Rob Knowles | April 10, 2016
(Constitution.com) – New York Times Columnist Frank Bruni penned a piece titled “Bigotry, the Bible and the Lessons of Indiana.” In it, he trashes Christianity with misinformation, then puts forth a very dangerous idea: Religion should be made to accept homosexual behavior. This piece is a year old, but it came up on my timeline, and I feel it deserves attention.
Bruni, like many people who hold a deep hatred of Christianity, tosses out incorrect information regarding what Christians allegedly believe and have believed in order to build his false argument.
He quotes David Gushee, an alleged evangelical Christian:
“Many Christians thought slavery wasn’t sinful, until we finally concluded that it was.”
Then he quotes Jimmy Creech, a former pastor:
“In the United States, we have abandoned the idea that women are second-class, inferior and subordinate to men, but the Bible clearly teaches that.”
If you want to make a point that runs contrary to the truth, a great tactic to employ is called “Appeal to Authority.” You find individuals who appear to be well-versed in the topic about which you’re writing, like Bruni has done here with a former pastor, and an “evangelical Christian.” You then get them to say what you want them to say. Suddenly, you have a foundation upon which an argument can be based.
It doesn’t matter that Gushee’s allegations that “many Christians thought slavery wasn’t sinful” is dubious, nor does it matter that the Bible doesn’t condone the type of slavery seen in modern times. It doesn’t matter that Creech’s assertion that the Bible “clearly teaches” that women are second-class and inferior is patently false. What does matter is that you believe them as authorities on the subject of scripture.
Once you believe them, the rest of Bruni’s argument flows nicely. Therein lies the danger, because Bruni’s thesis is that Christianity needs to be changed by force to accept homosexual behavior.
Bruni follows the “expert” testimony of Creech and Gushee with his own assertions that hardline Christians simply haven’t caught on to the fact that the bible can be interpreted differently. He notes the various branches of Christianity that have accepted homosexuality, including the Episcopal church, and claims that there’s a growing consensus that adherence to biblical ideas regarding homosexuality are archaic and incorrect.
He fails to mention that the scholars attempting to reconcile Christianity and homosexual behavior must deeply distort the text in order to do so. That would blunt his thesis. Rather than simply say “the Bible is wrong,” Bruni feels the need to convince his readers that Christianity is okay so long as it has no teeth left.
He concludes with this:
“Creech and Mitchell Gold, a prominent furniture maker and gay philanthropist, founded an advocacy group, Faith in America, which aims to mitigate the damage done to L.G.B.T. people by what it calls ‘religion-based bigotry.’ Gold told me that church leaders must be made “to take homosexuality off the sin list.
His commandment is worthy–and warranted. All of us, no matter our religious traditions, should know better than to tell gay people that they’re an offense. And that’s precisely what the florists and bakers who want to turn them away are saying to them.”
Yes, Bruni is arguing that churches must get with the times or else. What exactly the “or else” amounts to isn’t mentioned, but I can tell you. We’ve seen the future in other countries.
In England, two men (Rob Hughes and Tony Miano) were arrested in separate incidents and detained for street preaching in 2013 because they offended gay people.
Ake Green, a Swedish preacher, was arrested and convicted in 2004 because of a sermon in which he called homosexual behavior a sin. Fortunately for Green, a higher court reversed the decision a year later.
In the United States, bakers, photographers, florists and the owners of a wedding chapel have been sued because they declined to actively participate in gay weddings. This has led to the rise of anti-religious discrimination laws that are intended to protect participatory businesses from litigious gay rights activists.
Christians have been told for years that they’re crazy because they fear the gay mafia is coming for the church.
You can practice your faith unabated. We promise. Well, so long as it stays within the confines of the church building. Also, you can’t refuse to participate in an activity which you believe is morally reprehensible if you own a business. But that’s it. Well…actually, you need to change your faith to accept homosexual behavior. You won’t? That discrimination! Your beliefs are wrong, and cannot be tolerated in society anymore. Get with the times, or pay the price!
First came the soft-brainwashing that led a majority of Americans to reject Christian teaching on homosexual behavior. This came through tv, movies, books, etc. This normalization has caused people to believe the gay population is vastly larger than it actually is.
53 percent of Americans surveyed for a 2015 Gallup poll estimated the percentage of gay people in the population was at 20 percent or higher. According to the CDC, approximately 1.65% of men and women identify as gay. But let’s be generous, and triple that number. That’s still just five percent.
With normalization comes acceptance, and with acceptance comes anger directed at those who won’t accept. And don’t confuse tolerance with acceptance. Christians should be tolerant of the sinfulness in the world, but not accepting of it. There’s a difference.
Once acceptance takes place, the people apply pressure to the government, and the laws are changed. Gay marriage being a milestone in that area.
But what’s next? After marriage equality comes a tidal wave against “hate speech.” Despite previous promises regarding freedom of religion, hate speech soon includes scripture. You see, scripture is antiquated and wrong. It has no place in a modern society. The hate speech contained within scripture can incite violence against gays, and that’s dangerous. You can practice you religion freely, just remove all that anti-gay stuff.
Eventually, churches go underground, and Christians are prosecuted under the law for inciting violence via hate speech, aka preaching their faith.
I can hear people laughing. They don’t know what I know. They don’t know what many Christians know. We will be made to comply. Frank Bruni will get what he wants.
Anyone who thinks this rolling boulder will come to a stop doesn’t understand the gravity of society, and the malice in the human heart.