Since we all agree, as followers of Jesus, that bullying is wrong, it’s time we stand up to the gay bullies who are trying to put us in the closet and take away our freedoms of speech, conscience and religion.
Consider for a moment that Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty could have said in his GQ interview, “I think you’ve got to be crazy to be a polygamist,” or, “In my opinion, polyamory is just another word for adultery,” or, “A man who sleeps with lots of different women is no better than an animal,” and there would have been no reaction from A&E and no outcry from the gay censors.
Consider also that his comments about pre-entitlement black Americans were considered highly offensive by many, but these comments did not prompt A&E to take action, as I pointed out in my interview on Piers Morgan. (If you missed the interview, I encourage you to take 15 minutes to watch.)
Rather, it was comments about homosexuality that crossed the forbidden line, comments that, when read in context, although crude, simply expressed biblical perspectives. And that was more than gay censors like GLAAD and the HRC could tolerate.
The truth is that GLAAD has been on a campaign for years to censor all opposing viewpoints, as I noted in March 2012: “This sums up the duplicity of GLAAD: It urges the media to beware of conservative Christian leaders like [the late] Chuck Colson, Maggie Gallagher, and Tony Perkins [and me too!], even calling on CNN to ban some of them from appearing on their shows, and then gives its first Outstanding Blog award to the JoeMyGod website, famous for entries like this one … [stating that] ‘God is SUPER busy killing babies and giving people cancer.’ And this earns praise from GLAAD. …
“And for those who claim that GLAAD is not trying to engage in censorship, note well that at the end of 2010, GLAAD launched a petition drive urging ‘CNN to Make a New Year’s Resolution: Keep Away From the Anti-Gay Industry.’ Yes, said GLAAD, ‘It’s time for outlets to finally drop several hundred pounds of unhealthy weight, which they’ve been carrying around for years, in the form of anti-gay activists. … CNN and the rest of the media are doing nothing but exposing their viewers to dangerous anti-gay rhetoric when they invite members of these anti-gay groups onto their programming. Starting in 2011, this needs to stop.'”
GLAAD even asks its constituents to alert them if people like me (or Jim Daly of Focus on the Family or psychiatrist and Fox News contributor Keith Ablow or political consultant Gary Bauer or Princeton professor Robert George, among many others) appear on the mainstream media.
GLAAD is undeniably in the business of censorship, which is why I believe they should be called the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Disagreement rather than the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
Most recently, GLAAD commended comedian Bob Newhart for canceling a scheduled appearance at a Catholic businessmen’s event sponsored by the Legatus Summit.
According to GLAAD, “It is possible that Newhart, like many people were unaware that Legatus was such a rabid anti-LGBT organization. The organization was created by former Domino’s Pizza CEO, Thomas Monaghan, for Roman Catholic businesspeople, and membership is only available to top level executives.”
Yes, the Legatus Summit’s website states that it was established to “bring together the three key areas of a Catholic business leader’s life—Faith, Family and Business—connecting two powerful realities, the challenge of top-tier business leadership and a religious tradition second to none.” How utterly nefarious!
The website also states, “Undergirded by their parish and diocesan life and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Legatus nurtures an interior transformation as members grow in their love for Christ and fidelity to the teachings of his Church. They become genuine ambassadors who study, live and spread the Catholic faith.”
And GLAAD commends Newhart for canceling his scheduled appearance. How dare he crack jokes for committed Catholics!
Even more remarkably, GLAAD’s actions come at a time when the Advocate, the flagship gay publication, named Pope Francis its man of the year for his softer tone toward gays.
But this was not good enough for GLAAD, which represents the new face of “tolerance” and “diversity,” the face of unabashed censorship in the name of gay rights.
This censorship and bullying will only get worse unless we make a determination to stand for what is right and speak the truth in love, regardless of cost or consequence, recognizing that our strategy of appeasement (which has often been a cover-up for our spinelessness and fear of man) has failed miserably.
The reality is that in the last 12 months, it is not just private individuals who have been punished for refusing to bow the knee to gay activism or for speaking out of turn, but also public figures like Dr. Ben Carson, pastor Louie Giglio, and Sen. Rick Santorum. (In case you missed what happened with Mr. Santorum, in April, a Michigan high school canceled his speaking appearance out of concern that he would address same-sex marriage, eventually agreeing to let him speak with the caveat that students could only attend with parental permission [!]. In stark contrast, Bible-bashing, gay-sex-exalting speakers like Dan Savage are hailed as heroes in our schools and campuses, given carte blanche to talk about the most vile subjects to our young people.)
Now the gay censors have tried to bully the ultrapopular (and, yes, backwoods, Bible-thumping) Phil Robertson, which for many finally means that enough is enough, a conclusion which is long overdue.
It really is high time that we draw a line in the sand and refuse to capitulate or bow down, following the Jesus principle that we find our lives by losing them (Matt. 10:39).
This does not require name-calling or rightwing rhetoric or anger on our part. To the contrary, “Human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires” (James 1:20, NIV).
Rather, our stand for righteousness requires a heart in tune with the Lord and His Word, a life of personal purity without hypocrisy, and a genuine love for LGBT individuals, whose lives we protect and defend even while stating that homosexual practice is sin, that gay marriage is not truly marriage, and that God has a better way.
We really have no choice, and, as I’ve said many times before, either we stand up and do what is right today or we apologize to our kids and grandkids tomorrow.
What will it be?
Michael Brown is author of Hyper-Grace: Exposing the Dangers of the Modern Grace Message and host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebook or at @drmichaellbrown on Twitter.
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