Quoted - Pastor Jay Bakker on Churches Refusal to Support Gays and Welcome Them Into Their Flock Is a Sin

“This is sin on a level that most churches ignore. This is sin; meaning, that which destroys. That which is destructive, which causes hurt in other people and perhaps even in your own life. When people lose their jobs, aren’t promoted, are discriminated against, are treated differently, are described as `gay’ as an insult, get kicked out of churches, and are disowned by their families, that is sin.” 

– Pastor Jay Bakker, from his book,  
Faith and Doubt and Other Lines I’ve Crossed: Walking with the Unknown God,
available at Amazon.com

My Christian Thoughts - Issue #4 - The Baptist Pastor Who Encouraged Parents to Punch Their Boys

I first heard the following audio on Anderson Cooper last May, and was so angry about it I wanted to immediately share My Christian Thoughts on the matter.   Unfortunately, I was on blog break and my blogging was sporadic at best; But now that I have this new series every Sunday, I do have something to say.

"So your little son starts to act a little girlish when he is four years old and instead of squashing that like a cockroach and saying, “Man up, son, get that dress off you and get outside and dig a ditch, because that is what boys do,” you get out the camera and you start taking pictures of Johnny acting like a female and then you upload it to YouTube and everybody laughs about it and the next thing you know, this dude, this kid is acting out childhood fantasies that should have been squashed.

Can I make it any clearer? Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch. Ok? You are not going to act like that. You were made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male. And when your daughter starts acting to Butch you reign her in. And you say, “Oh, no, sweetheart. You can play sports. Play them to the glory of God. But sometimes you are going to act like a girl and walk like a girl and talk like a girl and smell like a girl and that means you are going to be beautiful. You are going to be attractive. You are going to dress yourself up.”

You say, “Can I take charge like that as a parent?”

Yeah, you can. You are authorized. I just gave you a special dispensation this morning to do that."

There's a special place in hell for Baptist Pastors like you, Mr. Sean Harris.  And if any of you reading this think and act like this, there's a special place for you too.  Oh, I'm sorry, am I being judgemental?  Am I judging you?  Since it's okay for you to do it to me, I think I have that right too, no?

But guess what, I'm not.  I'm not a hater - I'm a lover.  I love you regardless if you hate me.  I love you regardless if you rather see me in some prison camp for the gays.  I love you regardless if you "choose" to be straight.  I love you because my heart has no room for nothing else.

See the clear picture? 

It's love.  Jesus loves, God loves, and I love.  And this is who I will emulate - not you - the Christian who pretends to be of God.

My Christian Thoughts - Issue #2 - The Subway Preacher

In today's My Christian Thoughts I'd like to talk about a video I saw last week.  The issue hits close to home, because I remember portraying the pastor or preacher in this video.  The debauchery that takes place really upsets me and it does so, because who are we to judge other people?  Who are we to tell other people what to do?  I understand teaching or sharing The Word, but I don't agree with forcing it down a person's throat.  In the end, we will be judged individually by a higher Being if this is what we choose to believe, and for those who don't - more power to you.

I lost countless of friends in high school and in college, because I was preaching to them - telling them they were going to hell, because they didn't belong to the true "Church of Christ".  Imagine me going up to a Catholic, a Baptist, a Presbyterian, a Methodist or a Mormon, telling them, "you, your mom, sister, brother and family are going to hell - all of you!  And if you don't change your religion soon, you will feel the fire deep in those pits!"

Yep, that was me.  Don't get me wrong, I believe in God - a loving and beautiful God who made me who I am.  Who is there beside me every day, and will be, until the day I die.  And this is what I choose to believe.  It's not your or anyone else's job to tell me it's not gonna happen.  My transformation took time, and I am so grateful to God that it happened, but that's another story - another issue of "My Christian Thoughts."

What is so remarkable about the video is the response the gay man receives after being chastised for over two minutes. 

[Excerpts from the video]
Instead of attempting to ignore a "preacher" spewing homophobic rants, a gay New York City subway rider decided to confront him.

On Saturday, a street preacher went on an anti-gay tirade on one of NYC's subway lines, according to New York Mag's Daily Intelligencer. The preacher yelled about society's poor influence on children, likened gay men to pedophiles and claimed "Michael Jackson died because he was gay" to a crowded subway car.

But one stranger wasn't having it.

"You teach hate," the man, wearing a khaki coat and a large fur hat, responded. "You are false. You are a false prophet. Do not listen to this man. He's scared. He's full of hatred."

The man continued to stand his ground and revealed that yes, he is gay, and yes, God still loves him. "I'm a man. And I'm a good man," he said. "And I'm a gay man and Jesus loves me! Jesus loves me!"

The gay man's eloquence moved his fellows riders so much that it was met by a rousing round of applause. 

"Ain't No Homos Gonna Make It To Heaven"

C'mon, join me now... "I know the Bible’s right, somebody’s wrong...ain't no homos gonna make it to heaven."  A little louder... "I know the Bible’s right, somebody’s wrong...ain't no homos gonna make it to heaven." 

Yep, those are the words sung by a mere child in front of a congregation in Greensberg, Indiana.  


Isn't that just lovely?  And to think that all along I thought our preachers and pastors were men of God and all they cared about was love. Frankly, I'm tired of hearing that everyone is not like that, but as more and more churches are declaring death to us gays, and spewing hatred month after month, what else are we to believe?

I believe in a loving God.  A building is not a church.  What makes up a church are its people, and if there is but more than 1 that condones this hatred and death towards myself and my partner, then you are part of a bigger problem.  You are, in part, congregating with them, singing and worshiping with them.  The bible states where two are more are gathered in his name, He is there with them.

You don't have to go to a building to worship with people who hate your son or your daughter.  Get together with those you love and worship together, at a park, in your home, at a school - worship with them - they are your church.

My "flesh" Is Intrigued By The Idea of Killing Homosexuals and Adulterers!

Lovely. Just Lovely.

Curtis Knapp

Oh, I just love Baptist churches!  Don't you?  Hell, when all they do is condemn homosexuality and force God down our throats, what makes them think we want to worship with them?  Seriously?  Don't they think we love God just as much, if not, more than all of them!!!!

Two more Baptist pastors have come out in support of killing your brother, sister, mother, father, uncle, aunt, grandmother, grandfather, cousins, friends, co-workers, the list goes on.  All because... well... a straight couple bore a gay child.

Dennis Leatherman

Two pastors, Curtis Knapp of the New Hope Baptist Church in Seneca, Kansas, and Dennis Leatherman, pastor at the Mountain Lake Baptist Church in Oakland, Md spoke from the pulpit at two of their recent Sunday sermons.  While Knapp suggested that the government should put gay people to death, Leatherman said that his “flesh” is intrigued by the idea of killing homosexuals.

You can read more about this ridiculous nonsense here and even listen to clips of their sermons.

Thanks to Shane Montgomery for sharing this on his news feed on Facebook!

Detain Them In Electrified Camps Until They're All Dead!

I was reading Facebook this morning and came across this horrible article... "N.C. pastor calls for "lesbians and queers" to be detained in electrified camps "until they're all dead"" - Full Story

You know that despite the hatred that comes from these religious people, they will be judged for how they were on earth.  Whether you believe in God or not, most of these people who call themselves Christians are the most vile people on earth.

But like Jesus asked his Father on his dying day, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do"

Image courtesy of www.houstonrainbowherald.com

Read Full Article Here: The Raw Story

Post Secret Fridays - Issue 083

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

 

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Quoted: Mark Driscoll - Your Next Mega Church Celebrity Pastor

“Masturbation can be a form of homosexuality because it is a sexual act that does not involve a woman. If a man were to masturbate while engaged in other forms of sexual intimacy with his wife then he would not be doing so in a homosexual way. However, any man who does so without his wife in the room is bordering on homosexuality activity, particularly if he’s watching himself in a mirror and being turned on by his own male body.” - Pastor Mark Driscoll of Seattle’s Mars Hill Church.

Damn, I almost feel bad for all the straight men and boys, because if you've done such a horrendous thing, you're gay.  And parents, you better keep a watchful eye on your son's extracurricular activities, you don't want them turning out like you. GAY!

Seriously speaking though...  I'm a Christian and believe in God, but what drives people of faith to listen to this mess?  And to believe it nonetheless.

Post Secret Fridays - Issue 077

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

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