Can I just say I love the photo of Wayne Besen concerned woman Bob Knight is running in his story on Truth Wins Out.
Watch out, or he’ll bite cha!
W
Can I just say I love the photo of Wayne Besen concerned woman Bob Knight is running in his story on Truth Wins Out.
Watch out, or he’ll bite cha!
From the article:
“a tiny group of homosexuals who have tried to change and have fallen back into the lifestyle.”
Is it just me, or is he trying to make it sound like only a tiny percentage of gays are unable to change? Honesty must really hurt…
I wanted to make a comment about the radio broadcast. It was a little disturbing how Bob Knight tries to portray the speakers to the listening audience, who one would presume is mostly conservative Christian listeners. Unfortunately, listeners were not at the event and can only hear the clips and opinions of those clips that Bob wants his audience to hear. For example comparing HRC to the Ex-Gay movement in terms of financial backing is absolutely ridiculous. HRC should be compared to Focus on the Family, Traditional Values Coalition, and the other organizations that when added up make HRC look like a match between David (HRC) and Goliath (the Right Wing Money Machine).
The only way that you will ever win the hearts and minds of conservative America is by actually talking about fundamentalist theology and forcing people to really explore what the Bible teaches and why there is reason to question some things the Bible teaches. A great example, numerous prominent characters who are described as great men of God were polygamists including David and Solomon. Nowhere in the Bible is the act of polygamy outright condemned. Yet, today as a society we do not accept polygamy. My personal feelings are that by having a polygamous relationship, you begin to create unequals because you are no longer forming a partnership, but that is based on modern psychology. Ask Christians how they feel about polygamy and most will say it is wrong, but there is no scripture to back this up. David is described in the New Testament as man after God’s own heart. If Christians begin to examine their own contradictions with what the Bible says, they will then open up their eyes to the fact that they are being herded around like sheep by people who hold the powerful positions.
One final note, I find it ironic that Bob Knight would discuss Scripture about people seeking out what they want to hear. Conservatives do this all the time. They want to be fed reinforcing values that do not challenge to critically think but instead tell them what you believe is right. Essentially, it gives people a sense of moral superiority despite the fact that many Christians will use the same old line we are all sinners. As both a Jew and a gay person, I recognize that you cannot have a discussion about right and wrong without knowing the Scriptures upon which fundamentalists base their lives. I have made a great deal of attempts to listen and research what Christian conservatives believe and feel that it is my best weapon against the propaganda that is constantly pushed on American society.
Micah, I’ve found that attempting to argue scripture with fundamentalist christians is an exercise in futility. As a rule, they do not hear anything other than what they want to hear or what they’ve been taught to hear. It really hasn’t a thing to do with scripture as much as it has to do with dogma. Your example of polygamy is an excellent example: the bible doesn’t condemn it, yet the right wingers (and our culture as a whole, generally) do.
The dogma that is practiced is very selective when it comes to scripture and the bible. (Note: my use of lower case with many terms is intentional.)
My experience is that certain people don’t want to hear anything that makes them think critically. However, there is a middle-ground group that is persuadable. I’ll call them pragmatist christians.
The bible, while often used as a bludgeon against GLBT people, can also be a blindfold to some of its adherents.