Scott Lively is the director of Abiding Truth Ministries and its political lobby. ATM is co-sponsoring the antigay flyovers of Gay Days at theme parks around the United States.
In a letter to the editor of The Washington Times on June 22, Lively condemns conservative National Review writer Jonah Goldberg for his commentary, “Time to face facts, gays gain victory.” In that article, Goldberg says conservatives should not surrender their values, but rather make the best of a situation that they have allegedly lost.
Lively, however, insists that “the” homosexual sexual ethic and that of the “family-based society” can never peacefully coexist.
The opposing presuppositions about sexuality, marriage, family, and culture inherent in these world views are contradictory and mutually exclusive. One must prevail at the expense of the other.
Lively has not expressed an understanding of the diversity of heterosexual and homosexual sexual ethics (plural); indeed, he seems to imply that a “family-based society” is largely sexless and, of course, that families do not include gay family members.
Instead of discussing Goldberg’s arguments, Lively calls Goldberg “at best … one of the traitorous Vichy French, sympathetic to the conquering invader. At worst, he is Tokyo Rose, an enemy feigning friendship and sympathy to better undermine the morale of our troops.”
Lively likens “the homosexual movement” to “the AIDS virus in the human body: It is not benign but destructive; it thrives at the expense of the host.” Lively is calling gay people parasites here.
Mr. Goldberg wants us all to say yes to sodomy, much as the French said yes to Nazism and for the same unprincipled reason — the desire to be on the winning side. I, for one, would rather go down fighting for what is right — namely, the protection of the critically important unit on which our society, and all societies, are built — the natural family.
Lively seems to be vowing to fight to the death: Either homosexuals die for their cause, or he does.
Not a very healthy attitude for an ex-gay ministry leader.
A side note: It’s worth noting that Lively is the head of an ongoing campaign proclaiming that homosexuality is largely to blame for Nazi Germany.