Peter LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality was not happy last month when Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy said he was going to stop speaking out publicly against marriage equality, calling him a “sellout” who was “hurting the cause.”…. The anti-gay activist was even further dispirited by the charity World Vision’s decision - since reversed - to recognize the marriages of its gay employees. Speaking with talk show host Janet Mefferd yesterday, LaBarbera told evangelicals that you can’t “call yourself a Christian” and also support “redefining marriage to accommodate a sexual sin.”…. “because if you’re going to call yourself a Christian, don’t get behind non-Christian or anti-Christian ideas….”
I love it when Evangelical Christians begin their argument/diatribe with, “[I]f you’re going to call yourself a Christian….” at which point they expound on what you MUST do and/or believe in order to pass ecclesiastical muster. For some reason (They’re threatened by diversity of belief?), their range of permissible beliefs is exceedingly narrow- so narrow it almost perfectly dovetails with their own personal theology- and prejudices. “[I]f you’re going to call yourself a Christian,” you must believe as I do…or you’re in the fast lane on the Hightway to Hell.
I find it fascinating how the range of “acceptable” Christian beliefs happens to mesh beautifully with those of the Radical Christian Right, in this case Peter LaBarbera, who’s all about condemning you to an eternity in Hell if you’re beliefs aren’t in line with his. In LaBarbera’s case, he’s terrified that the simple fact of two people loving one another can be such a grave threat to the moral well-being of good, God-fearing Christians like himself. Interesting that LaBarbera’s theology happens to perfectly match his fears and prejudices, isn’t it? It’s almost as if he communicates directly with God Almighty…and if you listen to him for any length of time (not something I’d recommend), that’s pretty much what he believes. Woe betide those who believe that God doesn’t hate those LaBarbera hates.
Today being Easter, you’d think it would be a perfect time for Christians of all stripes to return to the teachings of the Jesus Christ they profess to revere. It seems a great day to remember that Jesus stood for things like love, charity, and tolerance…things the Radical Christian Right wants nothing to do with. Christ’s teaching were never meant to be used as a club with which to bludgeon those not “enlightened” enough to adopt them as rules for living their lives. Sadly, today’s also a very good day to remember that “Christians” like LaBarbera wouldn’t recognize the teachings of Jesus Christ if they were delivered by a Kate Upton lookalike bearing kneepads and a tube of AstroGlide. If your faith is based on whatever it is that Peter LaBarbera or his fellow haters order you to believe, I’d submit that what you have is no faith at all. You’re a follower incapable of thinking for yourself, reading Scripture, and making your own decisions. You’re someone far more concerned with obedience than religious freedom. Worst of all, you’re willing to allow someone else to poison your mind and your beliefs with his own hateful brand of “Christianity.” I may not believe in God, but I do remember enough of my Sunday School lessons to remember that Jesus was about love and tolerance, not hatred and condemnation.
My apologies to Elvis Costello, but what, really, is so funny about peace, love, and understanding? Aren’t those supposed to be the bedrock of Christianity? Not according to the American Taliban, of which Peter LaBarbera should rightfully be considered a mullah who’s long since forgotten what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is supposed to be all about.
Happy Easter.
