When the right to religious speach contributes to anti-gay violence

I started out with the opinion that the Duck dick Robertson had a right to his speech but not a free pass on the consequences. Then I read more right wing rhetoric and got a little more pissed because the focus of their complaints was along the lines of the contrived persecution of Christians.



Huckabee Downplays Violence Against Gays: Christians Are Having Their Crosses Taken From Them Too



Keyes, still the nutjob: Keyes: US May Be 'Preparing our Military Forces to do Violence against Christian Denominations' That Oppose Gay Rights



Those are not post the most recent kerfuffle but it was still rather absurd regarding who was being persecuted here. It's not hard to check the facts.



FBI Report: Hate Crimes Against Gays Outnumber those Against Religion



After a burnt alive gay man was posted in the Duck thread and because I know about the Evangelical push that led to laws providing for the death of gays in Uganda, I thought maybe it was time to stand up against this hate speech sugar coated with "but-Christians-love-the-person-just-not-the-behavior" lie.



But it does no good coming from an atheist asking Christians to tone it down and think about the consequences. Then I found this:



Christian Post: 'God Loves Uganda' Film Exposes 'Violent' Evangelical Movement Targeting Gays?

Quote:

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams makes it clear, however, that his documentary does not try to portray all or even most Christians in a negative light. A number of the commentators in the film are African pastors who have seen the anti-gay conservative movement spread around the continent, which they say is a danger to human rights.... ..."The American evangelical movement in Africa does valuable work in helping the poor," Williams says in an op-ed for The New York Times." But as you'll see in this Op-Doc video, some of their efforts and money feed a dangerous ideology that seeks to demonize L.G.B.T. people and intensifies religious rhetoric until it results in violence. It is important for American congregations to hold their churches accountable for what their money does in Africa."

So here's the thread message. You are welcome to your free speech, you are welcome to believe homosexuality is a sin. But if you are going to make a fuss about gays who only want equal rights, the Christian thing to do is consider the consequences of your free homophobic speech. If you truly do love the person just not the behavior, think about the unintended consequences of your free speech.



Watch that video of the crowd burning that man alive. You don't need a link, it's not hard to find. Ask yourself if your right to free gay-is-a-sin speech is going to convert a single homosexual or lead one more person to God. Then ask yourself how many more of those gays that you love but not their behavior are going to be beaten to death, executed, or burned alive because of that free speech. Now do the math.







Request that a mod correct the spelling typo in the title, thanks.

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