R E S O U R C E S
R E S O U R C E S
By expressing her support for traditional marriage, Miss California USA Carrie Prejean may have cost herself the title of Miss USA.
But at the same time, the 21-year-old El Cajon resident and practicing Christian won the respect of millions for modeling something other than evening gowns and swimsuits: She demonstrated the kind of Christian witness described in the pages of the New Testament.
On April 19, during the interview portion of the Miss USA beauty pageant, Prejean was asked by contest judge Perez Hilton for her opinion on the issue of same-sex marriage.
Hilton, an openly homosexual blogger, asked Prejean the following question: “Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?”
Many believe that it was because of her honesty and Christian values that Prejean, the perceived frontrunner, finished the competition as first runner-up. (Hilton and Prejean both believe this to be true; in his initial comments, pageant organizer Donald Trump also seemed to consider it likely, though he later claimed the outcome would have been the same, even without the controversial question.)
But if she had to do it all over again, Prejean said she wouldn’t do anything differently.
“With that question specifically, it’s not about being politically correct,” she said April 21 during an interview on NBC’s Today. “For me, it was being biblically correct.”
The day after the pageant, Prejean told FOXNews.com that when she heard the question, she felt that God was “testing” her.
Jesus: “I tell you, whoever acknowledges Me before men – the Son of Man will acknowledge him before the angels of God. But the man who has disowned Me in the presence of men will be disowned in the presence of the angels of God” (Luke 12:8-9).
Prejean told FOXNews.com that, before the pageant, she had prayed that she would not be asked about same-sex marriage.
Jesus: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Still, let it be as you would have it, not as I” (Matthew 26:39).
Looking back, Prejean believes that what happened at the pageant was God’s will.
“This happened for a reason,” she told FOXNews.com. “By having to answer that question in front of a national audience, God was testing my character and faith.”
It was a test that Prejean ultimately passed. She knew it might cost her a pageant she had worked hard to win, but she found the strength to stand up for her principles.
Jesus: “When they bring you before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about … what to say. The Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment all that should be said” (Luke 12:11-12).
On stage, Prejean responded to Hilton’s question with refreshing candor, while demonstrating respect for those with opposing views:
“I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage,” she said, referring to how several states have used the democratic process to address this issue. “And you know what? I think, in my country, in my family ... that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offence to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.”
In a cutaway shot, the judge who had posed the question, could be seen shaking his head at her response.
Within hours, the world witnessed the intolerance of self-proclaimed agents of tolerance. Myriad voices denounced Prejean for having the “wrong” opinion. Hilton, the judge who had asked the question, later used a hateful slur to describe her and, with no hint of irony, criticized her for bringing “her politics and her religion” into the competition. Former Miss USA Shanna Moakler, then serving as co-director of the Miss California USA pageant, also denounced Prejean’s response.
Jesus: “If you find that the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before you. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own; the reason it hates you is that you do not belong to the world. But I chose you out of the world. Remember what I told you: No slave is greater than his master” (John 15:18-20).
Claudia Jordan, a former Miss USA contestant and one of this year’s pageant judges, told NBC’s Today: “A few of the judges were really against [Prejean]. You know, they were really bothered by her answer.”
Jordan, a supporter of same-sex marriage, had this advice for Miss USA hopefuls: “In pageants, just like in politics, it’s probably best to just give a neutral answer, where you’re not committed to one side or the other – if you want to win.”
That’s right: Be wishy-washy!
But Prejean, who aspires to “biblical correctness,” recognized that Our Lord does not share Jordan’s views on moderation. In the book of Revelation, Jesus says:
“I wish you were either cold or hot. … [B]ecause you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).
When it was revealed in early May that a 17-year-old Prejean had posed for a semi-nude modeling photo, some of her critics accused her of hypocrisy. After all, they asked, why would a practicing Christian pose for the kind of photo that inspires impure thoughts and tempts others into sexual sin?
“I am not perfect, and I will never claim to be,” Prejean responded in a news release. “But these attacks on me and others who speak in defense of traditional marriage are intolerant and offensive.”
Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage, released her own statement: “Of course Carrie is not perfect. On a personal note, as a former unwed mother, I want to say to Americans: You don’t have to be a perfect person to have the right to stand up for marriage.”
Prejean herself has made the following pledge: “I will continue to support and defend marriage as the honorable institution it is. I will continue to stand with the overwhelming majority of the American people and the voters of my home state of California. If this whole experience has taught me anything, it is our precious right to speak freely, and how we as Americans can never allow anyone or any group to intimidate or threaten us to keep silent."
Prejean may have lost the Miss USA competition because of her belief in the sanctity of traditional marriage. But if that is true, she can take comfort in the knowledge that a better crown awaits all those who place “biblical correctness” above political correctness. St. Paul writes:
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on a merited crown awaits me; on that Day the Lord, just judge that He is, will award it to me – and not only to me, but to all who have looked for His appearing with eager longing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
The Southern Cross
This commentary first appeared in the May 2009 issue of The Southern Cross.