Coral Ridge Ministries is working hard to defeat the "Hate Crimes" legislation being considered in Congress. A recent email declared:
"If we don't stop it now, it will become law, and that will mean a loss of liberty for Christians who stand up for the biblical truth that homosexual conduct is sin."
The bill, they're implying, would criminalize anyone who talks about Biblical injunctions against homosexuality. In other words, they seem to be conflating "hate speech" and "hate crimes."
I'm really baffled by this. I just read the legislation and unless I'm missing something, the law protects gays against physical violence and has nothing to do with hate speech.
Specifically, it creates a federal crime if the assailant attempts to or "willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device" on the basis of sexual orientation (as well as race, gender, national origin or "perceived or actual religion").
Is this really what religious conservatives want to be focused on: blocking a law that prevents violence on the basis of sexual orientation?
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Dean,
Sorry, but I do not see yours as a "voice of reason", but as one of 'religious' hypocrisy.
" And yes, in the Bible, it does say that homosexuality is a sin"
Many Biblical scholars disagree with that blanket statement. Homosexuality, both as we know it today and in today's terms of reference, is rarely even addressed in The Bible. The "sins" you refer to are usually the sins of homosexual lust, homosexual rape, and homosexual temple/cult prostitution. I have no problems with any of those, especially the part about not lieing with mankind as you lie with womenkind. This clearly refers to nominally heterosexual men having a bit on the side (since homosexual men don't lie with womenkind - in any fashion). It is widely known today as 'being on the down low'. It is not what we are discussing, but I agree, ignoring one's true orientation is kinda sinful. The Bible in no way ever condemns David's love for Jonathan ("surpassing the love of women"), and it is far closer to the gay relationships we are discussing here.
"and an abomination"
As is eating lobster and shrimp. Big whup.
" I am not one to go for the cafeteria-style Christianity "
Oh, I strongly suspect that you do, Dean. Or do you actually think gays "shall surely be put to death"? 'Cuz if you do, that scares me far worse than any fundaliteralist. Do you likewise believe disobedient children should be put to death? Should the victims of incest be put to death? Should we deny communion to the disabled? Do you eat shrimp?
I already rebutted your anti-hate crimes screed on a separate thread dealing with just that and so won't bother to repeat it here.
"It's real simple. Walk into the hospital, paperwork in hand, lawyer on speed-dial and tell them that you are in charge of your partners care!! Document everything! Hell, I'd even try to get a TV crew to come with you the first time! It's sad that you have to do this, but it may be required to assert your legal rights. Let them know that anyone who does not listen to you will be seeing you in court!"
Lawyers are expensive, Dean. Plus, as is already too often the case, fundie hopsital workers can still just say "NO!" to us. Marriage would cover all of your scenarios. If married, we wouldn't have to go through all of that bother and legal threatening. As I've often said, treat us equally and the issue goes away.
Dean Myrick,
Sometimes I feel like we're all stuck in a holding pattern here, repeating the same conversations again and again.
Your assumption that going to a lawyer and getting the medical power of attorney written up will be enough to persuade fundamentalist Christians to grant you access to your loved one is, very sadly, false.
Three times in the last five years, we have found to our horror that this just isn't the case.
The first time, my parents had been in a horrible accident, it looked for the longest time as if my dad would need a kidney transplant...and my brother told the hospital I was gay. This Catholic teaching hospital wouldn't even consider me "because all homosexuals have Aids". Yup, yup those were the words of the administrator who had me physically thrown out of the hospital.
By the time I had a court order (guess who has the power of attorney for my parents when they are mutually incapacitated. Hint: Not the fundamentalist Christian, but the gay, married Christian) and proof that I am HIV-, it would have been too late if not my father had recovered.
Second time, I was beaten by my dear Christian relations (can you say red-nex? Sure you can.) My husband was denied access to me. So my parents, still recovering from their injuries and both in their late 70's were required to make decisions....Again, a court ruled quite quickly and thanks to the local sheriff, my husband was given access to me. But the intention of the hospital was to have me die alone without him.
Third time, I mentioned already this week.
Now, you've had all sorts of examples here on beliefnet over the last months of gay and lesbian and transgender people who had legal documents but were still denied to see their loved ones, still denied to make the decisions for which they had been appointed by their loved ones.
The simple truth is, until we have clear guidelines (i.e.: Secular Marriage) this won't stop.
Look, you don't want to consider our marriages (or us) Christian, fine. Just, please, stop discriminating against us on the secular level.
But what of Obama? Many news outlets, such as MarriageNewsNow dot com, are reporting that Obama himself is not on board with the homosexual lobby. They ask: Is Obama waging war on gays?
I think you have missed the point of Coral Ridge's retoric. They have found that Gay fear mongering brings in more MONEY than anything else. They would claim that GLBT's represent only 1-2% of the population. Adulters represent many times more and break up vastly more families but that does not bring in the MONEY.
Mary,
Please stop with your pathetic attempts to try to drive hits to the false witness borne consistently on your anti-marriage-EQUALITY site. It's an abhorrent collection of lies.
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