Theocon Maggie Gallagher waxes rather eloquently about the devotion of penguin mates in caring for their young. I loved the documentary, “March of the Penguins,” as well. But nature can sometimes be more complicated than some theologians posit. Here’s a wonderful little children’s book about a true story about a pair of penguins at the Central Park Zoo in New York City. They, like other pairs, became inseparable and bonded for life. But they were both males. When other penguins hatched eggs, these two found a pebble and warmed and nursed it. Then a zoo-keeper decided to give them a real egg, which they nursed and brought to birth and childhood like every other heterosexual couple. This alternative penguin family still thrives and you can go see them, if you want. The presence of homosexuality in nature is ubiquitous and clearly part of God’s creation. As Maggie writes,
I don’t know Jordan Roberts’ agenda, religious or otherwise, but it is hard not to see the theological overtones in the movie he remade. Beauty, goodness, love and devotion are all part of nature, built into the DNA of the universe. Even in the harshest place on the Earth (like 21st-century America?), love will not only endure, it will triumph.
It’s just a pity that Gallagher is so opposed to such a triumph of love that is happening today – among people whose mutual care and devotion she sadly refuses to cherish – and even wants to stigmatize.
The Dish 