The first picture above is utterly outrageous and offensive to say the least (photo source - godhatesfags.com). Yet, there are many so-called Christians that take this point of view. In part 1, we examined the Gay/Lesbian community. Part 2 of this 4 part series, examines the reaction of the Church community to the LGBT community. We will present two views on the gay community. The first view is that of church groups and organizations in Charlotte that represent a conservatively opposing, yet compassionate message.
The second view is that of complete intolerance and rejection of the LGBT community. We will examine another point of view – that of total acceptance of the LGBT community in part 3.
The question is whether or not the Church community (the collective group of Christians known as the “Body of Christ”) believes that God loves or hates gays, lesbians, and transsexuals. Obviously, churches and their members are divided on this view, but the general consensus seems to be that God does in fact love not only gays, but everyone. But there are those who would contend with this viewpoint.
Hatred towards gays has become an all too familiar attitude from many, but it is often attributed to the Church itself, regardless of denominational differences. However, though many church leaders have opposed the gay lifestyle, LGBT activities, and their effect on American society, we must separate hate from opposition.
To oppose something or someone does not designate a disposition of hate. For example, opposition is defined as - a disapproving attitude toward something and a wish to prevent it, or action taken to show disapproval of and prevent something. Opposition can also be defined as “resistance”. For instance, I can be opposed to, or “resist” the building of a prison in my neighborhood – that does not mean that I hate prisons.
Hatred is defined as - a feeling of intense hostility towards somebody or something. Hate is also defined as “abhorrence”, “loathing”, or “to detest”. The subtle distinctions between opposition and hatred may not seem relevant now, but it makes all the difference in the world when we are asking ourselves how does the Church, and ultimately God Himself, feel about gay people.
With this difference between “opposition” and “hatred” in mind, I recently spoke with Dr. Michael L. Brown, Director of the Coalition of Conscience, based here in Charlotte. Michael L. Brown, Ph.D., is president of FIRE School of Ministry in Concord and a radio talk show host.
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Dr. Michael L. Brown
Dr. Michael L. Brown
Dr. Brown and the Coalition have been a strong voice of opposition to activities that to many, is a sign of moral decay in the Charlotte area. I chose Dr. Brown as a representative of the first viewpoint on the gay community because it was his group, the Coalition of Conscience, that protested the Charlotte [Gay] Pride celebration back in July.
The 500 protesters were peaceful and in fact, prayerful during the demonstration. Much to my surprise, Dr. Brown informed me that “In 2004-2005, we joined other ministries in focusing on the lewd behavior that was taking place in public in Marshall Park, along with taking issue with the gay pride event itself. Since 2006, we have taken issue with the gay pride event itself, since it stands as a rallying point for gay activism in the region.”
This year, the Coalition’s message was a simple one – “God has a better way”. Yet some among the LGBT community have labeled Dr. Brown and his coalition as hate-mongers.
I specifically spoke to Dr. Brown about this, asking him –
Q. How do you think God feels about the gay/lesbian community?
A. Dr. Brown: “God loves all people. He sent His Son and Jesus died for them. The same God opposes sins and calls people to repent... But we [the Church community] must do better to convey God’s love. Many gays have felt that they are rejected by the church and given no hope.. [Many gay people] have been hurt and wounded by those professing Christ. If anyone wants to do harm to them [LGBTs], they’ll have to go through me”.
“If anyone wants to do harm to them, they’ll have to go through me” is a bold declaration that shows no hint of any hatred for the LGBT community. In fact, I’ve talked to a number of gay rights opposers over the years and none of them have stated that they would protect gay people while opposing gay activities like Dr. Brown has.
Throughout our 25 or so minute conversation, I sensed no hatred or anger towards the gay community. Instead, I only sensed compassion and conviction.
I looked up the Coalition of Conscience’s website (which is how I contacted Dr. Brown) and saw absolutely nothing regarding hate towards the LGBT community. Instead I only found these words regarding the Coalition’s intentions –
“The Coalition of Conscience is a network of church and ministry leaders, business and education leaders, and Christians from every walk of life, based in the greater Charlotte area, working together for moral and cultural change through the gospel.
It is the role of the Coalition to be a clear public voice helping to represent the concerns and burdens of the Christian community. The Coalition's goal is to make an impact for righteousness in the greater Charlotte area, as committed believers from every denomination and background form a united front.
The Coalition will represent your burdens and concerns and will speak on your behalf to the community, with a clear Christlike voice. We will do the organizing, strategizing, and planning, making it easier for every member of the Coalition to participate in city-wide initiatives.” (http://coalitionofconscience.askdrbrown.org/about-us/ - used by permission)
In fact, no kind of attack or negative comment about the gay/lesbian community appears anywhere on the website. Only a message about an “alert” concerning the Coalition’s protest of the Great National Kiss-In (which called the Coalition “anti-gay bigots”) was posted (http://askdrbrown.org//media/albums/COC/ENewsletters/08-19-09%20-%20Update%20on%20the%20Charlotte%20Kiss-In%20Event.htm).
And the protest itself was peaceable and without incidence. Members of the protest signed a pledge to be peaceful. Yet at least one person who participated in the festival on July 25th, held a sign that said “Stop Preaching Hate”.
I asked Dr. Brown why he thought someone would feel that he and the protesters were preaching “hate”. He told me that some leaders of the LGBT community feel that anyone who opposes their agenda must hate them. He stated that his group was there to say that God has a better way and that way is Jesus.
“Our ministry school and church (called FIRE) were formed in Pensacola, Florida but in 2003 we felt [led] to relocate to Charlotte. Once we were here, I felt led to establish the Coalition.”, he stated.
“We are trying to build bridges with gays and bring the gospel to them. We can [oppose something] without showing hate”, Brown told me.
During our interview Dr. Brown also said the Gay Pride Festival had been held in Marshall Park in the past and that there was lewd behavior and a vendor’s booth advertising nudist camps, with pornographic material available for all to see. Brown joined other believers in the city and went to the City Council to oppose it because the obscenities were taking place in a public park that families and children often frequented.
After 2005, the celebration was cancelled temporarily. "The organizers of Pride Charlotte chose to have the event on private property (Gateway Village every year since 2006) so that we could not come and preach inside their event. The organizers also made the event totally tame in comparison with what it used to be, although we can’t be sure if that was because of our influence or because of new leaders with a different philosophy", stated Dr. Brown.
In a July 25th press release to the media concerning the protest, Dr. Brown wrote –
“We are here today to reach out and resist – to reach out to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community with compassion, as neighbors and friends and fellow-workers, and to declare God’s great love for GLBT people. And we are here to resist the gay activist agenda and to send a message to the nation.
As followers of Jesus, we first confess our own sins – our lack of ardent love for homosexual men and women, our lack of compassion for their struggles, our adding to their sense of rejection through insensitive words and deeds. We acknowledge the fact that homophobia is alive and well in some churches, and we renounce and repudiate that hateful and destructive attitude.
Our love also compels us to speak the truth, and we do not believe that all sexual orientations should be celebrated. We do not celebrate the fact that some people believe they are women trapped in men’s bodies; we do not celebrate the fact that two men or two women cannot reproduce their own unique offspring and that same-sex families guarantee that a child will never have either a mother or a father;…we do not celebrate the pain and brokenness that exists in the lives of many of those attending Pride Charlotte today – completely apart from societal rejection – and we proclaim to our GLBT friends that God has a better way, that there is a place of wholeness and transformation to be found in Jesus. And we are here for the long-term to help them on that journey…
We are saddened by the fact that some of those who came out of the closet forty years now are now trying to put conservative Christians in the closet.
We don’t believe in tampering with the foundations of human society – male-female marriage and family – and creating a new institution previously unknown in human history.
We utterly reject the new theologies that advocate “Queering Christ” and writing “Queer Commentaries” on the Bible, and we say to Charlotte and the nation, “By God’s grace, it stops here.”
So, we say “Enough is enough” to the destructive goals of gay activism, and we say to the GLBT community, “Jesus loves you and God has a better way!”
To see a video report from News 14 Carolina on the protest, visit http://news14.com/content/local_news/charlotte/612442/christian-groups-protest-charlotte-pride-festival/#.
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The second viewpoint is that of utter intolerance by certain churches or groups. One of those churches is not in North Carolina itself, but whose message is gaining popularity in many cities such as Charlotte. The Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas has engrossed followers with its ideologies.
I struck a sensitive nerve with Dr. Brown when I asked him about the group and its website – “I’m tired of some people comparing me to Fred Phelps. I have nothing in common with him, he preaches his dogma to his little church and we are against that message. It’s a message of hate. Our message is of God’s love”.
What Michael Brown is specifically referring to is Phelps’ and Westboro Baptist Church’s infamous website, “God hates fags.com”. If you’ve never heard of this website, don’t waste your time going to it. Its homepage displays this warm slogan – “Welcome depraved sons and daughters of Adam”. Fred Phelps Photo source - Wikipedia.com
Though I said that I would refrain from giving my opinion until the end of this series, I must say that Westboro’s message is despicable and presents the most un-Christian message that I can ever remember hearing. The website’s name alone is so reproachable that I can barely bring myself to say it aloud or to even write it. I sincerely apologize for even mentioning the website to anyone that is offended by this website’s name. Sincerely! But dark minds such as this must be exposed to the light of day.
I’d interview Rev. Phelps just to hear his side, but my stomach would turn too much to survive it. I did see a video of church members on Youtube and listened to the rhetoric that spews forth from this group. And I can see exactly why Dr. Brown and many other Christians would “hate” to be compared to Phelps. Before you read any further, watch this video clip.
During the clip, a woman carrying signs, refers to gay married couples when she yells out, “You’re still feces eating fruit-beasts and God hates you!” This is hatred at its lowest point, especially when a teenage girl holds up a sign that reads “God Hates Faggots” and tells the cameraman, “Well this is everyone’s job. Everyone should be out on the streets saying the truth and you’re never too young to be preaching the word of God”.
Preaching the word of God – exactly which version of the Bible says that God hates gays? No version I’ve ever seen. My King James Version says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whomsoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved ” . (John 3:16-17 KJV).
Yet a Phelps family member proclaims to a crowd of gay and lesbian couples that “Fags are worthy of death. That’s the standard of God”. Even though I’m only quoting her, I apologize for such detestable language. Gay people should never be referred to in such a derogatory manner. It is completely un-Christian and quite frankly, it is inhumane.
But the Gay community is not the only victim of Phelps and his followers’ tirades. According to the church’s doctrine, God also hates Jewish people and American soldiers, among others – that’s right – American soldiers, particularly those fighting for freedom in Iraq. I now present exhibit B –
Now the difference between “opposing” someone and “hating” someone becomes crystal clear. And for the record, God doesn't hate Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, or Transgendered people - to quote Dr. Brown, "Jesus died for them".
Other links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps
Comments
Now, maybe at the next Pride fest or Kiss In, you can summon up a bunch of people holding signs reading, "God loves you all no matter what your sexuality" or something to that effect. That would be great!!
I'm sick to death of "Christians" telling my gay friends that they are going to hell or are doing something sinful.
Mr. Hobson, I am the sex and relationship examiner from Winston-Salem and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you for what I consider award worthy writing. I have to tell you that I was unable to fully watch the first two videos to the end. As both a Christian and the family member of several lgbt people, I think you hit the nail on the head. i think that somewhere along the line these people forgot the words of the bible that say "we have all sinned and fallen short" or "he that is without sin throw the first stone". Being gay may not be your sin of choice but that doesn't mean that you are sinless. As Christians we are supposed to follow Jesus' example. He never behaved that way even when being crucified. While we are all able to see the the speck in the eyes of others, we have a very hard time seeing the log in our own eyes.
Keep up the good work. I am now you new subscriber. You can find me on the Winston-Salem Examiner homepage.
Carla
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