The Hypocrisy of Anti-Gay Conservatives

They quote the Bible by selected verse casting homosexuals to Eternal Damnation. They seek to keep homosexuals from having the basic rights of equality and protection which most Americans take for granted. They support an archaic military rule that deprives talented and much needed human assets from joining or being relived of duty when the “truth” is found out about an individual. And in some cases they compare the homosexual lifestyle to that of pedophiles.

And yet while condemning a lifestyle or impeding advancement and making inflammatory comments about homosexuals, they are in a variety of ways themselves a part of the very lifestyle which they oppose or are participants in the darkest corners of illegality.

In 2006 Florida Republican Mark Foley, a six term Congressional representative, resigned over allegations he sent sexually explicit Internet messages to at least one underage male who was a former page at the Capitol. At the time ABC News reported that it had interviewed Foley, 52, about excerpts of instant messages provided by current and former pages under the age of 18. ABC reported that Foley, under the AOL Instant Messenger screen name Maf54, made repeated references to sexual acts and body parts.

More at: Focus On The Rainbow!

Jesus is Ready to Beat the Hell Out of You

The religious right, who commonly refers to a “gay agenda” which supposedly encompasses the LGBT community as trying to “recruit” people into being one of us…has decided to take the recruitment effort to a new level for their own benefit.

It would appear the religious right needs a boost in membership as well as a boost of testosterone and what better way of getting both than kicking some ass?

It looks as though the Bible is not the only thing anti-gay evangelicals are beating today, but according to the following post found on New York Times, they’re literally beating the ‘Hell’ out of each other…

“Hard punches!” he shouted from the sidelines of a martial arts event called Cage Assault. “Finish the fight! To the head! To the head!”

The young man was a member of a fight team at Xtreme Ministries, a small church near Nashville that doubles as a mixed martial arts academy. Mr. Renken, who founded the church and academy, doubles as the team’s coach. The school’s motto is “Where Feet, Fist and Faith Collide.”

Mr. Renken’s ministry is one of a small but growing number of evangelical churches that have embraced mixed martial arts — a sport with a reputation for violence and blood that combines kickboxing, wrestling and other fighting styles — to reach and convert young men, whose church attendance has been persistently low. Mixed martial arts events have drawn millions of television viewers, and one was the top pay-per-view event in 2009.

Recruitment efforts at the churches, which are predominantly white, involve fight night television viewing parties and lecture series that use ultimate fighting to explain how Christ fought for what he believed in. Other ministers go further, hosting or participating in live events.

The goal, these pastors say, is to inject some machismo into their ministries — and into the image of Jesus — in the hope of making Christianity more appealing. “Compassion and love — we agree with all that stuff, too,” said Brandon Beals, 37, the lead pastor at Canyon Creek Church outside of Seattle. “But what led me to find Christ was that Jesus was a fighter.”

So there you have it…the new wave of Macho, anti-gay evangelical Christians…coming to a ultimate fighting match near you!

The Religious Righters Have no “Real” Agruments Against LGBT’s

I find it very interesting. Whenever I’ve attempted to ‘discuss’ equality with members of the religious right, there is no discussion. It has, at least in my experience, ALWAYS ended with some aggressive, childish rant being thrown at me.

I recently found a post on clickondetroit.com which briefly talks about Pam Byrnes, a state Rep.’s attempt to repeal the state’s constitutional ban on same sex marriage.  I encourage you to click on the link and read the hilariously absurd comments and attacks against LGBT’s.

Of course, the readers who consider themselves “all knowing” Christians, chimed in with comments such as: “But the Bible says”, “But the majority says”, you know, all the usual rhetoric.

I find it amazing, when you try to pin someone who stands in opposition to equality down, they almost certainly will push their bigotry onto either “the Bible” or “the majority”. They never take a stand and for themselves, and they never seem to be able to answer what I would consider relatively simple questions.

Whenever you bring up marriage, they’ll say something like:

But, gay activists say their civil rights are violated because homosexuals can’t marry whom they want. This argument is flawed because heterosexuals can’t marry whomever they want, either. If a man fell in love with his sister, his daughter or his female first cousin, society would prohibit him from marrying her. And, society would also prohibit a woman from marrying her brother, son or male first cousin even if she fell in love with him. There are moral laws in our society against this.

Now, if you dispute this by stating you’re talking about two consenting, non-blood related adults, they’ll start waiving the Bible around…why? Because they have no answer.

And when they do waive that bible…they say things like:

If you are a real Christian, then you cannot endorse a homosexual lifestyle just as you cannot endorse abortion (murder). This is Book, not my opinion.

Abortion? Who brought up abortion? I was talking about equality for LGBT citizens. I also find it hilarious how a “real Christian” is defined.

And of course, back to the majority issue, it’s most certainly going to be thrown up in your face. But, whenever I ask; Should a majority have decided whether women or Blacks have equality or the right to vote, they resort back to the Bible. Then when I bring up the fact the Bible was used to prevent equality for women and people of color, frustration sets in and I typically get;

This is the way it’s been for 2000 years and America was founded on “Christian” values, so if you don’t like it, go somewhere else.

Which I’m certain to reply, “Should we have told descendants of slaves to go somewhere else when they wanted equality? I also like to ask questions like; “Since a majority of people once thought the earth was flat…was it?” Or, “So over the past 2000 years, absolutely nothing has changed?”

And again, I get no answers, it just goes in circles.

So, I’ve come to the conclusion, which I already new, it’s relatively easy to frustrate and stump the religious right…because all they have…is not much at all.

My advice to them, similar to their advice to me…times are a changing…if you don’t like it, go somewhere else.

Bible-Thumpers Arrested at Loring Park Pride Festival

According to a post on PrisonPlanet.com:

Brian and Doris Johnson have passed out free Bibles at the Twin Cities Pride Festival for 11 years, but this year their free gifts got them arrested. After being told they couldn’t have a booth at this year’s festival, the family came anyway and ended up behind bars for trespassing.

The Pride Festival started Saturday in Loring Park and is considered the third-largest GLBT celebration in the nation. Since the festival rented out the entire park, police said they could choose which vendors to allow in the park.

The Johnsons are born-again Christians and believe homosexuality is a sin. Pride organizers said their booth with “signs about Jesus, models of fetuses and stack of bibles” caused discussions that offended some participants. Organizers were concerned about letting a vendor discriminate against the GLBT community at their own event.

I know this is going to kick up some dust with the Religious Right as they already claim hate-crimes legislation will prevent them from preaching against homosexuality, however, that is a lie, and the truth is these people were trespassing.  Their arrest is no different from someone else breaking into your house.  If you have paid for a venue, then for that period, the venue is, by law, private property for the lessee.  Sorry, guys…I don’t think you’d find LGBT people distributing copies of The Advocate at your church!

Right, Religious Right, Right Wing, Right to Free Speech and Ignorance

It NEVER ceases to amaze me when I read about the “Right” and their antics, which they refer to as beliefs, morals and values.  It never ceases to amaze me how they can stand up an blatantly lie, spew hate, intolerance and bigotry, and all in the name of God and using the Bible as an excuse.  Some may argue that there are distinct differences between the so called “Political Right” and the “Religious Right”.  If there is, I have a difficult time seeing it, because most of time, and I do mean most of the time, the two are so intertwined they are pretty much one in the same.

A prime example is reflected in a recent post I read by Adrienne LaFrance at Honolulu Weekly.  Below is an excerpt.

Okino described homosexuality as a perversion and detailed “the medical dangers of a homosexual lifestyle,” erroneously claiming that the incidence of AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases occur “almost exclusively in the homosexual population.” He went on to explain that he was testifying not out of hate for the gay population, but from a desire to protect them from themselves. He called the idea of giving the gay population “equivalence” or “legal standing” a “danger to the community.”

Okino’s testimony included everything from blatantly false medical claims and factually wrong assertions about the consequences of legalizing gay marriage in Massachusetts to the conclusion that heterosexuality is superior to homosexuality because “parts fit.” Plenty of Honolulu citizens were outraged and embarrassed to hear such discriminatory nonsense from an official who represents them, but the most disturbing parts of the councilmember’s display (and there were plenty to choose from) came when he said that, when it comes to his professional conduct, the Bible trumps the Constitution every time.

Here’s the exchange that took place:

Senator Clarence Nishihara: When you sit as a councilman, do you take what is written in the Bible first for how you vote on issues?

Okino: Yes

Nishihara: So regardless of whether or not it follows the law, you would go with the Bible?

Okino: Yes

Okino’s admission to favoring a religious text over the Constitution left many heads spinning. For starters, Okino admitted to a professional decision-making process that negates the following oath, from section 13-118 of our city charter, which he took upon joining the Council.

Some from the Political Right get pissy when they are associated Religious Right, and some from the Religious Right don’t like to be noted as such because they say the term “Religious Right” carries negative connotations.

In my opinon, if they were smart, they would adopt the doctrine of separation of church and state, educate themselves on social issues, stick more to political issues, and perhaps their image would improve.

Next Page »