Wednesday, October 31, 2007

"CHRISTIAN" RHETORIC, ACTION, AND SILENCE ARE KILLING PEOPLE!

"'Whether their sexual preference is to be a homosexual or being gay, that's their problem,' Da' Priest says. 'I'm the street, I'm the street priest, and I have real good Christian values on what I believe in, and I am against homosexuality.'" [For the full article and audio, see here.]

I never heard of Dooney Da Priest, a songwriter! However, his above statement is crucial for every single decent person, and for everyone who considers him/herself to be a Christian, to read and understand.

Christianity has become defined in the minds of most people as being not only a judgmental religion, but the rhetoric, actions and/or silence and inaction on the part of all too many professing Christians and clergy has had the effect of equating being "Gay" with being "immoral" in the minds of others, including many, if not most, LGBT people.

The mantra that being Gay is equivalent to being immoral, and is against the will of God, has been spewed so often in and from most churches, and is believed by most clergy and church-goers within the institutional Church, that one can not only believe that lie, but one can feel free to hawk his/her "Christian" credentials by affirming his/her disdain for homosexuality; so many professing Christians can justify to others their homophobia by appealing to the fact that they are "Bible-believing Christians."

As you well know, I lay the lion's share of the blame for homophobia and its destructive consequences at the feet of the institutional Church! It has been responsible for untold suicides, bashings, and murders; it has been responsible for lives lived in quiet and not so quiet desperation; it has been responsible for fracturing families as well as fracturing human beings within their families.

As I've written:

"Make no mistake, every drop of blood shed by GLBT people either through suicide, bashing, or murder, are on the hands of all those religious leaders, their followers, and their allies who spew forth their ignorance, prejudice, and hate against GLBT people and their relationships! These wolves in sheep’s clothing take the Bible, God’s love letter to His children, and selectively and perversely use it as a club to condemn others, and deny GLBT people full inclusion in the Church and in society.

"The tradition-bound parts of the Church have so indoctrinated people, many of whom have never even set foot in a house of worship, that many people even disown their own children when they 'come out' and divulge their sexual orientation to those whom they thought unconditionally loved and cherished them. There are many children living on the streets because their own parents trusted ignorant clergy and their followers over their God-given duty and privilege to nurture and embrace their own children!

"The Church should concentrate on the real sins that deserve our attention and that cry out to God for redress, such as invading another country on false pretenses; the working poor who can't afford medical insurance; the Supreme Court ruling that people can't sue their insurance company in state court for denying needed medical services; many elderly people having to decide whether to buy food or medicine; the gigantic rip off perpetrated by drug companies, hospitals, and the medical establishment on sick and vulnerable people. Why not focus on and address issues such as these, instead of obsessing on who loves who and who sleeps with whom? Such obsession tells us much more about the pathetic and moribund state of much of the Church than it does about the reality of the lives of GLBT people."

[For the full article, see here]

To the degree that any professing Christian can keep silent in the face of the grinding oppression and destruction of others, it is to that degree that he/she had better examine his/her claim to being a "Christian!"
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7 comments:

DC HAMPTON JACOBS said...

When these thug rappers claim to have Christian values, I want to laugh out loud, and I would, if they weren't such a menace to society. With their dirty language and prurient imagery, rude manners, serial misogyny, virulent heterosexism, and penchant for glorifying greed, ignorance and violence, the name "Christ" should burn their tongues every time they say it! What brazen hypocrisy! What chutzpah these hoodlums have, trying to set themselves up as Christian role models! I bet most of them haven't set foot inside a church in years, much less engaged in serious Bible study. Yet they know enough to trash Gay people, which shows how little they do know about true Christianity. No doubt about it: Organized religion really has become the refuge of scoundrels!

Jerry Maneker said...

Thanks Don Charles! I couldn't have said it as well! They truly are thugs! And the cowards who keep silent in the face of their thuggery are every bit as culpable in the sin of oppression and exclusion of our Gay sisters and brothers!

Jerry Maneker said...

To Anonymous: I didn't publish your comment because it not only misses the whole point of this post, but it trivializes the pain of others.

Justice MH said...

@Jerry:I really enjoyed this post. I hope you don't mind me using it for others to read your commentary on dogma and bigotry from churches of today.

Thanks Again!

Jerry Maneker said...

Justice MH: Thanks for your comment. Of course you can. The more we can confront those who hurt others in the name of God the better!

Anonymous said...

I am disappointed by your article! I didn't feel that you proved your point from the bible or that you effectively used any point from the bible to support your belief. If you are going to comment or teach the bible it should always be supported by biblical passage. So in the interest of a biblical discussion where can you prove your point and put to silence traditional belief.
I hope you don't drop my legitimate question by saying I missed the point, because I feel it is a fair question.
B-

Jerry Maneker said...

Anonymous: It is a fair question, and to best answer it I urge you to read some of the links in the Links section where Christians write about this very issue. Regarding what I wrote, please read some of my articles in the Links section, particularly, "Why Every Church Must Be Open And Affirming," and "Some Talking Points on Christianity and Homosexuality."