Exodus board chairman Mike Haley’s day job is the management of antigay activism at Focus on the Family.
In Focus’ CitizenLink newsletter, Haley’s operation warns that gay equal rights will mean the end of civilization.
The article consists of resentful complaints about the equal rights being achieved by same-sex-attracted individuals, but one section in particular is worth noting for Focus’ unusual recognition of a non-Christian:
Nationally syndicated talk-show host Dennis Prager, who approaches the issue from both a Jewish and a conservative perspective, said by embracing homosexuality our nation is teetering on the precipice of an abyss. Worse still, the vast majority of people don’t even realize it. …
He believes the battle involves a leftist cultural elite that is waging war for what it considers to be its “rights” — sexual freedom, abortion and homosexuality — though these bear no relationship to true Bible-defined rights. …
These secular values have now gained sway over society, far more than Judeo-Christian values, Prager said. Why? A large number of Christians and Jews do not understand their own Bible, he believes. In fact, he adds, some are even embarrassed by it.
“The five books of Moses, specifically known as the Torah, spell out the basic principles under which a civilization can prosper and can fail,” Prager said. “The blurring of the distinction between male and female, and the blurring of the distinction between heterosexuality and homosexuality, if it indeed succeeds, will spell the end of this civilization.”
In the course of this excerpt, I perceive:
- a fear-driven faith perspective that stakes its survival upon the preservation of pre-medieval gender stereotypes,
- a repeated accusation that anyone disagreeing with the political agenda of the antigay movement is anti-Jewish, anti-Christian, anti-civilization, and wholly ignorant of the Bible, and
- a misogynistic interpretation of Genesis combined with the often-violent and idiosyncratic moral code of Leviticus — a code whose absurd legalisms and brutality were dismissed by no less than Jesus of Nazareth.
Is Mr. Haley’s day operation espousing the true spirit of Christianity, or a science-lite civilization subjected to a rule of terror?
Look, let’s get something straight. Haley is trying to save his job. His job is to bring in money to FOTF by appealing to fear of anti-gay elements among conservative christians. FOTF canned John Paulk in large part because he turned into an embarrassment and served as a barrier to their money-raising.
It’s all about money.
If Haley isn’t able to bring in the money, he’ll be canned, too.
Well, that is PRR 101: Need cash? Target homos. The more virulent the attacks, the more lucrative the revenue windfall. Works for Falwell and Robertson. Perhaps one perk of being a pawn of the PRR is instruction in the art of filling coffers on the backs of GLBT people. What a shame. With each passing day I become more disappointed by what I see.