THERE IS NO ¨OTHER SIDE¨ : There are gays and lesbians, and then there are those who erroneously believe that being gay or lesbian is "wrong" or "sinful"

Jesus portrayed calling out “You brood of vipers.”

When is it Fair to Call Someone a Homophobe? 
.By Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge

Author, 'Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians'

¨...Just as Jesus called his opponents a "brood of vipers," we, too, must call out those who seek to shroud their bigotry in the language of "compassion." No matter how "compassionate" or "well-meaning" those who "disagree" with homosexuality may be, their ongoing condemnation of homosexuality (and yes, by "disagreeing" they are "condemning") only fosters more fear and hatred. You cannot create fear with your convictions and then try to divorce yourself from that fear.

This is why I contend that there is no "other side" to the gay and lesbian issue. There are gays and lesbians, and then there are those who erroneously believe that being gay or lesbian is "wrong" or "sinful" -- just as there are those who know the earth is round and those who stubbornly refuse to give up the belief that it is flat. Just because someone holds an opposite belief about something doesn't mean we have to coddle them and let them believe their "conviction" is valid when it isn't.

Those who "compassionately" insist on the "sinfulness" of homosexuality are on the wrong side of history. Martin Luther King Jr. said that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." It has taken many decades for gays and lesbians to get that moral arc to begin to bend toward justice for our community, but it is happening. A Gallup poll last year showed that, for the first time, 52 percent of Americans believed that homosexuality was "morally acceptable." Forty-two percent of Protestants believe that, along with 62 percent of Catholics. Other polls show the nation fairly evenly split on the issue of marriage equality. What is telling, however, is that young people are most supportive of LGBT rights.

The moral arc is moving in the direction of justice for LGBT people. It is not a matter of if, but when. Homophobes who continue to spread fear because of their sincere conviction that homosexuality is wrong will soon find themselves in the same historical dustbin as racists, misogynists and anti-Semites.¨ HERE

· Thanks to The Huffington Post, sidebar
· Thanks to The Reverend Candace Chellew-Hodge
· Thanks to  'Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians' HERE
· Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing
· Thanks to Gay Uganda, sidebar