The Duchess of Dollywood Speaks — The Very, Very Open Mind of Dolly Parton

I seriously doubt that many Americans take Dolly Parton’s views on any subject with much concern, but she has decided to join the ranks of the politically correct in a big way. Yesterday, in the pages of USA Today, she made a plea for tolerating different sexualities, lifestyles, etc.

“I’ve always been a weird, out-there freak myself,” she told the paper. As the article states:

Her ability to identify with outcasts helped her to an Oscar nomination for Travelin’ Thru, a song she wrote for the movie Transamerica. The main character is a pre-operative transsexual (played by Felicity Huffman) traveling the country with his son. “Some things are strange to me, and some things are odd,” says Parton, 60. “But I don’t condemn. If you can accept me, I can accept you.”

She will perform at the upcoming Oscar ceremony, singing the song she wrote for Transamerica. That song includes these words: “God made me for a reason, and nothing is in vain/Redemption comes in many shapes with many kinds of pain.”

Look closely at this section of the article:

Parton is considering putting the song on a gospel album and doing a dance club version. “Having a big gay following, I get hate mail and threats,” she says. “Some people are blind or ignorant, and you can’t be that prejudiced and hateful and go through this world and still be happy. One thing about this movie is that I think art can change minds. It’s all right to be who you are.”

That may make sense in Hollywood, but those words are a virtual refutation of the Gospel. The Gospel of Christ does not affirm that “it’s all right to be who you are,” but that Christ’s substitutionary atonement is sufficient for our salvation — and that by God’s grace alone those who come to Christ by faith are no longer who we were before.

Her words may please the cultural mavens in Hollywood (or in Dollywood, for that matter) but they most surely do not belong on a “Gospel” album.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel–not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

The Apostle Paul, Galatians 1: 6-10