THE AUTHORITARIAN AND THE INTEGRALIST
Location: Austin Town Hall
Participants: Rev. Ezekiel Burnham (a fictional composite of a Fundamentalist Baptist Preacher), Joe Perez (author of Soulfully Gay and Soulfully Gay II)
Audience: Mixed crowd—churchgoers, spiritual seekers, skeptics, LGBTQ+ community members
Rev. Ezekiel Burnham (stepping up after Joe’s opening remarks):
“Mr. Perez, I appreciate your eloquence and your sincerity. But I must say this: You are not speaking the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You are speaking a counterfeit gospel—a gospel of self-worship, of mystical confusion, of pagan origin. The Bible tells us plainly in Isaiah 55:8–9: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.’”
“You say the self is divine. I say the self is fallen. You speak of union with God through self-realization. The Bible says we are dead in our sins until we are born again through the blood of Jesus. You speak of descending currents, of immanence and sacred eros. I say what you are calling holy, the Scriptures call unclean unless it is sanctified in the marriage of one man and one woman.”
“Your philosophy denies the holiness of God. It replaces the Cross with a mirror. It denies the wrath of God against sin, and in so doing, it empties the Gospel of its power. Romans 1 tells us that people ‘exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator.’ That is what self-immanence is. You’re preaching the worship of the self as divine.”
“You call it nonduality, but the Bible draws clear lines. Light and darkness. Truth and error. God and man. Heaven and hell. The narrow gate and the broad road that leads to destruction. My heart breaks for you, because I see a man yearning for God, but walking in darkness.”
“And let me be clear: I do not hate you. I fear for you. And I fear for those who might be seduced by your words. Because this isn’t just theology—it’s eternity. And only the blood of Jesus can cleanse a soul and bring it into right standing with the Holy God. That’s not self-realization, that’s self-denial. That’s taking up your cross daily and following Him.”
Joe Perez (waiting a beat, then speaks gently but firmly):
“Reverend Burnham, thank you. I mean that. Your words come from a place of deep conviction and care. I don’t doubt that for a second. And you’re right to say that we are speaking from different places—radically different starting points. That matters.”
“You speak from what I would call an authoritarian theological framework. You interpret the Bible as the fixed and final authority on all matters, read through a particular lens—what logicians call an appeal to authority fallacy when used in isolation. You assume that anything which doesn’t conform to that lens must be false or demonic. But what if God is bigger than one lens? What if being a human being in search of truth means more than picking one—out of literally thousands of religions and philosophies—and saying, ‘Only this one is true.’”
“My theology is integral. It honors the Bible as a sacred text—but also recognizes that humanity’s understanding of God evolves over time. I don’t just look at Scripture; I also look at psychology, science, philosophy, mysticism, and lived human experience. These are not enemies of revelation. I also look at the history of religions in comparative perspective, seeking wisdom wherever it can be found. Scriptures are part of the ongoing revelation of a living God who still speaks.”
Rev. Burnham: (interjects)
“That’s relativism! You put man’s understanding above God’s Word. That’s the very spirit of deception.”
Joe Perez: (nods respectfully)
“I understand why you’d say that. But I don’t believe I’m putting man above God—I’m saying that God speaks through man. Through evolution, through culture, through history. That’s why I see wisdom in many traditions. I don’t worship my ego. Quite the opposite. I strive to transcend it, to die to it daily.”
“That’s what Paul meant in Galatians 2:20: ‘I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.’ That’s nonduality. Not the worship of the self, but the discovery that the deepest part of us—the divine spark—is already one with God. And Jesus himself says in John 10:34, quoting the Psalms, ‘Is it not written in your Law: “I said you are gods”?’”
Rev. Burnham:
“You twist the Scripture, Joe. That’s a warning verse, not a permission slip.”
Joe Perez:
“Let’s suppose you’re right. Suppose I’m wrong. Then yes, I would be endangering my soul and misleading others. But here’s what I know to be true in my bones: What would endanger my soul most deeply would be to deny the truth of my own body and conscience. To pretend that the divine flame burning in me—a flame shaped by homophilia and homoeros—is something shameful or wrong. That would be the real sin. That would be the true lie.”
“And as for misleading others—what misleads is silence. What misleads is shame. What misleads is hiding. That’s why I speak openly. I don’t ask others to believe what I believe. I offer my witness—and my readers, my listeners, can discern for themselves what resonates, what lifts, what heals.”
Rev. Burnham: (with sorrow)
“But the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. You say you follow your conscience, but how do you know it’s not deceiving you?”
Joe Perez:
“Because I’ve tested it in fire. Through suffering. Through surrender. Through prayer. Through silence. Through Scripture. Through the presence of Christ within. Not a Christ on a distant throne, but Christ breathing in my own lungs, loving through my own love. You preach a God ‘out there.’ I live with a God ‘right here,’ and ‘everywhere.’ And yes, that is nonduality.”
Rev. Burnham: (quietly)
“Then I suppose we are two men with two gospels.”
Joe Perez: (smiles sadly)
“Maybe. Or maybe we are two men seeking the same mystery from two sides of the veil. I do not claim to possess the whole truth, Reverend. But I do claim this: I will not bury the spark of the divine placed in me. I will fan it into flame—not to glorify myself, but to become more Christ-like. That is my hope. That is my path. And I offer the Unitive Way to those who are still looking for theirs.”
Moderator (off-stage):
“We’ll now open the floor for audience questions…”
