For the record, I know Christians are not all cut from the same cloth (thank God!). Not all Christians share the same opinion of a Larry Tomczak, Tony Perkins, Rick Santorum or Mike Huckabee in regard to their homophobic hostility toward gay people; justified in the name of God. Their God. They claim they are not judging gay people; putting the blame on this God of theirs because He's the one who designates judgments. They are just speaking on His behalf. So they can't help being intolerant and discriminatory.
The list of names of their ilk could, unfortunately, go on ad nauseam.
But, the Christians I call friends are more of the opinion that Jesus would want them to love without judging; accepting all of God’s children in place of rejecting those deemed unacceptable. And, thankfully, it appears that a majority of Christian millennials (people aged 18 to 29) are in favor of gay marriage; with groups like Evangelicals for Marriage Equality speaking out.
In spite of support growing within the Christian community for the gay community, there are still the “out of touch,” misleading, deceiving, prevaricating pundits, politicians, preachers and pastors accusing the gay community of having a gay agenda. But what about their agenda?
Let’s turn the tables and talk about the Far Right, Christian, Conservative Agenda, because, boy, they sure do have one. And it’s time America starts to carefully scrutinize it because it is far more frightening than any version of a gay agenda they can dream up.
The general characterization of the gay agenda promulgated by the 4Ps (pundits, politicians, preachers and pastors) is gay people's “advocacy of cultural acceptance and normalization of non-heterosexual orientations and relationships [using] efforts to change government policies and laws on LGBT rights-related issues.”1
When stripped of all the calculated hyperbole of that typical definition the “gay agenda” is simply that gay people no longer want to be denied their basic human rights because of their sexual orientation. They are being discriminated against and that is wrong.
Gay people are not out to recruit heterosexuals into homosexuals.
They are not "targeting" children to make them gay.
The 4Ps do not have to approve of gay people or think they deserve marriage equality, but they do not have the right to choose who gets equal and fair treatment and who doesn’t.
Its advocacy is that America is a Christian nation; built on Christian religious beliefs. And the Far Right, Christian, Conservative Agenda is using political efforts to change government policies and laws; wanting to base them on their Christian beliefs; negating spiritual beliefs different from theirs.
There is only one God in this agenda. Their God. The God they claim America was founded on. Any other god or gods; any other religious beliefs or any other religion is erroneous.
They do want to convert (recruit) the unconverted into converts (Christians).
They are targeting children to become Christians.2
They believe they are speaking on God’s behalf; as if they, alone, know what God’s will is for our country. And for you. As a favorite author of mine has written “You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”3
The 4Ps say gay marriages will bring an end to traditional marriages; ignoring that divorce is still the main cause of heterosexual marriages coming to an end. And the 4Ps seem to be conveniently ignoring that Jesus spoke out against divorce; yet said nothing about homosexuality.
I wish at the next press conference of a 4P, a journalist would ask "Do you believe in separation of church and state or do you believe our country's laws and policies should reflect Biblical doctrine?" And don't let them dance around giving a direct answer. Keep asking until the question is answered.
And in regard to questions, there is one I’d like to ask all of the 4Ps.
"What if you took all the time, money and efforts you put into preventing two people of the same gender from marrying and put that time, money and effort into something that really mattered?"
Don't they think God's heart breaks more over those atrocities than two people of the same gender wanting to marry?
If they would stop aggrandizing and just listen, maybe God is trying to tell them there are more important things to do then promote discrimination.
To use one of their Christian catchphrases, "What Would Jesus Do?"
Or, to paraphrase, "What Do You Think Jesus Would Really Care About?" Two men or two women committing their lives to one another or a child going to bed hungry tonight?
____________________________________________________
The list of names of their ilk could, unfortunately, go on ad nauseam.
But, the Christians I call friends are more of the opinion that Jesus would want them to love without judging; accepting all of God’s children in place of rejecting those deemed unacceptable. And, thankfully, it appears that a majority of Christian millennials (people aged 18 to 29) are in favor of gay marriage; with groups like Evangelicals for Marriage Equality speaking out.
Let’s turn the tables and talk about the Far Right, Christian, Conservative Agenda, because, boy, they sure do have one. And it’s time America starts to carefully scrutinize it because it is far more frightening than any version of a gay agenda they can dream up.
The general characterization of the gay agenda promulgated by the 4Ps (pundits, politicians, preachers and pastors) is gay people's “advocacy of cultural acceptance and normalization of non-heterosexual orientations and relationships [using] efforts to change government policies and laws on LGBT rights-related issues.”1
When stripped of all the calculated hyperbole of that typical definition the “gay agenda” is simply that gay people no longer want to be denied their basic human rights because of their sexual orientation. They are being discriminated against and that is wrong.
Gay people are not out to recruit heterosexuals into homosexuals.
They are not "targeting" children to make them gay.
The 4Ps do not have to approve of gay people or think they deserve marriage equality, but they do not have the right to choose who gets equal and fair treatment and who doesn’t.
The Far Right, Christian, Conservative Agenda
Its advocacy is that America is a Christian nation; built on Christian religious beliefs. And the Far Right, Christian, Conservative Agenda is using political efforts to change government policies and laws; wanting to base them on their Christian beliefs; negating spiritual beliefs different from theirs.
There is only one God in this agenda. Their God. The God they claim America was founded on. Any other god or gods; any other religious beliefs or any other religion is erroneous.
They do want to convert (recruit) the unconverted into converts (Christians).
They are targeting children to become Christians.2
They believe they are speaking on God’s behalf; as if they, alone, know what God’s will is for our country. And for you. As a favorite author of mine has written “You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”3
The 4Ps say gay marriages will bring an end to traditional marriages; ignoring that divorce is still the main cause of heterosexual marriages coming to an end. And the 4Ps seem to be conveniently ignoring that Jesus spoke out against divorce; yet said nothing about homosexuality.
I wish at the next press conference of a 4P, a journalist would ask "Do you believe in separation of church and state or do you believe our country's laws and policies should reflect Biblical doctrine?" And don't let them dance around giving a direct answer. Keep asking until the question is answered.
And in regard to questions, there is one I’d like to ask all of the 4Ps.
"What if you took all the time, money and efforts you put into preventing two people of the same gender from marrying and put that time, money and effort into something that really mattered?"
- Like feeding our hungry.
- Sheltering the homeless.
- Addressing domestic violence.
- Keeping our children safe from abuse and sexual predators.
- Speak out against sex trafficking.
Don't they think God's heart breaks more over those atrocities than two people of the same gender wanting to marry?
If they would stop aggrandizing and just listen, maybe God is trying to tell them there are more important things to do then promote discrimination.
To use one of their Christian catchphrases, "What Would Jesus Do?"
Or, to paraphrase, "What Do You Think Jesus Would Really Care About?" Two men or two women committing their lives to one another or a child going to bed hungry tonight?
____________________________________________________
1 Wikipedia
2 Let The Children Come; Child Evangelism Fellowship; Children’s Ministry Magazine; Relevant
Children's Ministry; Children's Ministry Online; et al.
3 Anne Lamott
2 Let The Children Come; Child Evangelism Fellowship; Children’s Ministry Magazine; Relevant
Children's Ministry; Children's Ministry Online; et al.
3 Anne Lamott