IS GOPROUD MADE UP OF A BUNCH OF GAY MASOCHISTS?

The Gay conservative group, GOProud, invited Ann Coulter, who has been known to use the word "fag" and "faggot" to refer to some of those with whom she disagrees, to speak to them, and speak she did.  


Here is an excerpt from her speech:


Marriage "is not a civil right -- you're not black," Coulter told the crowd, building upon an argument that claimed the equal protections provided by the Fourteenth Amendment -- and potentially used to build a case for marriage equality -- were only applicable to black people.


[For the full article, see here.]


When does "conservatism" turn into masochism?  


It seems that Gay audiences who would invite Ann Coulter, let alone who may well have lapped up her vitriol, love to be reviled, and before this event GOProud even touted the hurt that they must have known would be inflicted on them, and is inflicted on all Gay people, as seen by their advertisement of the sold-out event entitled, Homocon 2010.


Just the label "Homocon 2010" should tell us a lot about the seeming masochistic mind-set of these limited human beings who are wittingly or unwittingly playing a role, not only in their own oppression, but in the oppression of other LGBT people!  


In this connection, I'd like to reprint an article I wrote on this subject on May 10, 2007 entitled, The Pathology of the Gay Conservative:

To "conserve" in the political sense, means to adhere to traditions of fiscal responsibility and seek to minimizie the government's intrusion or encroachment on individual rights!  If that is what we meant in today's U.S. by "conservative," that would be a perfectly understandable political position for a rational Gay person to take. However, the unfortunate reality is that what passes for "conservatism" today is diametrically opposed to those very traditional principles!  President Bush inherited an economic surplus and in just a few short years we have come to the point where we have the largest debt that this nation has ever seen.  We invaded a sovereign country based on lies and deceit, having 9/11 cynically used as a pretext to enter a war that I believe was planned before Bush even took office. Moreover, with the initiation of the Patriot Act, suspension of habeus corpus for those viewed as "enemy combatants," and a whole host of other encroachments on our civil liberties, this Administration is anything but "conservative," and has done a great deal to encroach upon our individual liberties, more than ably and willingly abetted by most of the mainstream media that has both uncritically accepted the sound bytes emanating from the self-serving White House, acting as mere stenographers of the political spin of the day, and airing hitherto unthinkable hateful rhetoric from assorted talk show hosts. However, one of the consequences of all of this relatively rapid change in our society is the demonization of LGBT people by the self-described "conservative" forces in this country, and the cowardly capitulation to those forces of the opposing, the Democratic, party that has to appeal to an electorate inundated with what is purported to be "conservative" ideas that are really pure naked hatred dressed in the drag of "conservatism."  So we even have political opponents adopting many of the "ideas" of those who garner votes and market share of audience by frequently hateful rhetoric and the playing of the politics of exclusion, and who feel the need to intrude on others' private lives, deny them dignity and full and equal civil rights, and frame our political sport as one where one can't tell the players without a scorecard and, unfortunately, when it comes to LGBT rights, the scorecard doesn't show either side in a very favorable light.  So, the reality becomes that every decent person who wants to partake of the political process in the U.S. has to support/choose the least of two evils, go into the voting booth, hold his/her nose, and vote! However, when a Gay person aligns him/herself with the political party that runs on a platform of writing an Amendment into the Constitution that would seek to prevent same-sex marriage, that largely demonizes LGBT people, that is quite comfortable with the fact that there are absolutely no federal civil rights protections for LGBT people, assiduously fights "hate crime" legislation (more accurately viewed as legislation against "terrorism," as I have written before), and where LGBT people are viewed as fodder for the purpose of garnering votes, it calls into question what manifestation of self-loathing or self-denigration would foster such an alliance and, even, an allegiance.

As I have previously written, "Being Gay need not be one's top priority, just as being straight is not to be one's top priority. However, when a Gay person aligns him/herself with a political party that has as its platform to prevent same-sex marriage, supports the fact that there are no federal civil rights protections for LGBT people, and is generally hostile to LGBT people, supporting that political party reeks of masochism in my book, and shows that person to be "ignorant and/or mendacious and/or traitorous'." I want to try to delve into the dynamics of Gay people aligning themselves with today's Republican party, a party that has fostered an anti-Gay agenda that is quite extraordinary from a number of perspectives, not the least being the fact that it regards itself as "conservative," all the while it seeks to limit the human freedom to legally relate to another whom one loves and to whom one seeks to make a lifetime commitment. Why would a Gay person seek to align him/herself with a politcal party and its allies that view same-sex marriage as an assault on "traditional family values," ruining "the sanctity of marriage" (posited by people many of whom have been married more than once or even twice), and who apparently feel no compunction about ridiculing Gay people? I've heard more than one such Republican Gay person say that, although they were Gay, that isn't all they were.  They were not one issue voters, and that their being Gay wasn't the major part of their lives or identities.  Fair enough!  However, let's consider another scenario. If I lived on welfare and food stamps, would it make any sense if I aligned myself with the Democratic Party, for example, if it had as its platform that it was going to do away with welfare and food stamps, and deny those who were on those programs its benefits?  Even though I might not consider my economic situation to be the most important "identity" I had, or the fact that I didn't consider myself to be a one issue voter, would it make any rational sense if I voted for the Democratic ticket if it largely ran on such a platform?  I doubt many would answer, "yes," to this rhetorical question. I really believe that the bombardment of anti-Gay messages throughout our lives in assorted venues, not the least of which is most of the organized Church, has taken hold on many LGBT people's lives and psyches and, even though many are "out," they still harbor a visceral self-loathing that manifests itself by many identifying with their oppressors.  This phenomenon is quite common in a variety of arenas, and it's called "the stockholm syndrome," where the oppressed become emotionally attached to their oppressors. Succumbing to this phenomenon doesn't denote any necessary intentional malice (although the subsequent consequence of that decision can provoke maliciousness) on the part of the victim.  It seems to me that it merely denotes that in order to maintain one's "ego integrity," and one's inner sense of "dignity,"  one feels that he/she must identify with his/her oppressors (though not consciously acknowledging them as such), so as to consciously reject the role of "victim" and embrace the role as being one of their comrades.  Indeed, in this case, "comrades in arms."  (This phenomenon is seemingly quite widespread, as  I remember reading a poll shortly after the last Presidential election that about 23% of LGBT people voted for President Bush who largely ran on the platform of placing an amendment into the Constitution preventing same-sex marriage.) Of course, Gay people, like many of the rest of the population, care about higher taxes (though it could be viewed as  irrational to support a political party that has virtually guaranteed higher taxes to pay for the profligate spending that has occurred in these past several years), limited government (though that, too, is irrational, if one is supporting a party that has grossly intruded on many of the bulwarks of our judicial system, such as habeus corpus, and wiretapping without judicial oversight or even prior approval), and would want to vote accordingly.  However, the reality of today's "conservatives," of today's Republican party, does not address these concerns, and it doesn't take a Democrat or an Independent to point out that fact. Basically, I believe that when one supports a political party that works against that person's very dignity, personhood, and right to pursue happiness that is the right of every human being to enjoy in the U.S., he/she is manifesting his/her conscious and/or unconscious self-loathing in a "Stockholm Syndrome" that not only affirms the party that largely institutionalizes that oppression, but devalues the dignity of the person succumbing to that syndrome and casts him or her as one who is "ignorant and/or mendacious and/or traitorous'."

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REV. EDDIE LONG'S SERMON ON 9/26/2010

Rev. Long said that he was not the man that the TV portrayed him to be, but he never denied during that sermon that he seduced young men; said that he couldn't comment any further on advice of his lawyers.

He portrayed himself as the victim, and never once expressed any compassion for the young men who alleged that he had same-sex relationships with them.  He neither straightforwardly affirmed nor denied those young men's allegations!

Long has deep pockets, as can be seen by his lavish lifestyle and estate, and he may well be counting on that fact to enable him to successfully fight the charges leveled against him.

He likened himself to being David against Goliath, and enjoyed much applause during his brief sermon; it seems to me that his congregation is solidly behind him at this point.

Here is Rev. Eddie Long's sermon addressing the sexual scandal in which he is currently embroiled, followed by assorted commentaries and other related news items:

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REV. EDDIE LONG TO STEP DOWN AMID ALLEGATIONS OF HOMOSEXUALITY

Please read this full article some excerpts of which follow:

In a 2007 report, the Southern Poverty Law Center described Long as "one of the most virulently homophobic black leaders in the religiously based anti-gay movement." The report quotes a Long sermon in which he targets lesbian behavior.

"It is the most unattractive thing I have ever seen, when I see women wearing uniforms that men would wear, and women fighting to get in the military!" Long shouted to his congregation then. "The woman gets perverted to turn towards woman … and everybody knows it's dangerous to enter an exit! And everybody knows, lady, if you go to the store and buy these devices [marital aids], it's Memorex! It ain't real!"

The audience, seated in a congested sanctuary, erupts in laughter. [And these haters profess to be Christians and do so with a straight face!] But what Long says next is no joke.

"God says you deserve death!"

Also read this article entitled, “Ministering Treachery”, The Truth Concerning Bishop Eddie Long’s Spiritual Wilderness that further fleshes out this issue.

Again, if these allegations are factual (and I personally believe that they are), the issue isn't his being closeted; it isn't the fact of his hypocrisy.

The issue is the evil perpetrated upon LGBT people by clergy and others who externalize their psychic pain and/or self-loathing and/or hate that resides in their hearts which causes untold damage to LGBT people, and these wolves in sheep's clothing have the temerity to spew their homophobic venom in the name of God.

Venomous homophobic rhetoric spewed in the name of God meets material and/or psychological and/or social needs that are antithetical to anything and everything that Jesus teaches those who are His disciples, and it's high time that all people of good will, Gay or not, understand this very important fact!

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THIRD ACCUSER OF REV. EDDIE LONG COMES FORWARD

UPDATE, 9/24/2010: FOURTH ACCUSER COMES FORWARD.

New pictures have surfaced of Bishop Eddie Long, prominent pastor of a 25,000-member megachurch outside Atlanta, as a third man has come forward accusing the anti-gay advocate of coercing him into sex.

CBS News' Erica Hill reports the pastor allegedly sent his accusers numerous photos of himself including at least several of him wearing spandex and workout clothes....

Long has called for a national ban on same-sex marriage and his church counsels gay members to become straight. In 2004, he led a march with Bernice King to her father's Atlanta grave to support a national constitutional amendment to protect marriage "between one man and one woman." He also has released several gospel albums, authored books on relationships and spirituality, and hosts a weekly television program.

Gillen said Long will speak directly about the allegations to his church congregation Sunday.

[For the full article, see here.]

Assuming these allegations are factually true, Rev. Eddie Long, a strident homophobe, must be confronted not with the fact that he is in the closet; not with the fact that he is a hypocrite, but with the fact that he spoke evil!

It's one thing to be in the closet and keep quiet about LGBT people. It's another thing to be stridently homophobic and seek to enshrine Gay people as second-class citizens in the U.S. Constitution, and Long was doing just that!

Who knows how many lives he's ruined and/or how many suicides, assaults, and murders of LGBT people have occurred because of strident religious homophobes, some or many of whom are closeted?

He should be confronted, not because he's in the closet or because he's a hypocrite! He must be strongly confronted because people like him express evil, and have the temerity to do so in the name of God.

Strident religious homophobes, closeted or not, have blood on their hands, and that fact must never be forgotten!

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FLEE TOXIC CHURCHES AND CLERGY

The following article entitled, Flee Toxic Churches and Clergy was published in the current issue of whosoever.org, and I think it contains a message that all people, LGBT and Straight, need to take to heart.

Whosoever is an excellent online magazine that is primarily geared to LGBT people and allies, and I strongly urge you to read many of its current and past articles.

By attending homophobic churches inhabited by clergy who preach the false gospel of genital placement rather than the only Gospel to be found in Christianity that is comprised of God's grace (unmerited favor) to us that we can only appropriate by trusting God over and above seen circumstances, LGBT people (and all decent people) are submitting themselves to indignities, to a false Christianity, and to humiliation that serves no other purposes than to lend credibility to those heretical clergy and their blind followers, and also exacerbates internalized homophobia within those LGBT people who attend those churches.

I truly believe that any LGBT person who attends a homophobic church, or any church that doesn't allow him/her full participation in the life of the church and the partaking of all of its sacramental rights, to be a masochist!

Why would you seek your "spiritual sustenance" from any church that views you as a second class citizen; views you as "disordered"; seeks to deprive you of equal civil and sacramental rights that heterosexuals enjoy and take for granted; is in the vanguard of discriminating against LGBT people to the point that many LGBT people commit suicide, are assaulted, and are even murdered; stridently lobbies for denying you and others equal civil rights?

And don't delude yourself by saying of a homophobic church that you attend, "It's my church too!" It's not you're church at all! You can't preach from the pulpit; you don't determine church dogma or doctrine; you can't excommunicate anyone! No! It's not your church too!

A true Church is made up of the ecclesia, the called out ones, those called out by God to be God's disciples! And being housed in a building whose clergy espouse legalism, perfectionism, prejudice, discrimination, and affirm through action and/or silence the denial of civil and sacramental rights to anyone does not make one a Christian any more than being in a garage makes one a car!

If you want to be truly emotionally and spiritually intact, and truly live out your authenticity and ministry ordained by God, flee those toxic churches and clergy as fast as your legs can carry you!

The following is my article entitled, Flee Toxic Churches and Clergy:

As I've often written, many clergy within the institutional Church preach and teach the false gospel of legalism, perfectionism, and exclusion and thereby do immeasurable harm to the emotional and spiritual lives of those who allow themselves to be exposed to that kind of toxic religion.

The only Gospel to be found in Christianity is the Gospel of grace (God's unmerited favor); faith (trusting God over and above seen circumstances); love; peace; reconciliation; inclusiveness. Any other gospel is a false gospel!

If you allow yourself to be subjected to preaching and/or teaching other than the Gospel of Christ (the "Good News" that all of our sins have been forgiven by the Sacrifice of Christ), flee those churches, or other such venues, as fast as your legs can carry you!

Moreover, if you take seriously the rhetoric of those who claim to speak for God and for the Bible, and who teach and preach a false gospel, you are not only being subjected to a warped version of Christianity that is really not "Christianity," but you are making decisions about your spiritual and emotional life that are based on lies and perversions of: the grace of God; the teachings, ministry, and Sacrifice of Jesus; the Bible; Christianity itself.

Unfortunately, those who pervert Scripture and the Gospel, those who deny the full and final Sacrifice that Jesus made to cover over all of our sins, are those who spit in the very face of God and seek to impose their false and perverted gospel onto others, falsely taking on the role of being possessors of moral authority; an authority that they do not deserve and which must be given no credibility.

Needless to say that these perverts have done enormous harm, and caused untold suffering, to so many of God's LGBT children!

I recently received an email from someone who wrote of his and his family's heartbreaking experiences in the church that they attend. He said that the pastor preached his reactionary political positions from the pulpit, and he felt depressed at the state of that church that he and his family have faithfully attended for many years.

I wrote him the following reply that I thought you might be interested in reading:

"Thank you for your heartfelt letter to me. You and I share exactly the same sentiments, save for the fact that you view the institutional Church as being equivalent to Christ's Church and I don't. I feel that most of the institutional Church has defamed the name of Christ and, in many cases, has spit in the very face of God through its proclamation of a false gospel of legalism, perfectionism, and exclusion.

"You say, 'My family and I have declared a fasting from TV.' I suggest that you declare a fast from that church you attend, as that pastor is most likely reflecting the ungodly and political sentiments of most of the congregation of that "church."

"He and most of the rest of that congregation are more likely to change you than you are likely to change them.

"Run from such a 'church' as fast as you can! If you can't find a church that is truly reflective of the Gospel of Jesus, then worship with other Christians in a home Bible study or, if that is impossible, it is far better for you and your family to stay home and study the Bible and worship together.

"What you describe is toxic religion, about which I've often written, and is terribly harmful to one's spiritual and emotional life. My very best wishes, Jerry."

You, too, have my very best wishes, and I strongly urge you to not be taken in by the smug, self-righteous teachers of a false gospel that puts unnecessary yokes of bondage on you.

Don't be fooled by the seeming urgency and sincerity of their message that they often profess with an air of oracular authority; a message for which many are quite handsomely rewarded materially and/or psychologically and/or socially and/or politically.

The Gospel of Christ is so simple that even a child can understand it: You have been saved, through the grace of God, from the wrath of a righteous and just God by the sacrifice of God's Son, and by having faith in Christ's teachings and Sacrifice for your redemption and for your eternal reconciliation with God.

That's the Gospel, and it is the Gospel for all of God's children, be they Gay, Straight, Bisexual, or Transgender!

You and I have been saved by the Sacrifice of Jesus; there is nothing we can do to win God's approval, as God already approves of us due to the Sacrifice of Jesus. All we have to do is to plug into God's grace by having faith in Jesus' Sacrifice that covers over all of our sins.

That is why the Gospel is called "Good News!" After all, if we have to obey all sorts of rules, regulations, doctrines, etc., what's the good news in that?

Communicating this message has been one of my major goals, and I just hope that this message gets through so that no one feels condemned by the ignorant and/or hateful homophobic rhetoric that emanates from the lips of all too many clergy and other professing "Christians" who erroneously claim to speak for God.

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CONFRONTING INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA

About two years ago, I wrote the following article that I think is very important if we are to succeed in the struggle for equality for LGBT civil rights. Before meaningful activism to achieve that goal can be undertaken, frivolous displays in Pride parades and in other contexts, and the use of hateful epithets by LGBT people as self-identifiers (eg, "queer," "fag," "dyke," etc.), must be rejected, for they wittingly and/or unwittingly denote abnormality, deviance, shame, and self-loathing; provide additional ammunition for strident homophobes to alienate potential Straight allies who are needed in this fight for equality; divert and subvert needed time and energy from meaningful and coordinated activism; serve as negative role models for future generations of LGBT people and our youth regarding the need to show dignity and engage in meaningful activism that demands full and equal civil and sacramental rights.

And, I must add, exuding, exacerbating, and capitalizing on internalized homophobia are those self-appointed "Gay activists" and their acolytes who confuse being "edgy" with "activism"; who take pride in touting the hateful stereotypes historically and contemporarily used to "justify" discrimination against LGBT people; who value fun and frivolity over and above meaningful activism; who confuse hedonism with being Gay; who show their lack of dignity by allowing their civil rights to be voted upon by the electorate; who delight in viewing themselves as sexual outlaws; who even seem to revel in their status as second-class citizens. Therefore, they are witting and/or unwitting traitors to the struggle for equal rights for LGBT people.

And the sooner these realities are recognized and confronted, the sooner full and equal civil and sacramental rights will become a reality!

My good friend, Don Charles, said it beautifully:

...Before we can effectively arm ourselves to fight organized religion, institutionalized heterosexism and transphobia, an intransigent political system, or whatever, we've got to secure our home front. By “home front”, I mean our self-concept, that place where our much-ballyhooed LGBT pride is supposed to be. There's no Achilles Heel more vulnerable in battle than the belief that your gender or sexuality is screwed up! If we're not prepared to slay the dragon within that preys on our self-esteem, we might as well forget about our Civil Rights and concede the equality struggle right now.

To me, this is the essence of true LGBT activism: unlocking the cages that imprison our minds and souls! Contrary to what you've been told, it ain't never been about pulling "face time" with politicians, getting Straight folks to support us at the ballot box, or courting the mainstream media. It's always been about uprooting our own entrenched shame, which is the most formidable oppressor we'll ever grapple with.

Here is my article entitled, Confronting Internalized Homophobia:

I know right out of the starting blocks that this article is going to offend a great many people, but I feel very strongly that many LGBT people are seriously sabotaging the cause for full and equal civil rights by referring to themselves by the use of historically and current hateful epithets, using such terms as "Queer," "Dyke," "Fag," and other such demeaning and hateful words that have been historically used by their oppressors, and are still being used by their oppressors. Also, the many behaviors and images that are viewed by most potential allies as offensive, and that become public presentations of self, help reinforce the fallacious stereotype that Gay people are sex-obsessed deviant and abnormal hedonists, and these public images are doing tremendous harm to the struggle for, and the cause of acquiring, full and equal civil rights.

I'm Jewish, and not only have I never considered myself a "Kike," or a "Yid," I would verbally assault anyone who would dare use those epithets in referring to me or to any other Jewish person. It's a matter of honor! It's a matter of dignity! It's a matter of having a healthy self-esteem. It's a matter of self-respect.

And there are some Gay people who use self-denigrating and historically offensive epithets as self-identifiers and who articulate them to the world, and by so doing not only show themselves to be lacking in these characteristics, but they are also unwitting victims of a variation of the Stockholm Syndrome where, in this case, one helps provide the very ammunition that one's abuser can and does use to help maintain the oppression of the individual. By so doing, these Gay people are actually knowingly or unknowingly facilitating and enhancing the rage of the homophobes, the oppressive abusers, many of whom would even kill them if they could get away with it. Indeed, some homophobes do assault and kill LGBT people, all the while using these hateful epithets!

The reason that virtually no one would even think of publicly using words like "Kike" and "Yid" is because they know that all Jewish (and all decent) people and organizations would come down on them like a ton of bricks. (Is it even conceivable that any university in the world would have a course, program, minor, or major entitled, "Kike Studies?" Yet it is very common for faculty and students in universities to routinely use and normalize the word "Queer" when titling courses, programs, minors, and majors dealing with Gay issues.)

However, when people use hateful epithets in reference to LGBT people, they not only know that nothing like that will happen, that there will be absolutely no negative or threatening repercussions awaiting them, but they also see there to be nothing wrong with using these hateful epithets, as many of the people about whom they are publicly talking seem to revel in, and frequently use, those words themselves.

So, for example, universities think they are doing Gay people a favor by using those epithets, such as by entitling courses, programs, minors, or majors "Queer Studies" (apparently not realizing, or perhaps even caring, that a meaning of "queer" means "abnormal.") and think that they are thereby being "progressive."

Jews usually don't have self-loathing; LGBT people all too often do have witting or unwitting self-loathing, and use those historically punishing words on themselves in the name of "liberation," ignorantly (or stupidly) thinking that they are appropriating and neutralizing those words, even when gay bashers use those very words when bashing their victims and, furthermore, they even perpetuate and encourage further use of those words among university students when titling those courses, programs, minors, or majors, and freely use those words within the curricula as they do in other public venues.

Like Jesus says: "Forgive them Lord, they know not what they do." At least on the conscious level!

Sanam Hakim wrote an excellent article entitled, "Words you can't reclaim," on the subject of the use hateful expletives regarding certain minority groups. She concludes her article by saying:

"Words like 'nigger' or 'redneck' or 'bitch' or 'fag' were never words that were originally 'good'. They are words that were created solely out of hatred and it is not our responsibility to add fine print and use them in a different context. It is not our responsibility to convince black people that they actually are 'niggaz,' but that it's a good thing; to convince white working class Americans that they are rednecks, but that it's a good thing; to convince women that they are bitches, but that it's a good thing; to convince homosexuals that they are fags, but that it's a good thing.

"It is our responsibility to make sure when Tim McGraw asks if there are any rednecks in the house, no one cheers. It's our responsibility to stare blankly if DMX asks 'where my niggaz at?' It is our responsibility to make sure our children know these words, the history of where they come from and to make sure they don't ever use them, even if they mean it in a nice way."

She gets it!

As I wrote in a February 21, 2008 article entitled, "On The Need To Grow Up":

"There is a point when one has to own his/her dignity, demand the respect due to any human being, demand full and equal civil and sacramental rights regardless of the negative messages and hostility that have been visited on that person in the past, or even in the present. And those goals will not be realized as long as the minority group accepts its inferior status, and revels in it by referring to its members by the very same terms used by the most virulent homophobes throughout history and in our midst.

"No self respecting person, Gay or Straight, stands for being treated as less than fully human; no self respecting person, Gay or Straight, uses negative self-identifiers that have been historically (and contemporarily) used by their oppressors. The slave mentality is blamed on others, but the fact is that it ultimately resides within each human being whether or not to accept that mentality."

I recently received an email from a good friend of mine who wrote me the following:

"I'm just thinking about some of the horrid monikers we've encountered on the 'Net: 'The Old Dyke.' 'The Angry Fag.' 'Queer Kid Of Color'. "Faggoty-Ass Faggot." Straight people see and hear these vulgar identifiers. What do they make of them? Do they feel they have permission to use them, too? What also occurs to me is that these names don't just speak to a shameful feeling about one's gender and/or sexuality; they speak to an obsession with it! … I've been called the 'b' word, the 'p' word, the 'f' word, and just about every dirty slur you can name. I could never in a million years get my mind around 'reclaiming' that kind of ignorance. Yet, I don't consider myself any different from any other Gay man who's grown up in a homophobic society. Why do I react differently?"

I then wrote him the following response, which I know seems harsh, but this issue is crucial enough to demand such harshness and confrontation if the goal of acquiring full and equal LGBT rights is to be realized, particularly when LGBT rights activists are trying to win the hearts and minds of potential allies, and when the future of civil rights for LGBT people, such as the most pressing and immediate issue of the future of same-sex marriage in California will be put to voters in California in November:

I responded to him with the following: "My answer to your question is that …you have integrity and dignity and refuse to be treated as a second-class citizen, and many of them revel in being second-class citizens; you aren't self-loathing; they are self-loathing; they love to vent by cursing the candle and loving the darkness; you want the light of full freedom, and outspokenly light that candle; they are apolitical; you see this as a political and religious struggle; they usually hate God and the things of God; you love God and the things of God; they love this world and the things of this world; you know that God wants liberation from yokes of bondage for all of His children; they frequently suffer from the Stockholm Syndrome; you definitely do not; you have a healthy self-esteem; they feel they deserve to be treated as 'outsiders'; you know you're 'normal'; they view themselves as 'deviants' and are proud of it. As I've said before, they are traitors and saboteurs to the cause of, and struggle for, full and equal civil rights, and you and I, and I'm sure many others, hate traitors and saboteurs to and of those things that anyone who is emotionally intact seeks for themselves and for others."

Regarding their being witting or unwitting traitors to, and saboteurs of, the struggle for full and equal civil rights, they have become mutual allies with the most reactionary homophobic forces in the religious and secular worlds. The religious right and other homophobic forces just love them, for they manifest their fear and self-loathing by engaging in rhetoric and behaviors that are wittingly or unwittingly designed to alienate potential allies in the fight for full and equal civil rights, and provide these homophobic leaders with their needed ammunition to shore up their base of homophobes, be they in the "religious" or political arenas.

All a James Dobson, a Ken Hutcherson, a Pete LaBarbera, a Pat Robertson, or any number of other religious homophobes have to do is exhibit one or more of countless images of blatant and public hedonism (fulfilling and reinforcing the ugly stereotype that Gay = Abnormal; Gay = hedonism; Gay = deviant; Gay = immorality; Gay = perverted, etc.) to show those who might be on the fence regarding the acquisition of full and equal civil and sacramental rights for LGBT people that their hateful rhetoric has been correct after all. One cannot present public images that are patently and frequently deliberately offensive and even threatening to potential allies and then expect them to embrace and support full and equal civil rights for LGBT people who are all too often solely identified with those images!

In essence, the professional homophobes, many of whom make a veritable career out of homophobia, can then say to our potential allies, while showing them such images, "See, I told you what homosexuals are like. I told you how destructive they are to the very fabric of society and to civilization as we know it. I told you that they are not fit to be around children. They even want, and sometimes even have, the right to adopt and raise children. They seek to destroy Christianity and our Judeo-Christian way of life and will succeed unless we fight against this evil. And they even want their perverted lifestyle sanctified by law by insisting that they be allowed to marry one another. Before you know it, these people will want to marry their own children. Would you put anything past them after looking at these pictures that represent only a fraction of what they do and what they are?"

And we are to make no mistake: that's exactly what religious homophobes do, and continue to do, by proudly presenting blatant exhibitions of hedonism by some Gay people, further exacerbated by the use of pejorative epithets as self-identifiers by many Gay people that merely reinforce the hateful stereotypes and hateful rhetoric of the homophobes in "justifying" to as many as will listen the evidence as to the "deviance," the "otherness," the "abnormality" of LGBT people.

These epithets and images thereby confirm and reinforce the hateful rhetoric that is spewed by powerful religious homophobes in all sorts of venues, from the pulpit to the media, and serves no better purpose than to provide these religious homophobes with further ammunition that they need and use to sway potential allies away from our cause for equal rights.

Hence, the use of these epithets and the projection of these images that are viewed as offensive (many of which are seemingly designed to be offensive) by most people who conceivably make up our pool of potential allies, makes the purveyors of those epithets and images collaborators with the religious reactionary homophobes; making them partners in the goal of preventing the acquisition of full and equal civil and sacramental rights for LGBT people and their families.

Of course, confirmed homophobes will not be persuaded to become affirming of LGBT people no matter what we do or what we say! However, our concern must be winning over potential allies, those who might be on the fence and confused about this whole issue of LGBT rights. And the rhetoric and images used and projected for public consumption by self-loathing traitors are sabotaging that goal, by their being witting or unwitting allies with those very influential homophobes, by helping to do the homophobes' work for them.

By portraying Gay people as Godless, hedonistic, sexually obsessed individuals who revel in being "abnormal," and who pridefully display depictions that seem designed to offend all decent and religious people, virtually guarantees that those who engage in these practices are the allies of the avowed enemies of LGBT rights who stupidly feel free to vilify and even ridicule and make jokes about LGBT people, knowing that they will be greeted with hearty applause and laughter by their audiences, be they homophobic or potential allies.

Regarding the dynamics of those who manifest self-loathing and the unwillingness or the inability to directly confront the enemies of full civil rights and civil liberties, I absolutely think that seeing themselves as being forever "outsiders" and who revel in that outsider status by manifesting counter-productive and even risk-taking behaviors gives them a sense of security! It enables them to avoid confronting the horrifying fact that they are viewed by the oppressor as inferior, and in order to anesthetize themselves from that reality, they find a seemingly "legitimate" reason to bond with other like-minded people in a subculture that they wish to make a counterculture so as to both affirm themselves (which is understandable) but also insulate themselves from the insults and, at least at this point in their lives, they don't have the ego strength or the will to directly confront their oppressor in a politically meaningful and constructive way.

Hence, not only the use of denigrating epithets about themselves and their very identities, and their often egregious public displays that are bound to offend potential allies, but their rage at anyone who would dare suggest that by so doing they are helping to destroy themselves and their right to be treated with dignity and respect by those oppressors; telling them that by so doing they are witting or unwitting allies of those oppressors.

Because that would mean coming out of their cocoon, confronting a very harsh and even frightening reality, and having to confront both their own homophobia as well as the homophobia that would be visited upon them in direct proportion to their public and consistent demands that they be treated with full respect and as fully equal to their oppressor, and demand the acquisition of the very same rights that their oppressor enjoys.

That takes guts, and ego strength, and too many feel themselves to be too vulnerable, too wounded, to engage in the necessary fight for full and equal civil rights. Hence, to not confront that reality, and to not admit that they are too cowardly to fight the necessary battles for full and equal rights, they create a world where they demean themselves and create the rationalization for that demeaning of themselves by stating that they are doing so to merely appropriate, reclaim (Although those hateful words have never been renounced by the oppressor in the first place.), and neutralize those hateful words, and thereby claim that they are "liberated."

It's a profound tragedy, no matter how we look at it.

But it's a tragedy that must be confronted, overcome, and renounced so that positive, coordinated grassroots activism can occur, in conjunction with the increased assertiveness needed by major LGBT rights organizations, so that increasing numbers of potential allies can be recruited in the fight for equal rights; other LGBT people can become emboldened to demand that they be treated with dignity and demand nothing less than full and equal civil rights that are enjoyed by every other citizen; political savvy and activism be substituted for the counterproductive use of hateful epithets and the assorted public displays of images that denote and communicate a patently offensive public persona virtually designed to drive away allies and thereby sabotage the movement for full and equal civil rights.

As I've written before, such grassroots activism on the part of LGBT people and allies would take the form of "picketing homophobic churches (and there are plenty to choose from!), writing letters to the editors of their local newspapers, having groups of Gay couples who seek to marry continuously demand the same marriage rights as their heterosexual counterparts, speaking out to neighbors and friends, boycotting businesses that in any way discriminate against Gay people, and other such modes of activism to aid and abet the cause of acquiring full and equal civil rights!"

Only then will the homophobic oppressor be forced back under the rock from which he or she came, and the acquisition of full and equal civil and sacramental rights will become a reality!

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AN OPEN LETTER TO POTENTIAL STRAIGHT ALLIES OF LGBT PEOPLE

Last year, I wrote the following article that I'd like to reprint here:

There are to be no second-class citizens in the United States! We established a long time ago that "separate is not equal," and all American citizens are entitled to enjoy equality under the law. Any society that presumes to refer to itself as "decent" and "civilized" must not in any way discriminate against any group of people through its laws or their enforcement.

We should have learned this painful lesson during the struggle for African American civil rights, and we must now apply that lesson in this struggle for full and equal civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (hitherto referred to as LGBT) people. LGBT people are entitled to the same rights and privileges that accrue to all other citizens of the United States

Gay people are certainly entitled to full and equal civil rights, including the right to marry! The lies and other nonsense purveyed by many self-proclaimed arbiters of "morality," often cloaked in the guise of religion, that same-sex marriage destroys "the sanctity of marriage" is ludicrous on its face!

I have been married to my wife for 47 years, and I can't see how same-sex marriage will in any way negatively impact my marriage or in any way destroy the sanctity of my marriage! No rational person can believe that same-sex marriage in any way compromises the institution of marriage, an institution that has taken many forms in our history.

As a Christian, I am profoundly embarrassed and outraged by those professing Christians who are in the vanguard of discrimination against LGBT people; who spew hateful rhetoric, borne out of their ignorance and/or their hatred and/or their avariciousness, that is diametrically opposed to anything Jesus said, lived, or taught to all who would claim to be His disciples! Indeed, Jesus saved His harshest words for those who claimed to be "godly" and yet sought to put yokes of bondage onto others!

Christians love other people, and the only Gospel to be found in Christianity is comprised of: grace (God's unmerited favor to us), faith (trusting God over and above seen circumstances), love, peace, reconciliation, and inclusiveness. There is no other Gospel!

Jesus makes it abundantly clear that we are to love and not judge or condemn others! Any professing Christian who thinks that he/she is representing Jesus by doing the very opposite of what Jesus told us to do is not only seriously misled, but is woefully misleading the public, many of whom are gullible enough to take the purveyors of the false gospel of legalism and perfectionism seriously.

Moreover, we are under the Constitution of the United States and we are not a Theocracy! Since when are we to take a group of people's understanding of the Bible, an "understanding" far more informed by their preconceived prejudices than it is by anything else, and enshrine those prejudices into our laws of the land; impose those prejudices onto a minority group that all too many professing Christians and others view as being relatively "safe" to persecute?

The discrimination against LGBT people in the names of "Christianity," "morality," "tradition," "the well being of our children," and any other specious reasons given for this oppression has many of us saying: "Enough is enough!" We're not going to take it anymore!

For those of us who are Christians, we are sick and tired of having those who would hate and/or discriminate against others presume to speak for us! For those of us who are heterosexual, we are sick and tired of watching our LGBT sisters and brothers be oppressed! For those of us who are LGBT, we are sick and tired of being viewed and treated as second-class citizens, denied marital and other rights and benefits that heterosexual tax paying citizens are given and take for granted.

In sum, LGBT rights activists demand full and equal civil rights that every other citizen of the United States possesses, and we won't rest or stop until that goal is achieved!

In this connection, you might also be interested in reading the following article that I wrote ten years ago that is entitled, A MESSAGE OF GRACE TO A ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST.

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SISTER PAULA'S SERMON ON THE SINS OF SODOM

As you probably know, I'm a great fan of Sister Paula whose messages never fail to inspire. This message of hers entitled, "The Sins of Sodom," seemingly largely referenced from the eminently scholarly book entitled, Gay Christian 101 by Rick Brentlinger, is excellent, as it shows the lies propounded by many homophobic clergy and professing Christians that are falsely, ignorantly and/or mendaciously used by them to seek to justify their prejudices against LGBT people.

Homophobic professing Christians create God in their own dysfunctional image, and we must never forget this truth!

Moreover, I strongly urge you to own Rick Brentlinger's book that is both scholarly, comprehensive, and eminently readable, as it will finally lay to rest any doubts you may have regarding fallacious Christian objections to homosexuality and to LGBT people!

PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK TO BE BOTH BLESSED AND EDUCATED BY SISTER PAULA REGARDING THE FACT THAT THE SINS OF SODOM, THAT ARE OFTEN USED BY PROFESSING HOMOPHOBIC CHRISTIANS, HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH HOMOSEXUALITY OR LGBT PEOPLE.

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BEING GAY IS A GIFT FROM GOD

Several years ago, I wrote the following article that is slightly edited for reprinting here:

Gay-affirming congregations understand the Gospel of inclusiveness that puts all of us in the same tent for worship and ministry.

To be able to love another person is a gift from God! As human beings we have the capacity to love another person, putting that other personís feelings and interests ahead of our own. This is agapao in the Greek and is the word Jesus uses when He commands His disciples to love others.

Yet, in addition to agapao, there is also eros and phileo. Eros is love based upon pleasure and phileo is love based upon reciprocity of feelings and actions. In other words, phileo occurs when one loves the other if that love is reciprocated and doesnít love the other when that love is not reciprocated. Most of the world operates on eros and phileo! Christians are called upon to exercise agapao!

However, in our intimate relations, eros is also very important! It is the bonding of two souls and bodies in love that is faithful and enduring. The Gay couple well understands this bonding!

Troy Perry was a Pentecostal-Baptist minister at a very young age. He knew he was gay and tried to smother his feelings. He even attempted suicide! Fortunately, he was found after slashing his wrists, taken to a hospital and survived. He then realized that God doesnít create someone whom He can sit around and hate. God created Troy Perry, just like He created all of His gay and lesbian children! Troy Perry went on to start the Metropolitan Community Churches which particularly ministers to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities. They are world wide and have an Internet site.

The Bible doesnít condemn same-sex love! In a previous article I wrote in the "Sacramento Valley Mirror" in which I have a weekly column entitled, "Christianity and Society," I elucidated the passages traditionally used to condemn Gay people and showed that they dealt in a context of the need to propagate, with idolatry and exploitation, as well as with acts against nature where heterosexuals engage in homosexual acts undoubtedly to various pagan deities. Nowhere in the Bible is same-sex committed love condemned!

The last bastion of the civil rights movement is the stigma and exclusion of Gay people from our churches and from our secular society. Yet, they can be seen to be a gift to us from God in that, despite their terrible persecution, many remain steadfast in their loving relationships. Despite all of the barriers set up by Christians and non-Christians alike, many remain in committed relationships.

Being constitutionally Gay is not a disorder any more than having brown eyes is a disorder! Most Gay people have been born that way and like the old Sunday School saying goes, "God doesn't create junk!"

If you're Gay, you have been blessed by God in that you are capable of loving another human being. The most dangerous people in the world are those who either have nothing to lose or who are incapable of loving others. There is no reason not to assume that God blesses the monogamous Gay couple every bit as much as He blesses the heterosexually married couple!

As Jesus said to the Scribes and Pharisees, we make void the Word of God by our traditions (Matthew 15:3,6,9) Mere fallible human beings interpreted the Bible to condemn same-sex unions! Mere human beings call being Gay an "affliction" and Gay sex as "intrinsically evil."

Many Gay people walk around with guilt and shame because they think that they are condemned before God and their fellow man. Read the Bible with new eyes, taking account of the most recent biblical scholarship (See, for example, The New Oxford Annotated Bible), and see for yourself that God created you just as you are and He affirms and loves you just as you are. God shows far more grace than do mere human beings!

If you're Gay, you have been given the gift of the capacity to love by God, your creator. Don't take that gift lightly and don't deny it as a gift from God.

You have the capacity to love another human being, and nothing is more sacred or godly than that.

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CHRISTIANITY AND LGBT PEOPLE: A TEACHING SUMMARY

The following is an article I wrote a few years ago that I would like to reprint here:

Recently, I was asked to give an interview on a public listener sponsored radio station that largely has as its audience rather politically progressive people, most of whom can be expected to have an understandable disdain for anything "Christian."

Given the fact that most of the organized Church has been so enmeshed with the interests of the State, tenaciously adhering to the status quo, and has embarrassingly been in the vanguard of historically providing "justification" for the oppression of all sorts of minority groups, such as women and, in the not too distant past, Afro-Americans, I very much welcomed this invitation, and sought to show how Christianity has been perverted by its all too frequent identification with Americanism, militarism, and capitalism; how there was absolutely nothing in the Bible that condemns same-sex love and, in fact, the Bible actually affirms same-sex love. I clearly wanted to dispel the false notion held by many that Christians are a bunch of harsh, censorious, judgmental people, and sought to credibly present the Gospel, both in and of itself, as well as present it in the context of the lives of LGBT people and same-sex love.

I made the distinction, first suggested to me by my friend Bishop Leland Somers, between the Christian Church and the Constantinian Church, the latter initiated when Constantine, in the fourth Century, made Christianity a State religion. We have yet to recover from that debacle.

The Christian Church extols the only Gospel to be found in Christianity: the Gospel of grace, and those who are Christians indeed seek to be agents of God's grace in this world to try to make the earth, in the words of St. Augustine, "a colony of heaven." The Constantinian Church, on the other hand, has historically aligned itself with Empire and the oppression of others for assorted psychological and/or social and/or political and/or material gain.

The Christian Church, comprised of the world wide body of believers who seek to live out the Gospel, should have no affinity with the Constantinian Church; to the degree that Christians who belong to Christ find themselves within its clutches, I strongly urge that they flee those churches and/or denominations, and either find a Christian church that reinforces our need and Godly mandate to live out the only Gospel to be found in Christianity: the Gospel of grace (God's unmerited favor to us), faith (trusting God over and above seen circumstances), love, peace, reconciliation, and inclusiveness or, absent that option, form their own worship communities, or even, if necessary, worship God alone "in spirit and in truth," thereby avoiding the toxic, soul-destroying, churches that have aligned themselves with Empire and oppression that are diametrically opposed to Jesus' Commandments for us to love God and to love others, including our enemies, as much as we love ourselves.

The following, although not a literal rendering of my responses to the questions asked of me, which followed a conversational style, reflect what I said on that program, and I thought you might find them of interest, and might want to adopt some or all of them in your interaction with others who feel that God can't possibly love LGBT people, and who have a distorted view of Christianity, tragically given how it has been portrayed in the mainstream media, and how much, if not most, of the organized Church has been "infiltrated" by the influence of those who really belong, and are best consigned, to the Constantinian Church.

How do you define Christianity?

The Gospel means: Good News! The good news is that we are God's children by God's grace alone (unmerited favor) and we appropriate that grace through our abiding faith (implacable trust) in God (i.e. trusting God over and above seen circumstances), love, peace, reconciliation, and inclusiveness! That's the only Gospel to be found in Christianity.

Unfortunately, we are primarily exposed to the false gospel of legalism, perfectionism, and exclusion, a false gospel that is diametrically opposed to the good news, to Christianity itself. Far too many propound the gospel of genital placement, rather than the Gospel of Christ; ignore such egregious sins as unjust war, poverty, and disease.

That's undoubtedly why so many intelligent, sensitive, and decent people want nothing to do with Christianity, and even resent it (and who can blame them?), because so many have never been exposed to it, either by word or by deed, and relate it to a harsh, censorious religion which is diametrically opposed to what Christianity really is. In Christianity, all of the Commandments are fulfilled by loving God and by loving others! These are the only Commandments Jesus gives us! We are to never judge or condemn others! (Mt. 7:1; Romans 2:1)

What are some of the basic Bible quotes you've heard used by religious leaders to demonize LGBT people?

First of all, a tribal society, living on the edge, and surrounded by enemies must be "fruitful and multiply" if it is going to survive! Therefore, under those conditions, there is no premium placed on homosexual activity! However, we are no longer a tribal society living on the edge; it's inappropriate to blindly translate the cultural practices of ancient societies to contemporary society as to do so cheapens the Bible; is intellectually and spiritually dishonest; the Bible never makes such a claim for itself. Biblical principle of freedom from yokes of bondage must always trump biblical practice!

Gen. 19-The Sin of Sodom: It has absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality. It has to do with attempted gang rape! One would have to assume that all the men of Sodom were gay, which is foolish on its face; if the 2 angels that visited Lot had been women, I doubt that the homophobic religious leaders would be condemning heterosexuality. Whenever Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned in the Bible, homosexuality is never mentioned as its sin. Inhospitality and not taking care of the poor were its major sins! In Jude, in the NT, in referring to Sodom and Gomorrah, "giving themselves over to fornication" and going after "strange flesh" are mentioned, but "strange flesh" probably meant the men seeking to gang rape angels and not human beings.

Lev. 18:22-"Thou shalt not lie with a man as with a woman. It is an abomination." If homosexuality were being condemned here, beyond the fact that women would have also likely been included in the prohibition, all that the writer would have had to write is, "Thou shalt not lie with a man. It's an abomination." Everyone knows what "to lie with" means, and they certainly knew its meaning.

To add, "as with a woman," only makes sense if we understand the inferior status of women in that society, so that it was viewed as shameful, an abomination, for a man to act like a woman. Also, these laws in Leviticus are part of the purity laws in the OT that don't apply to Christians. If we really want to follow the OT law, we couldn't play football, as we couldn't touch the skin of a dead pig; we couldn't wear mixed fibers in our clothes; we couldn't be near a menstruating woman; we couldn't eat shell fish; we would stone adulterers to death; we would stone to death those who work on the Sabbath etc. I don't hear homophobic religious leaders seeking to impose these laws on others! At least, not yet!

Romans 1:27-32--- But they never read Romans 2:1 that provides the context for the above passages. Also, in Rom. 1:26-27, "against nature" (para physin in the Greek) is also used when God brought the Gentiles into the fold (Romans 11:21-24). This term is probably best translated as "unexpected," or "something not done in the usual way."

Also, you'll notice that the men and women spoken of here "gave up" the natural use of the member of the opposite sex. They "gave up" what was natural for them and then engaged in sexual behavior that was unnatural for them. Paul is not talking here of homosexuals, but of heterosexuals who gave it up and acted in ways that were not natural to them so as to worship pagan deities, after they had first turned their backs on God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-'Malakoi" is frequently mistranslated "effeminate," as it means "soft," and is used elsewhere in the Bible (in Luke) to denote soft clothing. In this context it probably means "people with soft morals" or "people who lack courage." There is no warrant to translate it as effeminate.

It's important in this context to point out that the word, "homosexual," never appears in any biblical manuscript, as it is a term coined in the late 19th Century. The first time it appeared in an English translation of the Bible was in the 1946 RSV. It is translated from the Greek word, "arsenokoitai," which is an obscure word that does not seem to be found in other Ancient literature, and that seems to only have been used by the Apostle Paul. It literally means, "male beds."

In the context Paul uses that term it seems to be where male cult prostitution is practiced-e.g. heterosexual and homosexual sex in homage to assorted pagan deities, such as those related to fertility, to have the crops grow. Paul undoubtedly wrote the Book of Romans from Corinth where there were many pagan religions, such as the fertility cult of Aphrodite, where such pagan deities were worshipped in this fashion, so it's most likely that it is to that practice that he's referring, and is not in any way condemning same-sex love, or even dealing with sexual orientation.

Nowhere is same-sex love condemned in the Bible! In fact, it is affirmed, most notably in the case of King David (called "a man after God's own heart") and Jonathan. Even a cursory reading of their relationship in 1Samuel shows David to have been either bisexual or a gay man!

Moreover, if homosexuality was so important, why is it not mentioned in the Ten Commandments; why did the prophets never write about it; why didn't Jesus ever condemn it? If it were that important, don't you think that it would have been mentioned in at least one of these contexts?

Why are most organized Christian church members not accepting LGBT people at their services, while other organized Christian church members are leaving when their church does accept LGBT people?

Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda minister said something that is, unfortunately, all too true. He said that no matter how big the lie, if it's repeated often enough, people will come to believe it!

Most professing Christians, and others, have been sold a bill of goods by most clergy and their followers in most of the organized Church. The lie that same-sex love is condemned by God because it's in the Bible has been repeated so often, that it has become a virtual axiom that has erroneously come to determine in the minds of many one's standing with God, and has also come to be defined as "immoral," and people have come to believe that lie.

All too many clergy use their pulpits to distort the Bible to be in accord with their own prejudices, and neither they nor their followers seem to see any contradiction between their demonizing Gay people, and presenting and living the Gospel of Jesus, which is diametrically opposed to their hateful and discriminatory rhetoric and/or actions.

Moreover, many fail to realize that even if the Bible condemned LGBT people and same-sex love, which it most definitely does not, civil society in America lives under the U.S. Constitution and not the Bible! Since when do we let others' interpretation of selected biblical passages determine what civil rights accrue to others? There is absolutely no justification for denial of full and equal civil rights, including the right to be civilly (and sacramentally) married, to LGBT people, either constitutionally or even biblically!

In addition, black and white thinking, having an "us against them" mentality, gives many people certain psychological, social, and material benefits. Creating out-groups helps bring members of the in-group together; it gives many people who are uncomfortable with ambiguity and the many grey areas of life "the illusion of certainty" in life; homophobic rhetoric is likely to make members of the in-group feel morally superior at others' expense; such rhetoric may well garner more money in the collection plates. (I would really love to know how much money is garnered each time a mailer is sent out by religious homophobic leaders to their constituents soliciting contributions to "fight against the homosexual agenda." I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's in the millions of dollars.)

Since it's no longer politically correct or socially acceptable to any longer publicly discriminate against women, or Afro-Americans as occurred by many clergy and other professing Christians in the not too distant past, LGBT people have become the enemy de jour, and are blamed by certain professing Christians for everything from "the breakdown of the family" to Hurricane Katrina.

It's very important for professing Christians and all others to realize that just because one attends church, or just because one is called "Reverend," and has his or her collar turned around, doesn't necessarily make that person a Christian! Just because I go into a garage doesn't make me a car!

I truly hope that some or all of these points, although perhaps familiar to many of us, can be of use to you as you witness to others the truth of the Christian life as it relates to the living out of the Gospel, and as it relates to the fact that God makes LGBT people whom, like His other children, He chose before the worlds were formed (Ephesians 1:4-5) to be His own possession, and whom He loves like crazy!

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CHURCHES MUST FORFEIT TAX-EXEMPT STATUS

I firmly believe that no church or religious institution, homophobic or not, should enjoy tax-exempt status for a variety of reasons; I see no reason why civil society should directly or indirectly financially support the practices of religion and worship. If churches truly had faith in God to provide for their needs, tax-exemption would be neither necessary nor desired!

Regarding homophobic clergy and churches, by enjoying tax-exempt status, the public is helping to support hateful and exclusionary rhetoric and discrimination, and affirming the second-class status of LGBT people that often results in the sufferings, suicides, assaults, and even murders of LGBT people.

About six months ago, I wrote a post entitled, Churches Must Forfeit Tax-Exempt Status that I want to reprint here:

As I’ve often contended, there are two venues in which civil and sacramental rights for LGBT people must be fought: the courts, and homophobic churches the influence of which cannot be underestimated. In the latter venue, peaceful and continual picketing during services of selected homophobic churches in each city or jurisdiction, showing how their false gospel of exclusion is antithetical to the Gospel of grace, faith, peace, reconciliation, and inclusiveness, should be undertaken.

When you hit, or threaten to hit, discriminatory institutions in the pocketbook, we might reasonably expect them to tone down their hateful rhetoric and discriminatory actions; withholding funds, such as removing churches’ tax-exempt status, can be a major way of gutting the homophobic rhetoric and actions that exists in many, if not most, denominations and churches, because those churches would then lack sufficient funds to bankroll the prevention of equal civil rights as has hitherto existed. For the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to give just two examples, to enjoy tax exempt status is, in my opinion, a profound injustice!

I am a Christian who is quite theologically conservative, and not only don’t I see any warrant to prevent same-sex marriage, or justify any type of homophobia, in the Bible, I am also adamant about the need for the separation of Church and State.

Currently, the Church and the State have become so enmeshed with each other that most “conservative” churches extol as virtues Americanism, patriotism, militarism, and capitalism. Indeed, most of the institutional Church is a handmaiden of the State, and often parrots the ideology of the power elite in secular society, and does so by calling it “biblical.”

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth! If anything, the Bible, particularly in the New Testament, subscribes to anything but capitalism, as can be easily seen when reading Acts 2:44-45; Acts 4:32-37.

In any case, it’s a profound tragedy that it’s quite likely that if you ask the average person to say the first word that comes to his/her mind when the word “Christian” is said, “Love” is not likely to be that word! We’re far more likely to hear words such as “sin” and “discrimination,” thanks to the perversion of the Gospel of grace (the only Gospel to be found in Christianity) that exists in most of the institutional Church.
It is crucial that discrimination, be it in the religious or secular arena, be taken to the judiciary, and not pathetically taken to the public to win their votes on this or any civil rights matter! And, we must do our best to remove public funding of church and para-church organizations.

After all, if clergy within denominations and churches really have faith in God to provide for their needs, they don’t need tax-exemption to help fund their operation!

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RELIGIOUS HOMOPHOBIA AND MARRIAGE RIGHTS IN MEXICO CITY

As I wrote a long time ago, almost always, whenever I've contended with professing "Christian" homophobes, once each of their points seeking to justify discrimination against LGBT people was successfully refuted, and they had no further rationalizations for their homophobia to present, their gloves came off and their vitriol was anything but "Christian."

Notice Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez' hatred in the cited article when he calls Gay men "faggots!" And there are professing "Christians," clergy, and even someone like him who was elevated to the rank of Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church, who seem to feel no compunction against using such hateful epithets and in advocating discrimination against Gay people; in this Cardinal's case, even going so far as to assert bribery as contributing to the Court's righteous decision.

Whether it's in Mexico City, California, most of the United States, many parts of Africa, or anywhere else in the world where LGBT people are demonized, discriminated against, viewed as second-class citizens, and even imprisoned and executed, it must be asked why so many professing Christians and clergy are not loudly speaking out against the bearing of false witness and downright discrimination against Gay people done "in the name of God" or for any other reason.

How is it possible for anyone who calls him/herself a disciple of Christ, a disciple of the One Who commanded us to love and not judge others, to call him/herself a "Christian" and yet affirm prejudice and discrimination that leads to the untold suffering of countless LGBT people?

The fact is that there are thugs who call themselves Christians, and are given tacit, if not explicit, permission to manifest that thuggery by all too many denominations and congregations, all the while falsely appealing to the Bible and to God to justify their hateful prejudices.

Indeed, what has gone a long way in having many intelligent, decent, and sensitive people not even consider Christianity as a viable way in which to navigate their lives, have been the thugs, as well as the silent, cowardly, people within most of the institutional Church, who have been in the vanguard of denigrating LGBT people by seeking to deprive them of the dignity and civil rights that heterosexuals enjoy both within the institutional Church as well as in civil society.

And it has been the thugs who profess to be "Christians" who have the temerity to seek to impose their own prejudices and flawed biblical interpretations upon civil society, and who rail against those who demand equal rights for all of God's children!

It must be hammered home in any and every venue possible that no disciple of Christ can explicitly or tacitly countenance discrimination against LGBT people for to do so disqualifies them from calling themselves "Christians!"

In this connection, the following is an excerpt from an article that appeared yesterday regarding same-sex marriage rights in Mexico City, an article that I hope you read in its entirety:

Reporting from Mexico City — Gays in Mexico's capital today can marry and adopt children, broad rights that go beyond anything offered in much of the world and enshrined now by a remarkable series of rulings by the nation's Supreme Court....

As gay marriage languishes in California, the state's law in limbo, the Mexican Supreme Court voted overwhelmingly this month to uphold the capital's same-sex marriage statute as constitutional; to require such unions to be recognized across the nation; and to permit gay and lesbian couples to adopt children.

The court hewed to Mexico's strict separation of church and state and said the constitution did not indicate that marriage had to be defined as the union of a man and woman. To deny gay couples the right to adopt, the court said, would amount to discrimination....

The fiercest resistance to same-sex marriage has come from the influential Catholic Church.

Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez, archbishop of Guadalajara and one of the most senior prelates in the nation, in recent days made especially harsh comments widely seen here as offensive. His statement set off a firestorm in a country where, by law, the church is not supposed to get involved in politics.

Calling same-sex unions an "aberration," he said, "Would you want to be adopted by a pair of faggots or lesbians?"

He went on to accuse Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, of bribing the justices to force them to go along with gay marriage.

[For the full article, see here.]

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THE LACK OF STANDING TO APPEAL THE OVERTURNING OF PROP. 8

UPDATE, 8/18/2010

Enter tiny Imperial County, the state's poorest, where voters overwhelmingly supported Proposition 8 and where officials say they will be harmed if same-sex marriages resume. Because the county issues marriage licenses, county officials say, it has standing other Proposition 8 proponents might lack.

The county tried unsuccessfully to intervene in district court, but is still trying. It is joining Proposition 8's main proponents in appealing Walker's ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

UPDATE, 8/17/2010.

Gay couples who had been gearing up to get married in California this week had to put their wedding plans on hold once again after a federal appeals court said it first wanted to consider the constitutionality of the state's same-sex marriage ban.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals imposed an emergency stay Monday on a trial court judge's ruling overturning the ban, known as Proposition 8. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker had ordered state officials to stop enforcing the measure starting Wednesday, clearing the way for county clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

ALSO SEE Here.
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This is a very heartening article entitled, Who has standing to appeal Prop. 8 ruling?

Please read this article in its entirety, but part of it reads as follows:

Ironically, it is a legal doctrine fashioned by conservatives that may provide a decisive victory to the supporters of marriage equality for gays and lesbians and end the litigation over California's Proposition 8.

For decades, conservative justices on the Supreme Court have ruled to limit who has standing to bring a claim in federal court. In cases involving civil rights, environmental protection and the separation of church and state, the court has ordered that cases be dismissed because the party pursuing the case had no legal standing to do so....

The result of all this is likely to be that gays and lesbians will be able to marry beginning Wednesday, when Walker's temporary stay expires. There then will be consideration of the case, over the next couple of years, by the 9th Circuit and ultimately by the Supreme Court.

But if those courts follow well-established law, they will need to dismiss the appeal on grounds that those who filed it have no standing. The outcome, then, will be that marriage equality will exist in California, at least unless and until in some other case, some day, the Supreme Court comes to a different conclusion.

If the higher courts adhere to established practices, based on conservative and long-held principles, the appeal of Judge Walker's decision may well not even be accepted by those courts, let alone sustained by those courts should those courts agree to hear the appeal of his decision.

Moreover, by the time that the appeal reaches the U.S. Supreme Court, same-sex marriage will be firmly established in California, and it then becomes very unlikely that that court will invalidate the many same-sex marriages that will occur in the interim.

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DON CHARLES: THE GENDER MONOLOGUES: FRANKENGENDER

Check out: The Gender Monologues: Frankengender by my good friend, Don Charles.

Here's an excerpt from his incisive and liberating post, a post that I strongly urge you to read in its entirety:

A lot of people say that "gender reassignment" effects a 100% cure for the Transsexual person. A cure for what, I'd like to know? Induced inferiority? What benefit does a target of bigotry derive from conforming to the twisted values of a bigoted society? And how does society benefit from having its corrupt value system affirmed?

No cure has been effected! On the contrary, the disease (transphobia) has been rendered more virulent. People of blended gender keep falling into its predatory grasp. Transfolk are still being driven to mutilate perfectly good human bodies because the world they live in rejects the gender God has attached to them. Worse, they're still being driven to commit suicide for the same reason. Either way, violence is being done to the Transgender body! Either way, Transfolk are following the urge to act on socially-imposed self-hatred.

Whenever I make pointed observations like this, I get emails. Nasty, vituperative emails! Acid-tongued individuals claiming to represent "the Transgender community" keep trying to sell me bottles of snake oil. Their wares are odious enough, but their sales technique is even more objectionable! After they're done cursing me out, labeling me an oppressor and fictionalizing my personal life . . .

Trying to fit into a binary gender world is severely traumatic for them; they run to psychologists and physicians, pleading for peace of mind. In much the same way their predecessors pathologized LesBiGay status in years past, these opportunistic and narrow-minded health professionals slap a disordered label on transsexuality. Convinced that they must be freaks of nature, their patients readily accept this diagnosis; but that's hardly relevant when the diagnosis is wrong!

I submit that "gender dysphoria" is nothing but a convenient way to avoid challenging transphobic social norms. Patients find it easier to change their transsexual anatomy than do battle with a world (and a self-concept) that recoils from it. Doctors find it easier (not to mention far more lucrative) to recommend expensive and painful "sexual reassignment" than to confront their own binary gender bias.

The message all should hear and take to heart is that transgender people are not "mistakes," not "deviants," not "freaks," and are not only normal, but are made in God's image!

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DON CHARLES: PULLING DOWN THE PANTIES OF SEX AND GENDER OPPRESSION: MY TRANSGENDER IDENTITY MANIFESTO

I received the following comment castigating my post regarding my firm belief in the God-given normality of Transgender people! The title of my post was Transgender People Are Not "Mistakes. I urge you to read that post and the ensuing comments.

A commentator, radicalbitch, wrote the following in response to that post:

Frankly, Jerry and Don are idiots.

I'm beyond fed up with gay men and crossdressers pontificating about things they have absolutely no knowledge about..it's same patriarchal bullcrap that arrogant men always engage in.

If you lack all knowledge of actual, transsexed people who are BORN neurologically intersexed and REQIURE maximum body correction to bring mind and body into congruence then STFU.

I was born a hermaphrodite, Pope Ratzie says I was born an abomination, a violation of god's will. Good thing I'm not and never have been a christian and know better. No, was I not born a mistake but rather a special daughter of the Magna Mater. You, on the other hand, can stay the hell out of my identities, my life and cease and desist spreading misinformation and out and out freakin lies about women such as myself.

Crossdressers suffer a mental disorder, people born transsexed have a neurological intersexed condition, a medical condition. The treatment for that condition reaches close to 100% cure and that is surgical and hormonal correction. It is not an option, it is not a choice and the medical condition has absolutely nothing in common with the mental disease of transvestism which is what Don has.

The following was my response to her:

Hi radicalbitch: Why you resent it when I say that transgender people are not mistakes is a mystery to me. Moreover, you assume that I am gay, which I'm not; you assume that Don is a transvestite, which he's not. You are wrong on these counts, as you are wrong on the other issues you mention, such as I don't doubt that you are a woman. Moreover, being a hermaphrodite is one thing; being transgender is usually quite another, as the latter deals with gender expression regardless of genitalia. Although I'm not a particular fan of Ratzinger, even he doesn't say that you were "born an abomination, a violation of God's will." I do understand your anger, but it seems to me to be misplaced. Best wishes, Jerry.

Don Charles beautifully addressed the likely motivations and nature of this comment, and with his kind permission I am posting his insights here:

When did you or I ever write about intersex people, Jerry? When did we discuss individuals born with indeterminate genitalia (the rare condition incorrectly identified as "hermaphroditism")? We explored transsexual identity in our essays. We talked about the normalcy of having gender identity and biological gender that don't match. If you have intersex genitalia, there's at least a partial match! When I refer to transsexual anatomy, I mean men with vaginas and women with penises, not people with combined male and female sex organs. Most transsexual folk do not have indeterminate genitalia! Most intersex folk do not have a gender identity conflict! Those are two different states of being, and we didn't confuse them. "Radicalb*tch" does confuse them, and she's probably doing it deliberately so she can justify attacking you. If she's having some kind of functional problem with her intersex genitalia, that's completely unrelated to our discussions of gender identity. Don't get drawn into an argument about a subject you never even addressed!

It's an old debate trick, for an adversary to lure you into discussions of an irrelevant topic you're not well versed in, and try to make you look stupid. I don't know much about intersex people and their issues, but I do know that many of them resent having their genitals "corrected" during infancy. That practice, which was widespread until very recently, resulted in children being raised as girls when they actually were boys, and vice-versa. In other words, there's usually no dire health concern that justifies surgically altering intersex genitalia. I would argue that such surgery is an option open the intersex adult, just like it's an option for the transsexual adult. However, I don't presume to advocate for intersex folk, and I'm not going to be sidetracked.

I'm going to post this Manifesto on my blog sidebar today:

PULLING DOWN THE PANTIES OF SEX AND GENDER OPPRESSION: MY TRANSGENDER IDENTITY MANIFESTO


I refuse to perpetuate the ABSURD FICTION that human gender is only binary. Transgender status is real! I refuse to perpetuate the BLASPHEMOUS LIE that human beings are "born into the wrong body". There are no wrong bodies. I refuse to PATHOLOGIZE transsexual anatomy. It is not a deformity. I refuse to validate the PREPOSTEROUS IDEA of people having "the wrong genitals." There is no wrong genitalia. I reject the BOGUS NOTION of "gender reassignment." When God blends male with female, human beings cannot separate the two. I reject the BASELESS NOTION that human gender should ever need be "transitioned" into. Gender need only be acknowledged. I reject the IGNORANT BELIEF that female and male gender cannot co-exist in one body. They can, and they do. I reject the BIGOTRY that condemns female and male gender existing in the same body. How dare mortals condemn what God has made? I denounce the use of TRANSPHOBIC slurs like "gender queer". Verbal genocide is just as lethal as the physical kind. I decry the PITIABLE VICTIM MENTALITY which encourages transfolk to pathologize themselves. A gift must not be mistaken for a curse.

I believe that transgender life is both NATURAL and NECESSARY. I believe transgender status is the raison d'etre of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual identity. It is NOT a disorder. It must NEVER be classified as such! People of blended gender are not to be DEMONIZED, DENIGRATED or PITIED. Those who promote a transgender victim mentality will find in me a DOGGED adversary! I shall CHASTISE them for encouraging transfolk to feel deformed and inferior. I shall CHALLENGE them to embrace the normalcy of blended gender. If they persist in peddling TRANSSEXUAL VICTIMHOOD, I shall EXPOSE them as the messengers of ignorance that they are.

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WHAT LANDMARK PROPOSITION 8 RULING MEANS FOR THE FUTURE PLUS THE FULL RULING

In his superb 136 page ruling, Judge Vaughn Walker detailed each of the arguments presented by the proponents of Prop. 8 and judiciously shot each of their arguments down, making it very difficult for the U.S. Supreme Court to find in favor of those proponents.

The following is an excellent article that deserves to be read in its entirety, part of which reads as follows:

This is how the judge shot down each one of the rationales the proponents set forth for denying gays the right to marry:

Reserve marriage as only a union between a man and a woman.
- Judge: Tradition alone cannot form a rational basis for a law.

Proceed with caution when implementing social changes.
- Judge: "Because the evidence showed that same-sex marriage has and will have no adverse effects on society or the institution of marriage, California has no interest in waiting and no practical need to wait to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples."

Promote opposite-sex parenting over same-sex parenting.
- Judge: The evidence shows "beyond any doubt that parents' genders are irrelevant to children's developmental outcomes." Proposition 8 has nothing to do with children; it simply prevents same-sex couples from marrying.

Protect the freedom of those who oppose marriage for same-sex couples.
- Judge: Proposition 8 does not affect any First Amendment right or responsibility of parents to educate their children, or the rights of those opposed to homosexuality or to same-sex marriage.

Treat same-sex couples differently from opposite-sex couples.
- Judge: Proposition 8 creates an administrative burden on California because it must maintain a parallel institution for same-sex couples.

Any other conceivable interest.
- Judge: Proponents have not identified any rational basis that Proposition 8 could conceivably further.
A private moral view that same-sex couples are inferior to opposite-sex couples is not a proper basis for legislation, the judge said. Thus, he held, "Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license."

To the proponents' arguments that the purpose of marriage is procreation, Walker retorted, "Never has the state inquired into procreative capacity or intent before issuing a marriage license." Moreover, the fact that a majority of California voters supported Proposition 8 is irrelevant, according to Walker, who wrote that "fundamental rights may not be submitted to [a] vote."

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PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK TO READ JUDGE WALKER'S COMPLETE RULING ON PROP. 8.

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TED OLSON ON CHRIS WALLACE'S FOX PROGRAM

This is an excellent presentation by Ted Olson concerning the need to overturn Prop. 8 by the Judiciary:



[Thanks to David Mixner.]

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SOME INCONGRUITIES AND DANGERS OF RELIGIOUS-BASED HOMOPHOBIA

A Lutheran pastor in Minneapolis who opposes homosexuals being allowed to lead congregations said Monday he is attracted to men, but that he's not a hypocrite because he never acted on his urges.

The Rev. Tom Brock told The Associated Press he has known for years he is sexually attracted to men, but doesn't consider himself gay because he never acted on it....

"You can have this struggle with same-sex attraction, say no to it, and still follow Christ."

...Brock said he does not believe people are born gay. "I think we're all born heterosexual actually, and then stuff goes wrong," he said.

He said he can't conclusively identify the origin of his own attraction to men, but said he believes it's related to a distant relationship with his father, who is now deceased, as well as having an older brother who was more athletic and, Brock felt, got more affection from other family members.

Brock said even if scientists were to establish definitive proof that homosexuality is genetic, that wouldn't deter his views. He said he believes people who engage in homosexual acts will go to hell, but he doesn't believe that makes him a bigot.

"My message doesn't change at all. I still think homosexual behavior is a sin," Brock said. "Because I struggle with it doesn't make it right."

[For the full article, see here.]

Deeply ingrained prejudice can often lead to tremendous self-loathing and suppression of the truth about one's very sexual/emotional nature once one comes to realize that he/she is Gay.

Indeed, even the status of being Gay that has not come to consciousness can, through prejudicial belief, rhetoric, and actions, wreak untold havoc upon one's emotions and emotional/sexual makeup, as well as wreak havoc in the lives of others who give that person credibility in informing the religious and moral dimensions of one's life.

Rev. Brock even goes far enough to say, "I think we're all born heterosexual actually, and then stuff goes wrong." Where does he get that notion from; where is his data to back up his dogmatic assertion that we are all born heterosexual? A lot of "stuff goes wrong" in people's lives and they are heterosexual!

Regarding his "analysis" as to the reasons for his same-sex attraction being due "to a distant relationship with his father...as well as having an older brother who was more athletic and...got more affection from other family members," which, if true, would have most people in any society turn out to be Gay.

What's even more remarkable is that Rev. Brock's prejudices extend so far as to encompass the belief that "even if scientists were to establish definitive proof that homosexuality is genetic, that wouldn't deter his views. He said he believes people who engage in homosexual acts will go to hell, but he doesn't believe that makes him a bigot."

He believes that engaging in same-sex activity will send people to hell, but "he doesn't believe that this view makes him a bigot."

Then what else does this view make him?

All too many professing Christians, even those Christians who are self-loathing Gay people, impose their bigotry and hateful rhetoric onto others, just as they impose their views on themselves. They very often create a living hell for themselves and, thereby, seek to impose that hell onto others, many of whom, unfortunately, believe that they will go to hell if they act on the very urges that God gave them.

Rev. Brock, and others like him, seem to think that God makes mistakes when God creates Gay people; they commit the sin of idolatry by worshipping their own prejudices, and their "justifications" for those prejudices, over and above their worship of God and the yielding to God's sovereignty.

And they cap their idolatry by claiming not to be bigots when they have the temerity to consign people who engage in same-sex activity to hell, thereby usurping the role of God Who has chosen those who belong to God before the worlds were formed; before we were even born; before any of us ever had a chance to act one way or the other. (e.g., Ephesians 1:4)

And notice, "The Rev. Tom Brock told The Associated Press he has known for years he is sexually attracted to men, but doesn't consider himself gay because he never acted on it...." The fact is that one is Gay whether or not he/she engages in same-sex activity!

Like most all homophobes, Rev. Brock seems to merely equate Gay with Sex, and doesn't see (or doesn't want to see) that being Gay comprises an emotional component which, along with sexual activity, fulfills the person every bit as much as the emotional/sexual components of heterosexuals fulfills their lives.

Despite his rhetoric to the contrary, Rev. Brock is a gay man, whether or not he acts on his God-given sexual desires!

Rev. Brock speaks from ignorance, a prisoner of his preconceived prejudices that even contradict his own inclinations that he has willfully (or not) denied himself so as to feel "comfortable" in not defining himself as a gay man, for to do so would undoubtedly violate his notion of what a "Christian" is supposed to be and do.

Hence, his record of homophobia that could be reconciled in his mind with his same-sex attractions, as he does not view himself as a gay man since, by his own account, he is presumably a virgin.

One can be out, be he/she outed or not, and still be closeted at the same time: closeted by prejudice; closeted by self-loathing; closeted by ignorant biblical exegeses; closeted by the desire to be accepted; closeted by fear of rejection; closeted by career aspirations; closeted by fear of one's deepest and hitherto repressed and suppressed feelings of which one may or may not be conscious.

I have pity for Rev. Brock and the internal struggles he is undoubtedly facing after having been outed.

However, I have even more pity for people who take seriously what the Rev. Brocks of the religious world say about Gay people, and who take seriously those who presume to usurp the role of God and pronounce with oracular authority the eternal destiny of anyone's soul!

As my friend, Rev. Troy Perry has said on more than one occasion: "God didn't create people whom He could sit around and hate."

God creates Gay people just as God creates Straight people! God specializes in diversity!

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15)

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