Coming soon to a bigot near you!
When President Barack Obama made international news by announcing his support for marriage equality (what the other side calls “gay marriage”), reaction from the “religious right” was as swift as it was explosive. Fox Nation immediately (and famously) posted a headline “OBAMA FLIP FLOPS, DECLARES WAR ON MARRIAGE.” Minutes later, the headline was changed to the only slightly less asinine “OBAMA FLIP FLOPS ON MARRIAGE.”
But, the damage was done. War has been declared. It is a declaration of war against an institution that has been consistently and radically changed from its God-intended format: old men paying other old men for wives for their sons.
We must defend the family! The radical homosexual activists are out to destroy the family! They want to tear apart the very fabric of society! The sky is falling! The radical homosexual activists are out to destroy the sky! We must protect the family from the … okay, you get the idea.
In the long quest toward reconciliation between LGBT Christians and the Church at large, we must be clear about reality. This is no easy task. Quite frankly, there are plenty of people who are convinced that it’s not even remotely possible. If I weren’t a man of faith, I might even agree with that assessment. This crazy idea might just be impossible.
However difficult or even impossible the task might be, I’m reminded of several things. First, I am a man of faith. My faith isn’t in myself, or even my abilities. It certainly isn’t in my fellow man or in the Church. The object and focus of my faith is in Jesus Christ Himself — who was very clear about what we considered to be impossible. After all, He said all things are possible.
All things.
All.
Who then can be saved? Anyone. Who then can be healed? Anyone. Who then can be restored? Anyone. Who then can be brought together? Any one.
No exceptions. No disclaimers. No asterisks.
For the record, if your organization is listed as an anti-gay hate group by the SPLC or you get your “facts” from such a group, you’re going to have to work a lot harder for me to believe you’re interested in any kind of reconciliation with LGBT Christians.
One does not reconcile sheep with wolves. We keep the wolves at bay. And when the wolves dress up as sheep, then we rip off their costume — usually from the sheep they’ve slaughtered — and expose them for the cruel impostors they are.
If there’s anything that “religious right” groups have in common, it’s their unilateral hatred toward the idea that gays deserve to be treated as complete equals in society. They’ve claimed that they’re being lambasted for “merely disagreeing” with the “homosexual lifestyle.” They whine because they’re being blasted for “being Christian” or “upholding biblical values.” As such, at least one group is going over the top in their anti-gay propaganda.
Day of Silence, a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), remains one of the most powerful messages against the kind of bullying that is directed at LGBT kids across the country. Its message is simple: Be silent to end the silence that bullied kids get from school administration and community leaders regarding their plight. The event has garnered significant opposition over the past 16 years, including psudo-religious groups who are particularly miffed over “politicizing” our schools.
The right wing generally has three major targets in their “culture war.” Gays, women, and President Obama. Of course, for those of us who have been watching wingnut antics over the last few years, this is not a surprise. Not even a little. We’ve known for years that the far right hates gays, wants women to go back to being barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen, and would love for the President to go to work in a cotton field.
What is new, and what is surprising is just how brazen these people have gotten in recent years.
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Why anti-gay groups are almost right about gays and the Titanic
Truth in Action Ministries (the religious group started by D. James Kennedy as Coral Ridge Ministries) posted a video this week that used the iceberg that Titanic hit in 1912 as an analogy for how the “radical homosexual agenda” will sink American society. The short film features a small army of anti-gay activists and preachers, all presenting a sordid picture of American culture of those horrible gays get their way and are able to claim equality.
Watch highlights from the video and read my full analysis after the jump.