Jesus Versus the GOP

The Religious Wrong: RENOUNCE YOUR KIDS!!!

From Think Progress:

On Monday, the United Methodist Church convicted Rev. Frank Schaefer on two counts against the Church for officiating his son’s same-sex wedding. On Tuesday, the impaneled jury determined his sentence: Schaefer is suspended for 30 days, and if it at the end of that time he has not renounced his support for marriage equality, he will be defrocked.

Schaefer, however, was unapologetic, refusing the invitation to “repent of your actions”:

SCHAEFER: [The Church] needs to stop judging people based on their sexual orientation. We have to stop the hate speech. We have to stop treating them as second-class Christians. [...]

I will never be silent again. This is what I have to do. [...]

I have to minister to those who hurt and that’s what I’m doing.

Three of Schaefer’s four children identify as gay.

But...family values?

The Religious Wrong: Patrons of Hatred

From WTVM:

A 20-year-old waiter provided exemplary service at an Overland Park Italian restaurant, but his anti-gay customers refused to tip him because of his sexual orientation...

"Thank you for your service, it was excellent. That being said, we cannot in good conscience tip you, for your homosexual lifestyle is an affront to GOD. (Homosexual slur) do not share in the wealth of GOD, and you will not share in ours," the customer wrote. "We hope you will see the tip your (homosexual slur) choices made you lose out on, and plan accordingly. It is never too late for GOD's love, but none shall be spared for (homosexual slur). May GOD have mercy on you."

~

The anti-gay message has galvanized support for the server on social media with a campaign underway to flood the restaurant on Friday. Dr. Marvin Baker and his partner had lunch at the restaurant on Thursday and asked to be seated in the server's section.

How can someone claim to be a Christian with the message of god's love and forgiveness and yet be so blatantly filled with hatred for their fellow man?

Religious Schools, Tax Dollars & the First Amendment

The Religious Wrong: Embracing Economic Collapse

Why the Tea Party Welcomed the Shutdown

FRC President Tony Perkins

From Salon.com: 

...The press often talks about the Tea Party like they’re secularist movement that is interested mainly in promoting “fiscal conservatism”, a vague notion that never actually seems to make good on the promise to save taxpayer money. The reality is much different: The Tea Party is actually driven primarily by fundamentalist Christians whose penchant for magical thinking and belief that they’re being guided by divine forces makes it tough for them to see the real world as it is.

It’s not just that the rogue’s gallery of congress people who are pushing the hardest for hostage-taking as a negotiation tactic also happens to be a bench full of Bible thumpers. Pew Research shows that people who align with the Tea Party are more likely to not only agree with the views of religious conservatives, but are likely to cite religious belief as their prime motivation for their political views.  White evangelicals are the religious group most likely to approve of the Tea Party. Looking over the data, it becomes evident that the “Tea Party” is just a new name for the same old white fundamentalists who would rather burn this country to the ground than share it with everyone else, and this latest power play from the Republicans is, in essence, a move from that demographic to assert their “right” to control the country, even if their politicians aren’t in power.

It’s no surprise, under the circumstances, that a movement controlled by fundamentalist Christians would be oblivious to the very real dangers that their actions present. Fundamentalist religion is extremely good at convincing its followers to be more afraid of imaginary threats than real ones, and to engage in downright magical thinking about the possibility that their own choices could work out very badly. When you believe that forcing the government into default in an attempt to derail Obamacare is the Lord’s work, it’s very difficult for you to see that it could have very real, negative effects.

Rep. Bachmann (R-MN)

It’s hard for the Christian fundamentalists who run the Republican Party now to worry about the serious economic danger they’re putting the world in, because they are swept up in worrying that President Obama is an agent of the devil and that the world is on the verge of mayhem and apocalypse if they don’t “stop” him somehow, presumably be derailing the Affordable Care Act. Christian conservatives such as Ellis Washington are running around telling each other that the ACA  will lead to “the systematic genocide of the weak, minorities, enfeebled, the elderly and political enemies of the God-state.” Twenty percent of Republicans believe Obama is the Antichrist.Washington Times columnist Jeffrey Kuhner argued that Obama is using his signature health care legislation to promote “the destruction of the family, Christian culture”, and demanded that Christians “need to engage in peaceful civil disobedience against President Obama’s signature health care law...”

It just gets worse from there.

Tweet of the Day: September 22, 2013

"Under God" Under Legal Review in Massachusetts

A Pastor Gets Lectured on Gay Marriage & Equality

Pay attention to the comments running at the bottom of the video, especially the one at the very end (which literally made me laugh at loud).

John McCain (Rightfully) Slams Fox's Ignorance

Would Jesus Exile a Family? Some of His Followers Did

Catholic Bishop Calls Homophobia "Mental Illness"

Archbishop: "Persecuted" Christians Should Grow Up

From The Guardian: 

A Russian lawmaker has said the ‘gay propaganda’ law will remain enforced during the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in 2014.
Vitaly Milonov, co-sponsor of the ‘non-traditional relationships’ bill, said the government cannot decide when to selectively enforce the law.
It comes as the International Olympic Committee said the Russian government had ‘assured’ them all athletes and spectators will be safe from arrest.
Speaking to Interfax and as translated by GSN, Milonov said: ‘I have not heard any comments from the government of the Russian Federation but I know it is acting in accordance with Russian law.
‘If a law has been approved by the federal legislature and signed by the president, then the government has no right to suspend it. It doesn’t have the authority.’
- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/russian-lawmaker-we-will-arrest-gay-athletes-tourists-olympic-games300713#sthash.VrsYwMs8.dpuf

Christians in Britain and the US who claim that they are persecuted should "grow up" and not exaggerate what amounts to feeling "mildly uncomfortable", according to Rowan Williams, who last year stepped down as archbishop of Canterbury after an often turbulent decade.

"When you've had any contact with real persecuted minorities you learn to use the word very chastely," he said. "Persecution is not being made to feel mildly uncomfortable. 'For goodness sake, grow up,' I want to say."

True persecution was "systematic brutality and often murderous hostility that means that every morning you wonder if you and your children are going to live through the day". He cited the experience of a woman he met in India "who had seen her husband butchered by a mob".

A Russian lawmaker has said the ‘gay propaganda’ law will remain enforced during the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in 2014.
Vitaly Milonov, co-sponsor of the ‘non-traditional relationships’ bill, said the government cannot decide when to selectively enforce the law.
It comes as the International Olympic Committee said the Russian government had ‘assured’ them all athletes and spectators will be safe from arrest.
Speaking to Interfax and as translated by GSN, Milonov said: ‘I have not heard any comments from the government of the Russian Federation but I know it is acting in accordance with Russian law.
‘If a law has been approved by the federal legislature and signed by the president, then the government has no right to suspend it. It doesn’t have the authority.’
- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/russian-lawmaker-we-will-arrest-gay-athletes-tourists-olympic-games300713#sthash.VrsYwMs8.dpuf

A Russian lawmaker has said the ‘gay propaganda’ law will remain enforced during the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in 2014.
Vitaly Milonov, co-sponsor of the ‘non-traditional relationships’ bill, said the government cannot decide when to selectively enforce the law.

It comes as the International Olympic Committee said the Russian government had ‘assured’ them all athletes and spectators will be safe from arrest.
Speaking to Interfax and as translated by GSN, Milonov said: ‘I have not heard any comments from the government of the Russian Federation but I know it is acting in accordance with Russian law.
‘If a law has been approved by the federal legislature and signed by the president, then the government has no right to suspend it. It doesn’t have the authority.’
- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/russian-lawmaker-we-will-arrest-gay-athletes-tourists-olympic-games300713#sthash.VrsYwMs8.dpuf

A Russian lawmaker has said the ‘gay propaganda’ law will remain enforced during the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in 2014.
Vitaly Milonov, co-sponsor of the ‘non-traditional relationships’ bill, said the government cannot decide when to selectively enforce the law.
It comes as the International Olympic Committee said the Russian government had ‘assured’ them all athletes and spectators will be safe from arrest.
Speaking to Interfax and as translated by GSN, Milonov said: ‘I have not heard any comments from the government of the Russian Federation but I know it is acting in accordance with Russian law.
‘If a law has been approved by the federal legislature and signed by the president, then the government has no right to suspend it. It doesn’t have the authority.’
- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/russian-lawmaker-we-will-arrest-gay-athletes-tourists-olympic-games300713#sthash.VrsYwMs8.dpuf

The Religious Wrong: Using the "God Excuse"

Mike Huckabee Calls Muslims "Uncorked Animals"

Australia's Sarah Palin

Fox's "Worst Interview Ever"

The Religious Wrong: Only Christians Can Graduate

Arizona is throwing its hat into the theocracy ring. Arizona House Bill 2467 states the following: 

Beginning in the 2013‑2014 school year, In addition to fulfilling the course of study and assessment requirements prescribed in this chapter, before a pupil is allowed to graduate from a public high school in this state, the principal or head teacher of the school shall verify in writing that the pupil has recited the following oath:

I, _________, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge these duties; So help me God.

Though I'm a Christian, I'm a firm believer in the separation of church and state (for the benefit of both) as prescribed by Thomas Jefferson and the establishment clause of the first amendment to the United States Constitution. This law is a crystal clear violation of that Constitution that has very little chance of withstanding a court challenge.

Addressing Leviticus (You Know Which Part)

"Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is abomination." Leviticus 18:22

"If a man also lie with mankind as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death: their blood shall be upon them." -Leviticus 20:13

If you are gay, you have had these words thrown in your face more times than you can count by biblical literalists attempting to excuse homophobic discrimination. I would just like to point out a couple of things regarding these quotes that these folks have overlooked.

First, even if taken literally, these particular verses in no way address lesbians. It seems they are in the clear. Second, if you are a gay man, you would not lie with mankind as you would with womankind because you would not lie with womankind at all. So, I am not really seeing how these verses apply to gay men either. 

If you are bisexual, well, I don't know what to tell you.

And then of course there are the other bits of Leviticus which go completely ignored. The same people calling same-sex relationships abominations forget that they are supposed to kill their kids if they use curse words (20:9), they should be protesting the practices of Red Lobster and any other place that sells shellfish (11:9-12), they should be passing laws against having tattoos (19:28), and the list goes on and on (and that is just the Leviticus stuff, let alone the rest of the Bible).

While there are certainly other Bible verses that are used to denounce homosexuality, these particular Leviticus verses are flimsy at best and do not hold up to the slightest bit of scrutiny.

As I have said elsewhere, using the Bible to denounce homosexuality is a pretense. If this were really about the Bible, they would be publicly protesting a host of things they do not protest while supporting a host of things that they do not currently support. Their focus however is on using the Bible as a weapon against the gay community. As much as they say they are not against gay people and the are simply trying to adhere to the Bible, they have made it very clear that their idea of holiness is cherry-picking the parts of the Bible they like, which includes the parts they deem to be homophobic and not the parts about loving thy neighbour.

Gays Are Just Confused Straight People

It seems like a week does not go by when Pat Robertson does not say something categorically ignorant, and often, that means delving into homophobia.

First, I can guarantee Mister Robertson that I am not confused. Not even a little bit. As to that confusion having to do with abuse as a child, there is no scientific, empirical evidence to back that up. While I am sure some children that end up being gay have been abused (it is a statistical inevitability), so have some children that end up being straight. Why did some those abused kids end up being gay and some straight? Because sexual orientation has nothing to do with abuse. I was not abused, I still ended up gay. Mister Robertson's claim has been debunked by medical professionals time and time again.

Second, did he seriously just say "We're not anti-gay or anything?" Really, he said that. He must be going senile because within the last week, he said that instead of a "Like" button, Facebook should have a "Vomit" button that he can use when he sees pictures of same-sex couple kissing. No, nothing about that sounds homophobic...right?

Third, Mister Robertson refers to gay people watching his show. The thing is that while there are certainly gay people watching his show, I would bet that a majority of them, like myself, are watching merely to hear the latest stupid, wrong, inconsiderate, or ignorant thing that he has said. Lord knows it happens often enough for us to see his show regularly. I highly doubt that many look to him for guidance given how poor is advice all-too-often is. In actuality, Mister Robertson should be aware that the vast majority of gay people watching his show are either just shaking their heads, or they are outright laughing at him. If he knew that, perhaps he would be less pleased about us watching him.

With every word he utters, Pat Robertson is distancing himself further and further away from mainstream America, including those who are people of faith. Time and good sense are sweeping people with mentalities like his into the annals of history where they belong.