Say it ain't so, Archie!

by Travis L Quertermous

From The Reminder, October 2, 2011

I suppose that at one time or another most of us have read an Archie comic book. Archie Andrews first appeared in Pep Comics #22 on December 22, 1941. (In case you’re wondering, a near mint copy of that comic book is worth about $70,000!) Since his debut Archie and his teenage friends from Riverdale (Jughead, Betty, Veronica, and Reggie) have proven so popular they’ve become part of Americana. Archie Comics has become synonymous with good clean wholesome fun.

But not any more it seems. Even Archie has bowed to the pressures of political correctness. In September 2002, Kevin Keller, the first openly homosexual student at Riverdale High, was introduced in the pages of Veronica #202. According to Wikipedia, Archie Comics gave the following justification for its actions: “Archie Comics co-CEO Jon Goldwater explained that including an openly gay character is a way to keep the world of Archie Comics inclusive and updated. ‘Archie's hometown of Riverdale has always been a safe world for everyone. It just makes sense to have an openly gay character in Archie comic books.’ Veronica writer Dan Parent concurred, saying, ‘It shows that Riverdale is in the 21st century.’”

Evidently, Kevin is quite a popular character, so much so that Archie Comics has announced plans to give him his own comic book starting in February 2012. But beyond that, they have also announced plans to produce a special issue of Life With Archie early next year wherein the adult Kevin will get married to his boyfriend. Goldwater is reported as noting they have had only seven subscription cancellations since this announcement.

Brethren and friends, such is a sad commentary on how successful the homosexual lobby has been in convincing the American public of the “normalcy” of their perverse lifestyle. But the church must never bow to political correctness! God’s pattern for marriage since the beginning of time has been one man married to one woman (Gen. 2:24). It has been well-noted that God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve! Nor did he create Eve and Yvette! The Bible still condemns homosexuality of any kind as an unnatural, vile, shameful error (Rom. 1:26-27). We must never compromise God’s word!

But remember that Scripture also teaches that homosexuals can repent and be forgiven, just as any sinner can be (1 Cor. 6:9-11). Let us reach out compassionately to all sinners with the gospel of Christ while maintaining sound doctrine on this or any other controversial subject.