Homophobia and the Christian Right

Salon has an essay today from a Presbyterian minister on how he went from opposing gays in the church to supporting them. It's pretty usual stuff, but he has a nice insight at the end. He notes "the mean-spirited nature of the anti-gay movement, and the naked way large Christian organizations used the 'gay threat' to raise money", and then goes on to say,

So why had we singled out homosexuality as a litmus test for True Christianity in the first place? Why had it become such a lightning rod for self-righteousness?One reason, I think, is that it's easy to condemn homosexuality if you are not gay. It is much harder than condemning pride, or lust or greed, things that most practicing Christians have struggled with. It is all too easy to make homosexuality about "those people," and not me. If I were to judge someone for their inflated sense of pride, or their tendency to worship various cultural idols, I would feel some personal stake, some cringe of self-judgment. Not so with homosexuality. 



It's an interesting point. I think it's one factor - although, frankly, I think the money is a bigger factor. Conservative Christianity is a big market, and there's no shortage of people keen on tapping into it...

Ted Haggard 2.0: " Is This a Face You Can Trust?" by Andrew Harmon

The Advocate's cover story on Ted Haggard's reincarnation as a kind of, almost gay-friendly preacher is an interesting read. His new relationship with The Gay is nothing new or interesting, but there's some good thoughts in there about what exactly Christianity is for. I never thought I'd find myself agreeing with Ted Haggard, but his criticism of evangelical groups like the Christian Broadcasting Network and Focus on the Family is spot-on:

“The number 1 way they can raise funds is not to encourage people to be more loving, not to encourage people to be less greedy, or to encourage people to be more kind. It’s to say there’s a secret homosexual agenda to siege America, and fund us so we can battle this agenda, to save the family.”

That's my biggest problem, I think, with evangelical Christianity. It's not so much that I disagree with their beliefs, although I do. It's the charlatanry of it all.