CHRISTIAN AGENTS OF HATE: The failure of many, if not most, professing Christians is being agents of hateful rhetoric against LGBT people by many clergy and evangelists

 

¨There is absolutely no Godly, biblical, or constitutional reason why lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should not enjoy every single civil and sacramental right that accrues to every other citizen!¨

By The Reverend Dr. Jerry Maneker

¨...The Church, Christ's Church, the ecclesia, 'the called out ones,' are to obey the only Commandments Jesus gave us: to love God by trusting Him over and above seen circumstances; to love others and not to judge them. That's it! The only Gospel to be found in Christianity is the Gospel of grace, "the good news," the fact that through Jesus God has bestowed upon us His unmerited favor!

The proponents of the false gospel of legalism, perfectionism, and exclusion, which is certainly not "good news," and certainly doesn't represent the commandment Jesus gave us to love others, is diametrically opposed to the Gospel, and its proponents have, unfortunately, virtually taken over most of the organized Church. Most of the organized Church has aligned itself with the most reactionary forces in secular society, which is also diametrically opposed to the Christian mandate that we love others by also fighting for justice for all of God's children.

Therefore, my passion is two fold: 1. To help reclaim Christianity from those who have substituted their own prejudices and mind-sets for the Gospel, and have sought to impose those prejudices and mind-sets on others; 2. Fight for full and equal civil and sacramental rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

There is absolutely no Godly, biblical, or constitutional reason why lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should not enjoy every single civil and sacramental right that accrues to every other citizen! The specious arguments presented by all too many clergy and their followers don't stand up to biblical, logical, empirical, or constitutional scrutiny; those arguments betray the very Gospel that Christians are called upon to preach and to live!

All Christians are called upon to live, not in 'time' but to live in 'eternity!' We are to be agents of God's love in this sin-cursed world, and if we're not such agents we are betraying both the Gospel and Jesus Himself!

The failure of many, if not most, professing Christians in being such agents; the hateful rhetoric against LGBT people by many clergy and evangelists; the failure of most clergy to condemn hateful rhetoric against LGBT people; the enmeshment of much of the organized Church with reactionary secular forces that have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo from which they are frequently quite handsomely rewarded; the bureaucratization of most of the organized Church that is all too often obsessed with hierarchy, patriarchy, incestuous socialization, and building beautification, over and above addressing such burning issues as war and poverty; the failure of most of the organized Church to be in the vanguard of seeking full and equal civil rights and civil liberties for LGBT people; the suffering of so many LGBT people and their families at the hands of both religious and political forces, have spurred me to expend as much energy as possible in confronting these perversions of the Gospel. HERE

· Thanks to The Reverend Dr. Jerry Maneker
· Thanks to A Christian Voice for LGBT Christians, sidebar
· Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing

President Barack Obama/Tucson: "We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another, that's entirely up to us."

Nonviolence and the Ongoing Struggle for Justice

By Walter Naegle

¨Nine days after the shocking gun violence in Tucson, our nation pauses to reflect on the life of a leader in the African-American struggle for civil rights, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. An apostle of nonviolence, Dr. King lived under the constant threat of violence from those who sought to keep America from expanding its commitment to equal opportunity and justice. While not a politician, he shared with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords a commitment to educating people about the democratic process, whether through a table at a shopping mall, the ballot box or through nonviolent direct action in the streets.

Veterans of the struggle served as counselors to the younger Dr. King, among them my late partner Bayard Rustin. An activist since his teenage years, Bayard was pivotal in helping to translate nonviolent philosophy into concrete direct action -- the marches, sit-ins, and boycotts that forced this country to abolish racial segregation laws.
...

Bayard's extraordinary intelligence and abilities enabled him to overcome the racism and homophobia so prevalent during his lifetime, and despite setbacks he never abandoned his faith in the possibilities for human redemption and growth... That faith in the power of one person to be an agent of change was recalled in President Obama's remarks in Tucson when he said, "We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another, that's entirely up to us." HERE

· Thanks to DOT 429
· Thanks to Walter Naegle
· Thanks to Monroe Frederick, photo
· Thanks to The Bilerico Project, sidebar
· Thanks to Bil Browning   HERE

All-American Hero: ¨“I Have Been to the Mountain Top” The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King

Today is the federal holiday that honors Dr. Martin Luther King. He was born January 15th, 1929. He was assassinated April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was just thirty-nine years old. While Dr. King is primarily remembered as a civil rights leader, he also championed the cause of the poor and organized the Poor People’s Campaign to address issues of economic justice. Dr. King was also a fierce critic of US foreign policy and the Vietnam War. We play his “Beyond Vietnam” speech, which he delivered at New York’s Riverside Church on April 4, 1967, as well as his last speech, “I Have Been to the Mountain Top,” that he gave on April 3, 1968, the night before he was assassinated. HERE

· Thanks to Democracy Now, sidebar
· Thanks to The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Hero

¨We remain committed to human dignity and mutual respect, to social justice and lifelong faithfulness in love.¨ the Right Reverend Michael Ingham, Bishop of New Westminster



The Anglican Church of Canada, diocese of New Westminster

 ¨I was saddened today to learn that 22 individuals in 4 congregations have taken their claim to ownership of Anglican Church properties to the Supreme Court of Canada.¨ Bishop Michael Ingham

the Right Reverend Michael Ingham, Bishop of New Westminster

¨...We remain a Church that welcomes all people who seek a deeper knowledge of God. We remain committed to human dignity and mutual respect, to social justice and lifelong faithfulness in love. This Diocese is home to Christians of traditionalist conscience as well as Christians whose ethics now embrace those who were once rejected. No one is required to act against their conscience. I have asked only that we respect one another and get on with the work of mission.¨ HERE

· Thanks to The Anglican Church of Canada, Diocese of New Westminster
· Thanks to the Right Reverend Michael Ingham, Bishop of New Westminster
· Thanks to Three Rivers Episcopal, sidebar

PREACHING THE FALSE GOSPEL OF EXCLUSION: ¨All of us, by our actions and/or by our silence, are complicit in this conflagration, in this horror, in this unspeakable evil, in this unspeakable sin!

THE INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH'S COMPLICITY IN EVIL AND SIN

By Dr. Jerry Maneker

¨...Oppression is of one piece! As I've written so many times, when one group is oppressed, all other groups are at risk of being oppressed, and the oppression of women and LGBT people in Iraq and Afghanistan is inextricably interwoven with the oppression of LGBT people in the U.S. and elsewhere, as it is inextricably interwoven with sexism, racism, and homophobia both here and elsewhere. All of us, by our actions and/or by our silence, are complicit in this conflagration, in this horror, in this unspeakable evil, in this unspeakable sin!

This country voted for the cowardly politicians who roll over for it, and choose to give a blank check that furthers the humiliation and annihilation of people. We are the murderers, and our collective hands are bloodied by what is being done in Iraq and Afghanistan in our name, just as they are being bloodied by the horrors visited upon LGBT people both in the U.S., Uganda, Jamaica, and elsewhere when we remain silent in the face of such outrages!

While most of the institutional Church focuses on the theology of genital placement, and remains silent in the face of such outrages as seen in the above cited article, and as seen in the treatment of LGBT people, it is not only irrelevant to the issues of the day, but it is also complicit in those corporate and personal sins that cry out to God for vengeance, and for which it is largely responsible, due to its actions and/or silence in the face of such oppression, through its often destructive and hateful rhetoric, and through its enmeshment with the most reactionary forces in society.

So, sing your pious hymns, continue to raise money for building beautification, continue to concentrate and hammer on others' personal weaknesses, continue on in your incestuous socialization, continue to keep the juices flowing with sanctimonious and fiery rhetoric, continue to ignore and/or encourage the corporate evil done in our name and, frequently, in the name of God, and continue to preach the false gospel of exclusion through the often hateful rhetoric that garners even more money for the collection plate.¨ please read it all HERE  (emphasis added by LR)

· Thanks to The Reverend Dr. Jerry Maneker
· Thanks to A Christian Voice for LGBT Christians, sidebar
· Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing

ATTENTION DR. ROWAN WILLIAMS, Archbishop of Canterbury: ¨I implore you to reconsider your support of the Anglican Covenant..¨

Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

On December 7, 2010, the moderator of the No Anglican Covenant Coalition, the Revd. Dr. Lesley Fellows wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on behalf of the No Anglican Covenant Coalition. Since, after more than five weeks, no response has been forthcoming from the office of the archbishop, we have decided to make the letter public. The text is reproduced below. A PDF version of the letter is available from the No Anglican Covenant Web site.

Westfields
Church Lane
Ludgershall
Buckinghamshire
HP18 9NU

Lambeth Palace
Greater London
SE1 7JU

7th December 2010

Dear Archbishop Rowan,


I am the Moderator of the International No Anglican Covenant Coalition, and I am writing to explain why our group is opposed to the Anglican Covenant. My hope is that through this correspondence, we may come to a better understanding of each other's approaches to the Anglican Covenant. These are some of our objections:


Firstly, the Covenant creates a two-or-more-tier Communion, as we know that some Provinces will not or cannot consent to it. This means that some Anglicans are 'in' the Communion, and some are less 'in'. There is no getting away from the feeling that the Covenant creates first- and second-class Christians. This in itself is unacceptable, but it also opens the door to some churches 'asking questions' about others if they perform 'controversial actions', ultimately leading to the imposition of 'relational consequences'. Hence, it favours the intolerant and the very conservative. Jim Naughton has said that the Covenant institutes "governance by hurt feelings". This seems counter to the gospel imperative of not judging others, but bearing with them and concentrating on the logs in one's own eye. A two-tier Communion does not represent unity.


Secondly, it seems unlikely that one can 'make forceful the bonds of affection'. "Where love rules, there is no will to power", Jung said. If we use force and coercion in our relationships, there is no true affection. A Covenant is made in joy at a time of trust - like a marriage. The Anglican Covenant is in reality a contract between parties where the trust has broken down. It may seem to you that this is the only way forward, but a better option is to remain a single-tier Communion, allow people to leave if they must, but keep the door open for their return. Any alternative position cedes too much power to those willing to intimidate by threatening to walk away.


Thirdly, in many countries, such as England, centralised institutions are breaking down and being replaced by networks. There is a great suspicion of hierarchical structures and rules that are enforced from above, particularly when the central authority is both physically and culturally distant. The Fresh Expressions movement is successful because it recognises this. The Anglican Communion, which is a fellowship of autonomous churches, is well placed to thrive in the challenges of this age. If we adopt the Covenant, then we will be less able to be mission-focussed in our own culture because we will be constrained by the Communion's centralised decision-making. One might say that Communion churches are on separate tectonic plates - the plates of modernism, postmodernism, and perhaps even pre-modernism. They are moving apart, and if we try to bind them together more tightly, then schism will surely occur. At this point in history, we need more flexible relationships, not a tightening of bonds.


I implore you to reconsider your support of the Anglican Covenant. I have the greatest respect for you as a person of God and for the role of Archbishop of Canterbury. However, I feel the Covenant is in a way like suicide - it is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Moreover, it institutionalises inequality and judgementalism. In addition, I believe it will not work and will itself cause, rather than prevent, schism. Let us concentrate on things that bring us together, such as mission, worship and prayer, and let us agree to differ on issues that tear us apart, not judge who is wrong and who is right, who is 'in and who is 'out'.


Our group would very much like to begin a dialogue with you. We have the same aims of strengthening love and unity within the Communion and enabling out churches to go forward in mission, even if we have currently come to radically different conclusions about how to achieve those aims. We hope very much to hear from you. HERE


With very best wishes

Rev'd Dr Lesley Fellows
Moderator, No Anglican Covenant Coalition
 

THE ¨Underground¨ FAMILY: A ¨Quick Reference¨ LIST OF AMERICAN and UGANDAN PERPETRATORS

¨stop the genocide in Uganda¨

¨The Family, which hosts the annual National Prayer Breakfast and is led by Doug Coe. This furtive organization is knee-deep in the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Anglican and MP David ¨Kill all the Gays¨ Bahati--Ugandan ¨extended¨
 Family member

Indeed, it was introduced in Uganda’s parliament by a key member of the organization, David Bahati.

from Amazon, click HERE

Much of the information below was compiled from Jeff Sharlet’s book, “C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy”. It is not a complete list of the membership, but a snapshot — so people can get a glimpse of the immense power The Family represents and what they stand for.

Basic Background Information

•Abraham (Abram) Vereide founded The Family. He had a vision referred to as “The Idea”, which was the notion that he should minister to the elite. He believed that Jesus favored the wealthy and anointed political leaders. This is the core of The Family’s message.

•The first National Prayer Breakfast took place in 1953.

•The Family’s original name was the International Christian Leadership (ICL)

•The organization focuses on cultivating “key men” in countries throughout the world

•The Family believes in “soul surgery”, cutting into the self and exposing one’s desires in front of a small groups of social equals.

•A Family’s goal is to create,“Two hundred national and international world leaders bound together relationally by a mutual love for God and the family.”

Family Quotes

Douglas ¨Doug¨ Coe,  The Family ¨underground¨

•“The more invisible you can make your organization, the more influence you will have,” (Doug Coe, the leader of The Family)

•“You say, hey, you know Jesus said, ‘You got to put him before mother-father-brother-sister’? Hitler, Lenin, Mao, that’s what they taught the kids. Mao even had the kids killing their own mother and father. But it wasn’t murder. It was for building the new nation. The new kingdom.” (Doug Coe)

•“We elect our leaders, Jesus elects his.” (Doug Coe)

•“[The Family is] A veritable underground of Christ’s men all through government.” (Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship)

•“I’m guilty of two things. I’m a Jesus guy and I have a heart for Africa.” (Sen. James Inhofe, R-OK)

Family Members (Senate)

Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN)
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)
Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY)
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AK)
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Sen. John Thune (R-SD)
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)
Family Members (House)

Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL)
Rep. John Carter (R-TX)
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO)
Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA)
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC)
Rep. Jerry Moran (R-KS)
Rep. Tom Osborne (R-NE)
Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN)
Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA)
Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC)
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI)
Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN)
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA)
Old Family Members (Senate)

Sen. James B. Allen (D-AL) ** George Wallace Democrat – anti-civil rights
Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo) ** Attorney General under George W. Bush
Sen. Ralph Brewster (R-Maine) ** Klan campaigned for him. Close to Sen. Joseph McCarthy
Sen. Frank Carlson (R-KS)
Sen. Carl Curtis (R-NE)
Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM)
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-OR)
Sen. Harold Hughes (D-IA)
Sen. Robert Kerr (D-OK)
Sen. Don Nickles (R-OK)
Sen. Dan Quayle (R-IN)
Sen. Absalom Willis Robertson (D-VA) **Rev. Pat Robertson’s father
Sen. Herman Talmadge (D-GA) ** Segregationist
Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) ** Segregationist
Sen. Paul Trible (R-VA)


Old Family Members (House)

Rep. Charles E. Bennett (D-FL)
Rep. Don Bonker (D-WA)
Rep. Tony Hall (D-Ohio)
Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI)
Rep. Jack Kemp (R-NY)
Rep. Steve Largent (R-OK)
Rep. Chip Pickering (R-MS)
Rep. Mark Siljander (R-MI) ** was convicted of obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent related to his work for an Islamic charity with ties to international terrorism. Siljander pleaded guilty to the charges in Federal court on July 7, 2010.
Rep. Jim Slattery (D-KS)
Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS)
Family Members (Gov.)

Gov. Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Former Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC)

Family Members (Retired Military)

Richard Carver, former assistant secretary of the Air Force (President of the Fellowship Foundation)
Lt. Gen. Claude “Mick” Kicklighter (Board member of the Fellowship Foundation)
Melvin Laird, former Secretary of Defense (and congressman)
Col. Oliver North
Family’s Anti-Gay Activists
Lou Sheldon, Traditional Values Coalition (Meets with foreign diplomats at C Street house)

Old Family Members (Other)

Hermann Abs, ** German ICL and Hitler’s leading banker
Rev. Richard Halverson (U.S. Senate Chaplain)
Merwin Hart – founder National Economic Council, ** fascist sympathizer, Chairman of the John Birch Society of New York
David Laux, National Security Council (Fellowship Foundation Board member)
Ed Meese, former Attorney General during Reagan Administration (1985-88)

Family Members (Other)

William Aramony, former United Way CEO (Served 6 years in prison for looting the charity)
James Baker (former Secretary of State)
Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Warren “Cubby” Culbertson (Gov. Sanford’s spiritual advisor)
John C. Maxwell, management guru on C Street Prayer Breakfast Circuit
William Rehnquist, Supreme Court Justice

Family Properties (US)

•C Street Center Inc. (Washington, DC)
•The Cedars, the Family headquarters (Arlington, VA) — $8 million
•Potomac Point (House across from Cedars) —$1 million
•Ivanwald (Arlington house for young men)
•Cedar Point Farm (Maryland)

Uganda Perpetrators

David Bahati, Secretary of the Family’s Uganda branch-ANGLICAN
Dr. James Nsaba Buturo, Minister of Ethics and Integrity
Michael Kyazze, Omega Healing Center
Pastor Moses Solomon Male
Miria Matembe, One of the original members of Uganda’s (Against death penalty because homosexuality is a curse by God. No longer a Family member. Thinks breakfast was corrupted by Americans)

•“I was the first person to fight homosexuality!” (Matembe)

•“I used to come here and catch them! People used to tell me where they were hiding.” (Matembe)




Anglican Archbishop Henry Orombi,  ¨spiritual counselor¨ to David Bahati and Ugandan ¨extended¨ Family

 Archbishop Luke Orombi,  ANGLICAN
George Oundo, Ex-Gay Uganda
Pastor Queen, leader of anti-gay movement
Pastor Martin Ssempa, Primetime abstinence party at Makerere University’s outdoor pool. Formerly tied to
Rick Warren. Ssempa also burns condoms.

Uganda’s American Perpetrators

Rev. Tom Anderson, Oklahoma pastor
Rev. Lou Engle, The Call
Sen. Janes Inhofe (R-OK)
Carl Jenkins, founder and presiding bishop of Christ Central Christian Ministries Worldwide in Albany, Ga.
Tim Kreutter, The Family’s point man in Kampala, Leadership Academy, African Youth Leadership. He had been a mentor to Bahati (164) (188)

Scott Lively, author of ¨The Pink Swastika¨ and ¨Family¨

Rev. Scott Lively, The Pink Swastika
Caleb Lee Brundidge, International Healing Foundation
Bob Hunter, Family Spokesperson, brought Museveni to Jesus
Mark Powers, works with Inhofe, Assemblies of God missionary
Don Schmierer, Exodus International
Rev. Rick Warren, Saddleback Church

Quotes linking Uganda to The Family

“The Uganda Fellowship that launched the bill was. The Family didn’t pull the trigger; they provided the gun.”


David Bahati: “We know Sen. Inhofe. We respect him. We know him.” Bhati knew Doug Coe too.

Bahati speaking of Rev. Rick Warren: “He said that homosexuality is a Sin and that we should fight it. He was making a strong point that we should not accept it.”

Bahati: “I do not know what you mean, ‘connection’. There is no ‘connection.’ They are the same thing. The bill is the Fellowship. It was our idea.”

Jeff Sharlet: In the last ten years, The Family has poured millions into “leadership development” in Uganda, more than it has invested in any other foreign country

Jeff Sharlet: “The kill-the-gays bill wasn’t conceived at C Street or the Cedars. The Uganda Fellowship that launched the bill was. The Family didn’t pull the trigger; they provided the gun.”

James Nsaba Buturo, Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Ugandan extended Family

Buturo: “It [the death penalty in the bill] is in the interest of those who are homosexuals because people will start lynching them. Take the law into their own hands.”

Bahati: “When Bob (Hunter) talked to me he was talking about the pressure the gay community is exerting on the Fellowship. He communicated his fear that this might cause the destruction of The National Prayer Breakfast. He was trying to control the damage. He has never said, ‘David, what you are doing is a problem.’ What he has said is to discuss the pressure of the gays.”

Bahati: “God made it [the issue] bigger. We are going to get the bill through, now or later. And when we do, we will close the door to homosex, and open society to something larger.”

Bahati: “Homosexuals have won the battle in America.”

Bahati: “We have talked to a number of conservatives in America who believe what we are doing is right, and that if we do not close the door to homosexuality at this time, it would be too late for us to breathe. They wish homosexuality was confronted and fought as severely in America.”

Sharlet: “There was still hope for Africa. God would use the weak to teach the strong, a Bahati to send a message to America.”

Bahati: “Leviticus is very clear. If a man sleeps with a man – punishable by death. If a woman sleeps with a woman – punishable.”

Bahati: “The fundamental issue is homosexuality is a sin. And if it is a sin, it must be punished. Now. We live is the world, so we must see how best we can punish these people. Yeah?”

Family Front Groups

The C.S. Lewis Institute (Arlington) – fighting the “infection of secularism”
The International Foundation (also The Fellowship Foundation)
The Wilberforce Foundation (Holds properties for The Fellowship Foundation)
Downing Foundation (Englewood, Colorado) — $6 million estate
Denver Leadership Foundation — Produces the Colorado Prayer Luncheon
Leadership Academy
Youth Corps (Secret group)
Family’s Major Donors
Jerome Lewis (oil) – Gives through Downing Partners Inc.

Dictators and Mass Murderers Supported by The Family

Gen. Sani Abacha (Nigeria)
Mohamed Siad Barre (Somolia)
Omar al-Bashir (Sudan)
General Park Chung-hee (South Korea)
Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier (Haiti)
Generalissimo Francisco Franco (Spain)
Ferdinand Marcos (Philippines)
Daniel arap Moi (Kenya)

The President of Uganda,  Yoweri Museveni,  Anglican and ¨extended¨ Family member

Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), ANGLICAN
Mohammed Suharto (Indonesia)

International Members

Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, Likud Minister of Information (Israel)
Zarook Marikkar, founded local prayer breakfast (Sri Lanka)
Linked Organizations

Christian Embassy
Officers Christian Fellowship (OCF)
Campus Crusade for Christ
Campus Crusade for Christ’s Military Ministry
Prison Fellowship

READ IT ALL, HERE

· Thanks to Truth Wins Out, sidebar
· Thanks to Wayne Besen
·  Thanks to  ¨Gearing up to stop genocide in Uganda¨
·  Thanks to  ¨Spotlighting The Family¨
·  Thanks to Jeff Sharlet, ¨The Family¨
 

SUPPORT THE GAY AGENDA?...it’s like saying; ‘do you support left handedness, or air, or water´ Gay Ugandan Teen

Archbishop Henry Orombi/Uganda ¨Knows what God knows¨ about peoples ¨private parts¨  HERE

¨I don’t know what in the world would possess a person to think they can tell other people who they are and who they aren’t. What kind of arrogance is that? Where does it come from? How could I have chosen to be gay as if I would choose to be mocked every single day? Lose more than half of my friends? As if I would choose the likelihood of my father looking at me sternly, his deep dark eyes burning holes in my soul, and telling me he doesn’t want to see my face ever again, not even when he’s dying. I shudder at the thought of coming out to my parents. How could I possibly choose that? Despite the fact that these questions have been asked over and over again, there still are people that think they know everything about us. It’s such a drain isn’t it? Turns out not all of us subscribe to logic or common sense, obviously. Some of us shut our ears and shout ‘Lalalala, I’m right, you’re wrong’ when facts are being thrown at them. They criticize what they know nothing of.

The one thing about the anti-gay movement in Uganda that I find absolutely ridic is how if you’re Ugandan and you argue that gays should be left alone and they’ve done nothing, they immediately ask you if you support homosexuality in Uganda. Support? There’s nothing to support or not support, it’s just a thing that’s there. Like I’ve said before, it’s like saying; ‘do you support left handedness, or air, or water.’ They’re there and they’re not going away any time soon, so it does not matter whether it’s supported or not. Laissez faire and move on!

Homosexuality is not something that’s worth rallying against, not even remotely. Many years later we’re going to look back and realize how stupid we’ve been. All the time and mental energy we could have used to get our economy to wake up from its deep sleep, wasted on what people were doing in the privacy of their bedrooms. When it’s too late to catch up with the rest of the world, I’ll proudly say; I told you so! But at this point I’m just threatening, after all, what do I know? I’m not even two decades old.

Fortunately the ways of homophobes tend to catch up with them. Usually when we find someone that is largely homophobic, there most likely is something much worse or more disgusting lurking under the surface waiting to burst out, for example the Anti Gay preacher in California that was recently charged with child molestation, then theres the case of Eddie Long. And they just keep coming.
Hopefully everyone will soon open their eyes to who the real enemies are.¨ HERE

· Thanks to Confessions of a Gay Ugandan Teen, sidebar
· Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing

HOMOPHOBIA/PART THREE: ¨...there are psychological and social payoffs provided by homophobia and its rhetorical and/or behavioral expressions!¨

¨It seems to me that all emotionally healthy people recognize Freud's assertion that, "The Ego is not master in its own house!" (Sigmund Freud, "A Difficulty in the Path of Psycho-Analysis," 1917.)

That is, we contain unconscious forces within us that we can barely, if at all, understand; we do not have the degree of control over our thoughts and behaviors that we often, though falsely, think we have!

One of the indicators of emotional intactness, and also intelligence, is the ability to handle the many uncertainties and ambiguities of life! Homophobes, and xenophobes of all types, those who feel the need to denigrate and exclude others, seem to lack that ability and, hence, they show themselves fearful of the many gray areas that exist in society, exist in what and who they perceive to be "the other," and exist in what often unknown forces reside within themselves as well.

After all, as I've often written, emotionally healthy people don't really care about the love and sex lives of others, let alone compulsively focus on, and condemn, Gay people, to the degree that some people even make careers (and sometimes a handsome living) as professional homophobes!

So, simply put, people do what they perceive to be rewarding for them! And there can be no doubt that there are psychological and social payoffs provided by homophobia and its rhetorical and/or behavioral expressions!

Both externalized and internalized homophobia are largely used as defense mechanisms to repress and/or suppress often sexually tempestuous forces that threaten to come to consciousness, often when provoked by the mere existence of LGBT people; the objects of one's fear, be it others and/or him/herself, become objects of derision, and even hate, that reflects, and futilely seeks to eradicate, the very derision and hate that one feels toward him/herself.¨ read it all, By Dr. Jerry Maneker, HERE

· Thanks to A Christian Voice for LGBT People, sidebar
· Thanks to The Reverend Dr. Jerry Maneker
· Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing

HOMOPHOBIA/PART TWO: ¨For many people, fundamentalism is a desperately needed form of psychotherapy!¨

Fundamentalism's success is that it does, in fact, help those who are fearful of life, of ambiguity, of the unknown, and of the complex multidimensional aspects of life and of God

"...When one is afraid, one usually doesn't have the psychic energy to empathize with another person, particularly when it is felt that the other person might conceivably be a "burden" in one way or another. Chronic fear, like any other type of neurosis, breeds self-absorption and, therefore, makes it rather unlikely that that person will seek to help out another person, since virtually all of that person's psychic energy is being spent on "keeping it together." And, fundamentalism's success is that it does, in fact, help those who are fearful of life, of ambiguity, of the unknown, and of the complex multidimensional aspects of life and of God, ‘keep it together.'

For many people, fundamentalism is a desperately needed form of psychotherapy! This fact is not all bad! Most of us want safe places, safe havens, in which to rest, even if it means having our complex and existential problems addressed by a simple Bible verse, or by a rather trite remark such as, "God doesn't give us any more than we can handle."

Is Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury ¨looking for scapegoats¨ while promoting The Anglican Communion Covenant?

This illusion of certainty, although it serves a needed psychological and social purpose for many of those who seek out fundamentalism, has another, much more dangerous, downside. Fundamentalism, by its very nature, requires that there be scapegoats! In the fundamentalist frame of mind, there has to be an "us," and for there to be an "us" there has to be a "them." And the current "them," the enemy de jour, is LGBT people!

Archbishop Ian Ernest, Chairman of The Anglican African Bishop Group of ¨exclusionists¨ promotes ¨us¨against ¨them" and boycotts Primate Meetings where ¨thems¨ are present

The psychological need for certainty morphs over to the social need for bonding with like-minded believers. Therefore, it's "us" against "them!" Anyone who is viewed as not seeing God, the Bible, or the world as that person does is viewed as the outsider, the enemy. In my experience, many people in fundamentalist churches don't even see those who go to "progressive" (Seeking to apply biblical principles, rather than apply every biblical and cultural practice, to contemporary social problems and issues.) churches as being 'Christian.'"

Do Anglican Gafcon ¨excluders¨ provide a vital ¨homophobic rhetoric¨ social function for demonizers of LGBTI Christians/others?

So, homophobia, beyond reflecting one's often unconscious anxieties and fears, being an attempt to neutralize those anxieties and fears, repressing and suppressing one's own often sexual anxieties and fears, also serves a vital social function, as homophobic rhetoric and/or actions is often a powerful medium that brings like-minded people together into an in-group, such as exists in much of the institutionalized Church that is often characterized by incestuous socialization.

Does Baptist preacher  Scott Lively, Holocaust Revisionist and author of ¨The Pink Swastika¨ promote strident homophobia?

And that in-group's cohesion is increased in proportion to the homophobic rhetoric that addresses that level of fear provoked by Gay people; fear of the tempestuous forces in one's unconscious mind. Hence, strident homophobia cements in-group solidarity which is another powerful payoff for insecure one-dimensional thinkers who seek to impose their own prejudices onto others, and often fallaciously do so in the name of God!

Is Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda given undeserved credibility when preaching dangerous anti-lgbti ¨moral high ground¨ and offering ¨Ecclesisastical Protection¨ from lgbti ¨inclusive¨ Christians abroad?

Homophobia is a fear inculcated largely by religious forces in society that are undeservedly given credibility as having the right to take the moral high ground when dealing with love and sex but, ironically, not given that same level of credibility when dealing with poverty and war. This very phenomenon shows both the selectivity used when adhering to religious sentiments, as well as the intensity of the unconscious (and sometimes conscious) drives that create and exacerbate homophobia, as well as the role that religion itself plays, and is allowed to play, in facilitating homophobia and its expression.

Bishops Anis/Egypt and Chew/South East Asia nurture/support ¨out-group, in-group¨ solidarity against LGBTI Anglicans/Christians/others 

So, in addition to psychological payoffs provided by homophobia and its expression, social payoffs are provided by homophobia and its expression, as when creating an out-group, in-group solidarity is increased. Hence, deeply felt needs to belong, to be liked, to feel in control when the unconscious tells the fearful homophobe that he/she is really not in control, are deeply felt needs that the expression of homophobia seeks to address, even if it causes untold amounts of suffering to countless numbers of LGBT people and their families.

Justifications? 

And, to add insult to injury, showing the level of desperation of homophobes in attempts to justify their position, all sorts of irrational and false "justifications" for homophobia are presented, such as same-sex marriage being "a threat to the family," "Gay people being a threat to our children," "same-sex couples not being able to raise emotionally healthy children," "being Gay is a sin," etc. These types of "justifications" for homophobia show just how much homophobia and its expression is needed by emotionally needy people who need to repress and suppress tempestuous forces within their psyches to which xenophobia provides an easy, albeit false, remedy.

Indeed, homophobia and its expressions can be seen as being perversely "therapeutic" for those who lack emotional/sexual intactness. Rather than courageously try to understand what prompts their need to denigrate and bear false witness against LGBT people, and even seek to prevent the acquisition of equal rights for LGBT people, homophobes attempt to address and treat their emotional and social neediness by taking the coward's way out by expressing derision and even hate toward LGBT people as a catharsis for their own internal turmoil...¨ HERE

· Thanks to The Reverend Dr. Jerry Maneker
· Thanks to A Christian Voice for LGBT People, sidebar
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