened its anti-gay rhetoric.

Fonts (selection)

• Mel White: Stranger at the Gate , p. 325, Penguin Group (USA) April 1995, ISBN 0-452-27381-1 .
• Mel White: Religion Gone Bad , p. 384, Penguin Group (USA) September 2006, ISBN 1-58542-531-1 .

Web links

• Mel White website
• Soulforce
• Candace Chellew: Storming The Gate: Rev. Mel White Spreads The Good News . Retrieved May 29, 2010.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Steve Inskeep: Religion, Politics a Potent Mix for Jerry Falwell . NPR June 30, 2006.
2. ↑ Episcopal Church Los Angeles: Soulforce co-founders wed in Pasadena ( Memento of the original from June 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .